The Yankees entered the offseason with some real uncertainty about their offseason plans. Everyone knew they would do what the Yankees do and sign some big names, but how many and for how much? Supposedly they were committed to getting underneath the luxury tax line and would only go so far.
Welp, so much for that. The Bronx Bombers instead chose to thumb their nose at the luxury tax line and signed just about everybody to do what they could to put themselves back in the World Series picture. Even with all those tens of millions of dollars flying around, we still have to wonder if it was enough.
Depth Chart (as of 3/19)
C: Brian McCann
1B: Mark Teixeira
2B: Brian Roberts
3B: Kelly Johnson
SS: Derek Jeter
LF: Brett Gardner
CF: Jacoby Ellsbury
RF: Carlos Beltran
DH: Alfonso Soriano
SP: CC Sabathia
SP: Hiroki Kuroda
SP: Masahiro Tanaka
SP: Ivan Nova
SP: David Phelps
CL: David Robertson
New Faces
OK, grab a seat and settle in because this is going to take awhile. New York’s first big move was to sign Brian McCann, one of the most inevitable signings of the offseason as the Yanks had been desperate to fill their hole at catch. They followed that up by giving another mega-contract to Jacoby Ellsbury to take over in center field and the top of the order. Continuing chronologically, Kelly Johnson was inked to a one-year deal as they prepared for the suspension of Alex Rodriguez to be confirmed via appeal. Getting back on the big signing train, Carlos Beltran signed a three-year pact to continue the time honored tradition of the Yankees giving big money to players in their late-thirties. That was followed by two smaller deals with similarly aged players as they picked up lefty reliever Matt Thornton and second baseman Brian Roberts. Just when it seemed like they were all done, the Steinbrenners found an extra $120 million under the couch cushions to land Masahiro Tanaka, who might’ve been the most sought after free agent on the market this winter, a move that sent them sailing well past the luxury tax threshold for years to come.
I’ll give you a minute to catch your breath now
Departures
To make room for all those additions, the Yanks had to let a lot of people go. Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte were both given a fond farewell into retirement, but after that, they were mostly just cutting dead weight. Vernon Wells was released. They let Travis Hafner limp walk. Lyle Overbay and Mark Reynolds both wound up in Milwaukee to be a disappointing platoon for them instead. Kevin Youkilis, who barely even suited up for the Yankees, bolted to Japan. Phil Hughes sought a change of scenery in Minnesota and Joba Chamberlain did the same in Detroit.
Of actual useful players, Boone Logan took a big payday from the Rockies that even the Yankees thought was exorbitant. Curtis Granderson was made expendable by the Ellsbury signing, so he moved crosstown to the Mets where he could dine on seafood to his heart’s content.
The big one though was Robinson Cano. Even though the Yankees ended up spending the Gross National Product of Malaysia this offseason, they made the unexpected decision that Cano was asking for too much money, or at least that is how it seemed. There is a school of thought that the Bombers refused to cave into Cano’s demands, thinking there was no other team out there capable of giving him that kind of money. They didn’t count on the Mariners calling their bluff. Judging by how they went about subsequently filling their hole at second base, this was a strategy that didn’t really involve a back-up plan.
Oh, and Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte retired. Those guys played a very small role in the team’s recent history and are in no way revered by the fan base and baseball historians, so I’m sure nobody will ever mention that they are no longer around and bemoan the good old days when they were leading the way.
Impact Rookies
Rookies? Pfft. Rookies are for poor people.
Position Battles
Despite all of their offseason spending, the Yankees are unsettled in their infield. Brian Roberts is nominally the starting second baseman, but there is no guarantee he will actually hold the spot down, even in the rare even that he is able to make it to Opening Day without getting hurt. Similarly, Kelly Johnson is penciled in at third base, but will likely wind up in a platoon. Brendan Ryan, Eduardo Nunez and possibly Scott Sizemore could all work themselves into playing time at one or both of those positions.
The other battle of note is the fifth starter spot. David Phelps is the frontrunner for the gig, but rumors are that he is also being shopped around on the trade market. He’s trying to fend off Michael Pineda, who is finally healthy again but has a lot to prove, as well as Adam Warren.
Injury Concerns
You know that seat you had when we talked about new faces, go ahead and pull that chair up again because the Yanks have plenty of injury concerns. The one that will get the most play is the health of Derek Jeter as he embarks on his season-long victory lap. The infield is already quite thin, so the Yanks need to get 140 or so games from Jeter just to have a chance. After that, there will be plenty of eyes on CC Sabathia who is already dealing with decreased velocity, but also lost a ton of weight in the offseason in an effort to be more fit. Mark Teixeira is also working his way back from wrist issues last season and admits he probably isn’t quite 100% yet. All of the other concerns stem from guys just generally being old (Kuroda, Beltran, Soriano) or historically injury-prone (Roberts).
Best Case
The Yankees didn’t spend all of that money not to win a World Series and that is what they believe the ceiling of this team is. For that to happen, they need Carlos Beltran to continue defying Father Time and show guys like Soriano, Jeter and Teixeira how to do the same. If those four can stay healthy and turn back the clock a bit, bolstering the roster with McCann and Ellsbury should give the Yanks enough offense to contend, or at least to get to the deadline as contenders where they can more substantially address the holes at second and/or third.
Even still, that might not be enough. Pitching is where the Yankees really stand to separate themselves. A lot of that is riding on Masahiro Tanaka who has been projected to be anywhere between an ace and a #3 starter. With Sabathia losing his effectiveness and Kuroda nearing the end of the line, they will need Tanaka to come in a lot closer to ace than #3.
If all of that clicks, there is no reason to think New York can’t win the AL East and make a serious run at the World Series.
Worst Case
You get an injury! You get in injury! You get old and bad! You get old and bad! You get old, bad and injured!
Really, the worst case is not hard to imagine. This is an old roster with a lot of guys with injurys risks. That is what short-circuited their season last year, so there is little reason to think it couldn’t happen again, only this time they don’t have an MVP caliber hitter in the middle of order to try and put the lineup on his back.
Realistic Scenario
Even with age and injury looming over this roster, it a fair sight better than last year’s incarnation of the Bronx Bombers. Tanaka gives the rotation more front-end depth and Ivan Nova appears ready to take a step forward. While some of have knocked the Ellsbury signing since he replicates a lot of what Brett Gardner already does, his presence gives the lineup a more athletics dynamic. McCann and Beltran won’t totally replace the production of Cano, but it makes the middle of the order deeper, especially with Jeter and Teixeira back and, hopefully, healthy.
It really all comes down to how fragile the roster proves to be. If they get good health, the Yankees will be in position to win the division, but there is just so many risks that it would be foolish to assume good health. With worse, but not catastrophic luck, this roster is probably more at a level where they will be in contention for the division, but probably more seriously in contention to land a Wild Card spot.
