Thoughts on the Yankees Heading Into 2020: Vol. 1
It's that wonderful time of year when the big leagues begin to thaw out in Arizona and Florida. The storylines of the off-season have thankfully taken a backseat to live baseball this weekend, but there is still plenty to unpack in Yankeeland. With recent developments in Houston and Boston, the Yankees are expected to be the class of the American League, so let's dig into some thoughts on what the team looks like this spring.
Thanks for the memories, Didi
Prior to the 2015 season, Didi Gregorius was given a simple and impossible task: replace a legend. After failing to impress in brief stints with Cincinnati and Arizona, the 25-year old shortstop was thrown into the gigantic hole left by Derek Jeter's retirement. The odds were not in his favor.
The Yankees stuck with Gregorius as their regular shortstop for the entire year and he rewarded their faith in him. His relatively weak bat was still better than Jeter's had been in 2014 and he was among the best fielding shortstops in the league. In terms of value, his 3.1 WAR far exceeded any season Jeter had since 2009. Not too shabby.
Over the next four seasons Gregorius would drastically change his hitting approach to aggressively maximize his home field advantage as a lefty in Yankee Stadium. The goal was to make hard contact and direct it towards right field at all costs. Didi executed the plan masterfully as he went from a light-hitting shortstop to a reliable run producer that could hit 20+ home runs per year in the middle of the lineup.
Gregorius also had a knack for coming through in the clutch. No moment was greater than his first at bat of the 2017 Wild Card Game. The Yankees were on the ropes in the bottom of the first after spotting the Minnesota Twins three runs in the top of the inning. Batting cleanup, Didi came to the plate with two runners on and worked a full count before unloading on a fastball from Ervin Santana that found the right field seats in a hurry. The home run sapped the Twins' momentum dry as the Yankees cruised to an 8-4 victory and embarked on the most exciting playoff run fans had seen in years.
This past season was a down year for Didi. He missed significant time due to recovery from Tommy John surgery. When he did play, his batting average plummeted and his glove at shortstop was not up to par. As a 30-year old whose game is reliant on skills that don't tend to age well (hard contact, quality glove), the Yankees chose not to bring Gregorius back this season. It's a tough pill to swallow for Yankee fans - especially after he wound up signing a reasonable one-year deal with the Phillies - but in true Didi fashion he left us with a nice parting gift.
What the Yankees will miss most from Gregorius has nothing to do with his sweet left-handed swing or postseason heroics. For years, he has been the prototypical "clubhouse guy". His infectious smile and happy-go-lucky attitude kept his teammates loose throughout the grind of baseball's regular season. He was also the most ardent cheerleader on the team as evidenced by his twitter recaps for every Yankee win. They were always chock full of shout-outs to his teammates and conspicuously absent of any of his own personal accomplishments.
Even the most optimistic of Yankee fans could not have seen how successful and important Did Gregorius would become once he replaced the legendary Derek Jeter. You'll be missed, Didi, and we'll be rooting for you. Unless the Yankees meet the Phillies in the World Series, of course.
Over the next four seasons Gregorius would drastically change his hitting approach to aggressively maximize his home field advantage as a lefty in Yankee Stadium. The goal was to make hard contact and direct it towards right field at all costs. Didi executed the plan masterfully as he went from a light-hitting shortstop to a reliable run producer that could hit 20+ home runs per year in the middle of the lineup.
Didi Gregorius turned his lefty swing into a violent weapon as a Yankee.
Keith Allison/Wikimedia Commons
This past season was a down year for Didi. He missed significant time due to recovery from Tommy John surgery. When he did play, his batting average plummeted and his glove at shortstop was not up to par. As a 30-year old whose game is reliant on skills that don't tend to age well (hard contact, quality glove), the Yankees chose not to bring Gregorius back this season. It's a tough pill to swallow for Yankee fans - especially after he wound up signing a reasonable one-year deal with the Phillies - but in true Didi fashion he left us with a nice parting gift.
