MLB Preview: Yankees Keep the Faith
Not much is guaranteed in baseball except the Yankees opening-up their checkbooks to guarantee a playoff appearance. Nothing against the Yankees. If the cap limit is nonexistent in the MLB and the Yankees have the money to spend then why not try and buy World Series titles. It’s arguably the most American thing to do so, you can’t hate the players. The Yankees are absolutely loaded with talent, perhaps too much. They heavily rely on the deep ball to win games which is great for the regular season but can be problematic in the postseason as the best team never usually wins. The Yankees are on the best teams on paper but if they can’t bring it all together in the postseason, then it means nothing. This was case last season as the Rays took down the juggernaut Yankees 3 games to two. The Yankees are the better team but the Rays were simply too hot and exercised their pitching and defense advantage to win.
Offseason Acquisitions
The Yankees have resigned veteran DJ LeMahieu to a six-year 90 million dollar deal. The Yankees can easily afford this contract to lock up the 32 year old three time Golden Glove winner long term. The multi-positional player had a great season last year and remains one of the best players on the roster. He slashed for 71 hits and 10 home runs on a .364 batting average during the short season. If he can keep up his play as he ages, he will help this team get over the hump.
The Yankees rotation has arguably been the Achilles heel for their World Series hopes. To help remedy the situation, the Yankees go all in on two time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber. Kluber went from his illustrious career in Cleveland to his injury riddled season in Texas that lasted one inning before signing a one year deal worth 11 million dollars. This signing is certainly worth the gamble if you got money to burn. If he can find himself again after lasting only one inning last year with Texas, then you take it.
The Yankees did make some other moves but none as significant as these. They did make a trade where they acquired pitcher Jameson Taillon from the Pirates. Although not an elite pitcher, he can fit into the rotation as possibly a fifth starter or come out of the bullpen. They traded him for some prospects but none were considered elite making it a depth move in case of injury.
The Yankees are confident in the squad they already have as they pass on the sweepstakes that included the likes of Bauer and Springer. Fans are used to the front office going after these heavily sought after free agents but cool heads prevailed. Not surprising considering who they already have on their roster and will essentially roll the dice on the team they already have.
Season Projections
If you are wondering whether or not the Yankees will make the playoffs, let me just put your mind at ease. Of course they make the playoffs, just look at their roster. They are arguably one of the best hitting teams in the league will take advantage of poor pitching allowing them to sweep bad teams. The question is how far they make it. The overall talent of the league is vastly improving due to better training methods and more people coming to the sport which isn’t great news for the Yankees as buying Championships become even harder. The Yankees are historically one of the best regular season teams out there which is why I project them to go 97-65 in the regular season as they will win most of the games they play against bottom tier teams. The Yankees should consider this year a failure if they can’t make the World Series, plain and simple. It’s time to put up or shut uup.
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