The Yankees look to win their 28th ring in franchise history and first since 2009 in the 2020 season. I will take a deep look into the roster to see if this is possible.
The Yankees have one of the deepest lineups in the league. At the leadoff spot they have second baseman D.J Lemahieu. Last year he had a .327 batting average and a .375 on base percentage. Right behind him is right fielder Aaron Judge. In 102 games last year, he hits 27 home runs and had a .381 on base percentage. The Yankees also have shortstop Gleyber Torres in their lineup. Last year he hit 38 home runs and had a .535 slugging percentage. The rest of the Yankees lineup includes Giancarlo Stanton, Gary Sanchez, Luke Voit, Miguel Andujar, Gio Urshela and Brett Gardner.
Off season signing Gerrit Cole highlights the Yankee rotation. Cole had a 2.50 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP last year. Right behind him is Masahiro Tanaka. Tanaka had a 1.24 WHIP and a 1.7 WAR last year. James Paxton will miss around half the season, but once he comes back he’ll be a huge asset to the rotation. He had a 3.82 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP last year. Domingo German is suspended for the first 81 games of the season. The replacements for Paxton and German will most likely be Happ and Montogomery. Once the rotation gets healthy, a rotation that already wasn’t that bad will be even better this year.
The bullpen will once again be a strength for the Yankees. Aroldis Chapman will once again be closing games for the Yankees. Chapman had 37 saves and a 2.21 ERA last year. Zack Britton will be setting him up. Britton had a 1.91 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP last year. Tommy Kahnle will also be setting Chapman up. Kahnle had a somewhat high 3.67 ERA but an amazing WHIP of 1.06. The bullpen will be filled out with Adam Ottavino, Chad Green, Luis Cessa, Jonathan Loasigia, Albert Abreu and Chad Bettis.
Injuries killed the Yankees last season, as they set a record for the most players on the IL in MLB history. The Yankees are already starting with 5 players who will not be on the opening day roster, 4 of them due to injury. Two time all star Luis Severino will not see the mound this season as he had Tommy John surgery. Within the first month of the season Judge and Stanton will be back. Paxton will return in late May, early June. Domingo German will miss exactly 81 games due to breaking MLB’s domestic abuse policy.
On March 12 2020 it was announced that the season will be postponed due to Corona virus. Players will be off the field for multiple weeks with little practicing, which will lead to players being rusty and not in the best shape. This could lead to poor play or injuries. Players will do their best to stay in baseball shape but at the end of the day they can only do so much. A Yankee minor league player tested positive for corona virus, but everyone on the MLB roster is fine. Even with the most hopeful date for baseball’s return it looks like Stanton and Judge will be ready for opening day. With some new estimates having the seasons pushed back until June it looks like Paxton might be ready as well.
Overall, I expect the Yankees to be a great team this year. They will face a lot of obstacles, but I think this team is talented enough to overcome them. The pressure is on the Yankees to break the 11 year drought and bring the title back to New York. Will they do it? Only time will give us the answer.
