The Yankees are primed to make another deep playoff run this season after retaining many of their big names and obtaining a few others.
While getting Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo to re-sign was important, the acquisition of Carlos Rodon makes the Yankees’ starting rotation one of the best in the majors. Despite all of that, there are quite a few question marks entering spring training.
The rotation is set, the bullpen has a solid foundation, and the big boppers will be present, but the Yankees will seemingly look from within to fill some needs.
Here are the five storylines to watch at spring training…
Who will emerge as the left fielder?
Judge and Harrison Bader will be the Yankees’ everyday right fielder and center fielder, respectively, but what about left field? The second half of last season saw Andrew Benintendi acquired but now that he’s gone, New York needs to find a replacement.
With the free agent pool dried up, the Yanks will likely look from within to figure out who that will be.
They have options.
Aaron Hicksto the chagrin of most Yankees fans, is an option, and the Bombers could give Oswaldo Cabrera a good look. Those two will likely fight it out for the Opening Day gig.
Cabrera’s natural position is on the infield, but the team saw plenty of him in the outfield as he proved that he’s a viable option. With more reps, Cabrera could really shine out there. But will his bat keep up?
It looks like the Yankees and LeMahieu dodged a bullet. After missing most of September and being left off the postseason roster with a foot injury, LeMahieu avoided surgery and is looking to be on track for spring training.
But how will he hold up?
Last season, LeMahieu was used all over the field, and when his foot was acting up he was purely a DH. The Yankees will look to ease him into playing but they’ll eventually need to see him on the field.
With Giancarlo Stanton being the DH and Rizzo manning first base, they’ll need to see him at second and third base this spring. Finding out if LeMahieu’s fielding and bat can return to his All-Star form after his injury will be something to keep an eye on.
With Frankie Montas out, who will round out the starting rotation?
It’s a bit of a new-look starting rotation. Gerrit Cole remains, but gone are Jameson Taillon and Jordan Montgomery. Rodon was the big free agent signing and will slide into the No. 2 spot in the rotation.
However, Montas — the big trade deadline acquisition from last season — will miss the first month of the regular season.
Cole and Rodon are rotation locks along with Nestor Cortes. Luis Severino and Domingo German are likely to get some looks, but will the Yanks try to see what they have in some of their young arms?
Clarke Schmidt is a good candidate for some starter innings, meanwhile Michael King will be eased back into his bullpen role after suffering an elbow injury last season.
Anthony Volpe and the shortstop competition
Isiah Kiner-Falefa‘s defense at shortstop regressed as the season went on, and his bat left a lot to be desired. This spring, manager Aaron Boone and the rest of the organization will have to give the position a good hard look.
Sure, IKF will be in the running to win the job, but when there’s plenty of talented youngsters waiting in the wings it feels like an inevitability that one of them will take it.
First, we have Oswald Peraza. The youngster got a taste of the big leagues late last season and there’s not much left for him to learn in the minors. Peraza should really get the bulk of the reps at shortstop this spring to not just get accustomed to playing with big leaguers but to gain a rapport with the second baseman — more on that later.
I predicted Peraza would win the shortstop job, but that doesn’t mean Volpe shouldn’t also get a look.
Volpe made it to Triple-A in the second half of last season, so he can still learn a thing or two down there. The more likely scenario is that Volpe starts the season in the minors before they inevitably bring him up.
How will the infield shake out?
The problem last year for the Yanks was that they had an influx of infielders and they seemingly had a different lineup each game. While it worked out as players were injured, like when LeMahieu went down, they should really have a set infield for the regular season — and that’s what we all should be looking out for at spring training.
Rizzo is the first baseman, but second, third and shortstop are all up for grabs, in theory. Heck, even the catcher spot isn’t guaranteed. Granted, Jose Trevino has the edge, but will Kyle Higashioka remain the backup or will Ben Rortvedt — remember him? — emerge as a viable option.
Josh Donaldson‘s contract likely means he’ll get the bulk of the games at third, but if he scuffles in spring training and IKF shows that he can bring that Gold Glove-level defense to the hot corner like he did with the Texas Rangers, will that change some minds?
Where does Gleyber Torres fit, especially with LeMahieu coming back? And then we have the shortstop position, which we discussed above.