New York Yankees: Off-season Recap
We are a just a few days away from Opening Day for the 2019 baseball season. The New York Yankees open the season against the Baltimore Orioles in the Bronx. Yankees Universe is super excited and anxious to watch this team. The second season of Giancarlo Stanton should be fascinating to watch as he should be more comfortable in New York. A healthy Aaron Judge could result into 50 home runs like his rookie season in 2017. The sophomore seasons of Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar are very intriguing as they both put together great rookie years. The addition of James Paxton has fans everwhere so anxious to see how he handles the big stage of New York City. There are so many players to look forward to watch this season.
The Yankees made a ton of moves this winter to improve their team on the field. They brought back numerous of their own Free Agents while signing some new faces. The Yanks also made a major trade to land a top Starting Pitcher. Lets talk about the new faces that made their way to Bronx!
Yankees Sign Former Rockies & Starting Pitcher
DJ LeMahieu — 2 years for $24 Million
Troy Tulowitzki — 1 year for league minimum
Adam Ottavino — 3 years for $27 Million
Gio Gonzalez — 1 year on a Minor League Deal w/ Incentives
The Yankees went out and made a few very solid signings to give this roster more depth. Second Baseman, DJ LeMahieu, was signed to solidify an already great infield. LeMahieu will be able to play all over the infield but his main position is second base. Gleyber Torres is the future at that position but with Didi Gregorius out until the summer, Gleyber will start a handful of games at Shortstop. That gives LeMahieu multiple starts at second base and he will have some starts at Third Base when Miguel Andujar needs a day off. Troy Toluwitzki was bought out by the Toronto Blue Jays this winter giving him an opportunity to sign elsewhere. Tulo grew up a huge Derek Jeter fan and alwasy envisioned himself playing in the Bronx. He made that decision to sign with the Yankees and play shortstop while Didi recovers from Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow. The Yankees will have a lot of depth once Didi returns giving Manager Aaron Boone a good problem to deal with when that time comes.
Adam Ottavino was my favorite off season signing because this guy is a nasty option out of the bullpen. He has one of the best sliders in the game and it should be fun watching him. He grew up a Yankees fan and wanted nothing more than to become a New York Yankee. He comes into an already stacked bullpen but he will receive his fair share of relief appearances and I believe he will be the second best reliever behind Aroldis Chapman. Another pitcher was added to the starting rotation for depth just yesterday. Gio Gonzalez was brought in to add to this rotation as Luis Severino and CC Sabathia recover from injury. Gio’s contract is a very friendly one for the Yankees. He gets a Minor League deal and can opt of the contract on April 20th if he is not on the MLB Roster by then. If he gets to the MLB Roster he gets a base salary of $3 million and will then receive 300K per start moving into the season. I think he will crack the MLB Roster for the Yankees sometime in April and be fairly average during the season. This signing allows the Yankees to not rush Severino back from his shoulder inflammation. The key for this starting rotation is to be healthy in October not in April.
Yanks Bring Back Four Key Players
Brett Gardner — 1 year for $7.5 Million
CC Sabathia — 1 year for $8 Million
Zack Britton — 3 years for $39 Million
J.A. Happ — 2 years for $34 Million
The Yankees brought back two must haves leaders in Brett Gardner and CC Sabathia. They both were rewarded pretty nicely for their Leadership roles they have in the clubhouse. They both wanted to come back and play another season in the Bronx to handle some unfinished business that this group of players are out to conquer. CC and Gardner will both play important roles on this team and both will have amazing moments in the upcoming season.
The Yankees brought back two players after acquiring both of them before last years trade deadline. Zack Britton and J.A. Happ were great for the Yankees down the stretch and both earned contracts to return to the Yankees. Britton and Happ mentioned they loved the way the Yankees go about baseball business. They both felt they were treated differently for the good in the Yankees clubhouse and it made them want to return to help this team win in 2019. Britton adds a dynamic lefty presence in the bullpen and Happ brings a veteran mindset on the mound once every five days. These two pitchers will make a great impact in the Bronx.
The Big Maple Comes to the Big Apple
James Paxton was traded to the New York Yankees from the Seattle Mariners for top pitching prospect, Justus Sheffield, Right-hander Erik Swanson and outfielder Don Thompson-Williams. Yankee fans were sad to see Sheffield go as he was the top pitching prospect for two seasons in the Yankees system. We all looked forward to having him in the Starting rotation for years to come. This trade brings in a sure thing in Paxton as one of the better left hand starters in the league. Sheffield still had things to work on and no prospect is a sure thing. Paxton will slot in as the number two starter behind Luis Severino when he is healthy. I felt Paxton was worthy to receive the Opening Day start but Masahiro Tanaka was rewarded that start as he deserves it! Paxton has the potential to be “that second ace” in New York as long as he stays healthy
The Harper/Machado Free Agency
There had been countless rumors stemming back to 2016 that Bryce Harper and Manny Machado would sign with the Yankees when they were Free Agents in 2019. Those rumors turned out to be well just rumors. Harper signed with the Phillies and Machado signed with the Padres. We have learned a little bit that Machado’s preferred team was the Yankees but the Yankees did not want to meet his contract demands. Harper has been outspoken about his love for the Yankees but recently said that the Yankees never contacted him or his representatives. If these two players were never Free Agents this off season I believe that Yankee fans would be absolutely thrilled about the moves that Brian Cashman made this winter. But these two players were on the Market and some Yankee fans still complain and question Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner for not getting one of these generational talents. Was it smart to pass on these two stud players? Only time will tell but this Yankees team is very talented and according to Las Vegas the Yankees are the favorites to win the World Series in 2019.
I was one of the Yankee fans that was pushing to sign Harper more than anything. I was very vocal about it on Twitter and I was a fan of signing Machado if Harper did not work out. With that being said they both have signed elsewhere and its been easy to move on because of the great players the Yankees already have in that clubhouse. Brian Cashman made some great moves this winter to improve this team and I am thrilled about this team going into the 2019 season well except for all the recent injuries. This team should win 100 games and we will see what happens in October!
Follow Craig Tucker on Twitter | @jctucker_3
