I will admit, I am embarrassed. I had this all planned out - I wanted to have a 2019 Spring Preview article series completed during spring training... and unfortunately I only got a couple articles into it. I apologize for those looking forward to reading that series, I had a lot to say and there was definitely a lot to talk about. Unfortunately with Spring Training coming to an end, it's probably more productive to talk about the twenty-five guys the Yankees will be bringing back to the Bronx with them to start the season. So, if you can find it in your heart to forgive me and continue reading this article, I would be eternally grateful.
Like I had mentioned, Spring Training wraps up tonight as the Yankees play their spring finale in Washington D.C. against the Nationals. After tonight, it will be a long two days off until the Bombers open their 2019 campaign Thursday when they host the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. The projected starters for this game are Masahiro Tanaka (2018 - 12-6, 3.75 ERA) for the Yankees and Alex Cobb (2018 - 5-15, 4.90 ERA) for the Orioles.
It was announced that Tanaka would make the Opening Day start a few weeks ago when Severino went down with his shoulder inflammation. Outside of Severino - this season - Tanaka makes the most sense to take the ball the first game of the year. I am anxious to see the kind of pitcher James Paxton will be this regular season, BUT seeing as he is new to the team this year I feel like it's important to the team and fans to have a Yankee veteran such as Tanaka to take on this responsibility. This will be Tanaka's FOURTH Opening Day start.
With Tanaka getting the nod for Opening Day, lets take a look at the rest of the projected starting rotation, based on where we are at the close of spring.
STARTING ROTATION: 1. Masahiro Tanaka 2. James Paxton 3. J.A. Happ 4. Domingo German 5. C.C. Sabathia
The Yankees have dealt with some injuries this spring, most notably the injury to ace Luis Severino. And while the Yankees made a late spring signing with Gio Gonzalez, he will absolutely need more time to prepare for the season before seeing any MLB action. Sevy won't be back until May, so the team will work with their depth within the organization to fill out the rotation until everyone gets healthy. J.A. Happ struggled this spring, and hasn't pitched in a game in a while - one would assume he got his work in on the side. Both Domingo German and Luis Cessa had outstanding springs, but only one will get a rotation spot. Both were deserving, but this time it goes to German. I am hopeful they can carry that effectiveness into the regular season. Sabathia has not made a spring appearance, and him being on the Opening Day roster is merely a formality. If you remember in his final game of the season, he was ejected for plunking some jabroni on the Rays and was given a 5-game suspension. Well, Sabathia will serve his suspension to start of the season, and will likely be placed on the Injured List after he serves his time. Once that happens, the Yankees will call-up Jonathan Loaisiga to take CC's or bump Luis Cessa to the rotation and pitch Jonny Lasagna in long relief.
BULLPEN: 1. Aroldis Chapman 2. Zack Britton 3. Luis Cessa 4. Chad Green 5. Jonathan Holder 6. Tommy Kahnle 7. Adam Ottavino 8. Stephen Tarpley
You will notice that flamethrower Dellin Betances is not on this list. That's because he, similar to Severino, had experienced some should issues during spring and will start the season on the Injured List. If you had seen any of Betances' appearances during the spring, you'll have noticed he was seriously lacking in velocity. He usually has to build up his velocity throughout the spring, but this time there was no build-up. So, he has been shut down. Even without Betances, the Yankee bullpen is quite exciting. If they can remain healthy all year then I think we will all be pleased with the results. As I had already mentioned, Cessa will start the season in the pen, alongside carry overs from 2018 - Chapman, Britton, Green, and Holder. Tommy Kahnle makes his return, as he had a terrible off-year in 2018. The Yankees added stud reliever Adam Ottavino via free agency, he has one of the nastiest sliders you'll ever see. Do you think he could strike out Babe Ruth? Stephen Tarpley was the surprise of the spring as he pitched 11.1 innings this spring without surrendering a run! Kind of hard to keep him off the roster.
If you are good at math, you'll notice the Yankees will be carrying 13 pitchers to start the season. A little surprising given there are so many off-days to start the season, and the Yankees could probably use another utility type player... but alas... here we are. Boone had said that they would be carrying this many pitchers about halfway through spring, so... he wasn't kidding.
