Yankees Spring Training Update
Every season you can expect the New York Yankees to be one of the odds on favorite to win it all. This year is another indication of that being true. The starting lineup looks about identical to last year’s, including having reigning batting champion DJ LeMahieu in the leadoff spot after signing a five-year contract worth $90 million. The Yankees will need him to keep being consistent, along with having the big sluggers, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, stay on the field in general.
With the Yankees having so many injury issues over the last three years, it’s always important for them to have as much depth as possible coming off the bench, and it looks like they have a good problem on their hands. The Yankees already have some great assets that come off their bench including some of the longest-tenured Yankees such as Brett Gardner, Mike Tauchman and Miguel Andujar, just to name a few.
via New York Post
One man in particular originally started out hot. He looked like a huge acquisition for the Yankees, but he is now in the midst of a slump. That man’s name is Jay Bruce. The Yankees will need Bruce to come up big for them over these next few months. He originally did not make the roster, but after this announcement, that changed Bruce’s fate. It was announced that reigning AL home run champion, Luke Voit, has been dealing with issues all spring with his right knee. The MRI revealed that he indeed does have a partial meniscus tear in his right knee. Despite playing through plantar fasciitis last season, the meniscus tear will shut Voit for three weeks, at the very least.
Yankees Short Stop, Gleyber Torres, came into 2020 spring training in great shape and people had huge expectations for him after he produced in key situations in the 2019 playoffs. Once the pandemic hit, a lot of players never got into full game shape and that would end up resulting in subpar seasons. Gleyber Torres definitely was one of those guys. Torres in 2020 hit a lackluster .243 and only launched three balls out of the park. Even his slugging percentage was down by nearly .200 points from his previous campaign. Torres will definitely need to be better in 2021, especially after Brian Cashman called him out before spring training started.
via New York Post
Torres seems to have heard those comments, and he is looking to do something about it. Gleyber has been nothing but sensational in spring training so far. Gleyber recently had a two-homer game, also hitting a double on top of that. That leaves him this spring currently hitting .293 which is a big jump so far from his 2020 season. The biggest part of Gleyber’s game you got to pay attention to is his five home runs this spring! He only hit three home runs all season last year so if Gleyber can carry out these spring performances into the regular season, we can expect him to possibly be in the AL MVP conversation this year. He is 24 years old, has already proven he can turn in two good seasons in a row in 2018 & 2019 with clutch playoff performances. He’s playing with a chip on his shoulder at the moment and this will only help him keep elevating his game.
via New York Post
Deivi Garcia has been optioned to the minors, and it has a lot to do with the man that earned his spot back in the starting rotation, Domingo German. German was suspended the entire 2020 season due to a domestic violence incident, but that is all in the past as he keeps pushing forward. Two words can be said about German’s spring training, and those words are “LIGHTS OUT!” German has pitched nine innings this spring, and in those nine innings he has not given up a single run this spring. To go with that, he has struck out 13 batters and owns a WHIP of 0.67. The Yankees have somewhat of a questionable rotation this year with former two-time CY Young Award winner, Corey Kluber, coming back from injuries, and Jameson Taillon is coming back from Tommy John. The Yankees already have Gerrit Cole who is most likely going to be a top-five pitcher, at the very least. If Domingo German can be this productive come the regular season, the Yankees will cause fits all year for whoever faces them.