What the Yankees will miss most from Gregorius has nothing to do with his sweet left-handed swing or postseason heroics. For years, he has been the prototypical "clubhouse guy". His infectious smile and happy-go-lucky attitude kept his teammates loose throughout the grind of baseball's regular season. He was also the most ardent cheerleader on the team as evidenced by his twitter recaps for every Yankee win. They were always chock full of shout-outs to his teammates and conspicuously absent of any of his own personal accomplishments.
Even the most optimistic of Yankee fans could not have seen how successful and important Did Gregorius would become once he replaced the legendary Derek Jeter. You'll be missed, Didi, and we'll be rooting for you. Unless the Yankees meet the Phillies in the World Series, of course.
Last man standing, Brett Gardner, is not slowing down
Brett Gardner is the last remnant on the Yankees' roster from their magical World Series run in 2009. The second longest tenured Yankee on the roster is pitcher Masahiro Tanaka who joined the team in 2014, or six years after Gardner's pinstripe debut. In short, Brett Gardner is old.
Age isn't preventing the Yankees from keeping Gardner employed though. Especially when coming off of arguably his best season at the plate with a career-high 28 home runs. In fact, with Aaron Hicks recovering from off-season surgery and Mike Tauchman and Miguel Andujar unproven in everyday outfield roles, Gardner may be more important than ever to the team. Which is remarkable considering how his career started.
After a long trek through the minor league system, Gardner was a light-hitting speedster with Gold Glove potential in center field when he broke into the majors. He struggled to adjust to big league pitching in his first two seasons in pinstripes, but by 2010 his grind-it-out approach finally paid dividends. On a team full of sluggers that scored the most runs in the AL, Gardner led them all with a .383 on-base percentage.
Gardner also didn't disappoint as a base-runner and fielder. He was, and still is, among the best fielders in the league at any position and led the AL in stolen bases with 49 in 2011. An elbow injury cost him most of the 2012 season, but when he returned in 2013 he was approaching 30 years old, slowly losing his speed, and in need of a transformation to maintain his production.
Still able to work deep into counts with the best of them, rather than just drawing walks to take advantage on the basepaths, Gardner took a more aggressive approach. He picked on pitches that he could hit hardest and let loose when he found them. The result was a significant jump in extra base hits and an ever-increasing ability to hit the long ball. Suddenly, he was another Yankee hitter that opposing pitchers had to be careful with or get burned.
For about seven years now, Gardner has kept that up even as he approaches his late 30's. He's been durable, averaging 146 games played per year, and hasn't lost his touch in the field over the years. Put it all together and his 26.4 WAR since 2013 (including 4.0 in 2019) ranks 25th best in the majors, ahead of superstars Bryce Harper, J.D. Martinez, and Justin Upton.
Entering his 13th season as a Yankee, Gardner has slowly built the case to one day be enshrined in Monument Park, especially if he keeps producing like he did in 2019. All can agree, though, that the best thing he can accomplish this year is becoming the latest of many Yankees to win multiple World Series in pinstripes.
Age isn't preventing the Yankees from keeping Gardner employed though. Especially when coming off of arguably his best season at the plate with a career-high 28 home runs. In fact, with Aaron Hicks recovering from off-season surgery and Mike Tauchman and Miguel Andujar unproven in everyday outfield roles, Gardner may be more important than ever to the team. Which is remarkable considering how his career started.
After a long trek through the minor league system, Gardner was a light-hitting speedster with Gold Glove potential in center field when he broke into the majors. He struggled to adjust to big league pitching in his first two seasons in pinstripes, but by 2010 his grind-it-out approach finally paid dividends. On a team full of sluggers that scored the most runs in the AL, Gardner led them all with a .383 on-base percentage.
Patience at the plate is a cornerstone of Brett Gardner's game.
Arturo Pardavila III/Wikimedia Commons
Gardner also didn't disappoint as a base-runner and fielder. He was, and still is, among the best fielders in the league at any position and led the AL in stolen bases with 49 in 2011. An elbow injury cost him most of the 2012 season, but when he returned in 2013 he was approaching 30 years old, slowly losing his speed, and in need of a transformation to maintain his production.