CATCHERS: 1. Gary Sanchez 2. Austin Romine
No surprises here. The Yankees NEED Gary Sanchez to bounce back after his subpar 2018. He started spring late, and has begun to heat up at the tail end, which should be a good sign for everyone. However, be aware of the Yankee fans calling for him to be traded the first time he strikes out with runners on, or doesn't hustle. Even if he doesn't repeat his .278/33HR/90RBI line from 2017, he's still a power bat and still one of the top catchers in the game... we'll see where Realmuto's numbers are later on this season and compare. Romine could probably start elsewhere, but he enjoys playing in New York and gets along very well with the pitching staff. He is a very serviceable backup catcher.
INFIELD: 1. Greg Bird 2. Luke Voit 3. Gleyber Torres 4. Troy Tulowitzki 5. Miguel Andujar 6. DJ LeMahieu
For at least the time being, the First Base competition has been settled. What I mean is that it HASN'T been settled. Confused? Here's the skinny, because of Aaron Hicks' injury that has opened up a spot for BOTH Greg Bird and Luke Voit. I say it hasn't been settled because they will still split time at first. This will give Boone and company a longer look at both, since they both performed quite well this spring. At some point though, they will have to make a decision and with all things equal, I would have to pick Bird - sorry Team Voit. Better glove and left hand bat. Troy Tulowitzki will be the Opening Day shortstop - never thought I would have to say that. He had a slow spring, with some hits sprinkled in there. He still needs to get his timing down, but this is not the same Troy Tulowitzki from 2017. The defense is there. Let's all hold our breath and hope he stays healthy. D.J. LeMahieu is going to be this year's Neil Walker. The Yankees love his makeup, his glove and his ability to play any infield position. My concern is finding him consistent playing time and getting him consistent at-bats. Just keep in mind, he has to adjust to a new league, new team, and consistently playing a different position. We all saw how long it took Neil Walker to adjust...
OUTFIELD: 1. Giancarlo Stanton 2. Brett Gardner 3. Aaron Judge 4. Mike Tauchman
Last but not least, the outfield. There has been drama swirling all offseason about the outfield. From the thought of adding Bryce Harper to Aaron Hicks injury to giving Tyler Wade a shot as the team's fourth outfielder... well, do you see Wade's name on the list? That's because on Saturday, Cashman traded young pitching prospect Phil Diehl to Colorado in exchange for Mike Tauchman (pronounced TOCK-min - thanks Baseball Reference). Once the Yankees acquired Tauchman, they optioned Tyler Wade to AAA, pretty much assuring that Mr. Mike would be on the Opening Day roster. This caught a lot of us off guard, as we all thought Tyler Wade would get a shot as the fourth outfielder. He had been playing a lot of outfield recently, giving you the impression the Yankees were testing him out there. With his speed and athleticism, he did an admirable job. On top of that, Wade has had a very good spring - more than good enough to at least let him start the season as the fourth outfielder until the return of Hicks. Alas, the guy that has been with the team for 10 minutes will get the roster spot. Don't worry all you die-hard Wade fans, we will probably see him soon (Troy Tulowitzki's health has a lot to do with that). Tauchman certainly is qualified, as he has experience playing all three outfield positions. He has also MASHED in AAA, in 351 AAA games he's posted a .312 AVG / 44 HR / 300 RBI and in 2018 he hit .323 AVG / 20 HR / 81 RBI. The problem is in 52 MLB games he's only hit an unimpressive .153 AVG / 0 HR / 2 RBI (59 AB's). He really hasn't been given a chance since the Rockies have had a crowded outfield. I understand the move, I just question the timing. But hey, I don't run the team. Aside from this little nugget of information, we already know about Hicks' injury and the fact that Judge and Stanton will likely have monster years. Brett Gardner is out to prove he's not done yet, he had a fantastic spring and I really hope he can shut up all the critics. As for Jacoby Ellsbury, he's been shut down AGAIN - I really don't think he plays an inning this year (this could have also been a big reason for the Tauchman trade).
With all that said, I personally am excited for 2019 to get underway, not only because it marks the return of baseball but because the Yankees have a lot to be excited about. I know navigating through the twitter-verse with always be interesting, stressful, annoying, funny, aggravating (I'm running out of adjectives) - but it shouldn't prevent anyone from enjoying the season.
The Yankees have a lot of really high expectations and hopefully they are able to bring home a championship.