Still able to work deep into counts with the best of them, rather than just drawing walks to take advantage on the basepaths, Gardner took a more aggressive approach. He picked on pitches that he could hit hardest and let loose when he found them. The result was a significant jump in extra base hits and an ever-increasing ability to hit the long ball. Suddenly, he was another Yankee hitter that opposing pitchers had to be careful with or get burned.
For about seven years now, Gardner has kept that up even as he approaches his late 30's. He's been durable, averaging 146 games played per year, and hasn't lost his touch in the field over the years. Put it all together and his 26.4 WAR since 2013 (including 4.0 in 2019) ranks 25th best in the majors, ahead of superstars Bryce Harper, J.D. Martinez, and Justin Upton.
Entering his 13th season as a Yankee, Gardner has slowly built the case to one day be enshrined in Monument Park, especially if he keeps producing like he did in 2019. All can agree, though, that the best thing he can accomplish this year is becoming the latest of many Yankees to win multiple World Series in pinstripes.
State of the bullpen
Much has been made this winter about the circumstances under which Jose Altuve ended the Yankees' 2019 season. What's getting lost in that shuffle is the fact that the man who once had the best fastball in the game was relying on his slider to get Altuve out with the season on the line when that home run was hit.
The average velocity on Aroldis Chapman's fastball has dropped by 1 MPH each year over the last three seasons. That is no doubt the biggest reason that his usage of it has decreased as well. If there's any concern that Chapman is losing confidence in his heater, it doesn't exist in the Yankee front office. He was brought back on a hefty three-year contract to remain locked in as their closer.
Aroldis Chapman is relying more heavily on his slider these days.
Keith Allison/Wikimedia Commons
To be fair, Chapman had a tremendous year in 2019, and he could very well continue to make his new slider/fastball combo work, but it will be interesting to see how this plays out for the soon-to-be 32 year old. Especially considering that the Yankees lost their best safety net at closer when Dellin Betances signed with the Mets in December.
The group behind Chapman in the bullpen remains largely unchanged from last year, one of the best in baseball. Zach Britton - a crafty, sinker-balling lefty - and Adam Ottavino - a right-handed strikeout artist looking to shake off last year's playoff woes - will again serve as the primary bridge to Chapman. Backing them up will be the flame-throwing Tommy Kahnle, who got his career back on track last year. With these arms back in the fold, the bullpen should remain elite this year.
After enjoying some success in a long-relief role last year, Luis Cessa will remain the long man while Chad Green will again be the designated "opener" when he's not serving as a middle reliever out of the 'pen. Green got rocked early in 2019, but bounced back well and started 15 games for the Yankees, never pitching past the second inning in any of them. The team went 11-4 in those games. His start in Game Six of the ALCS was disastrous, so like Ottavino he'll be looking to exorcise some demons.
After enjoying some success in a long-relief role last year, Luis Cessa will remain the long man while Chad Green will again be the designated "opener" when he's not serving as a middle reliever out of the 'pen. Green got rocked early in 2019, but bounced back well and started 15 games for the Yankees, never pitching past the second inning in any of them. The team went 11-4 in those games. His start in Game Six of the ALCS was disastrous, so like Ottavino he'll be looking to exorcise some demons.
Rounding out the bullpen for any remaining innings should be Ben Heller and Jonathan Holder, both of whom have been on the express shuttle between Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and New York often in recent years. Familiar face Adam Warren was also brought back this winter on a minor league deal as insurance. This will be his third stint as a Yankee.
Of the Yankees' relief arms waiting in the minor leagues, Brooks Kriske and Domingo Acevedo are likely the closest to making a major league debut. Neither is a top prospect, though, and the lack of relief prospects in the Yankee pipeline may be a cause for concern. The top four options out of the Yankee bullpen are on the wrong side of 30, so before long some fresh blood will be needed. In the meantime, we can look forward to at least one more season of the Yankees having the best relief corps in the majors.
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