New York Yankees: 3 major storylines, notes as the Yanks head into the Opener

Fight the injury bug.

Once again, the Yankees find themselves battling the injury bug. However, this time it is hitting them during the offseason/Spring Training which I suppose is much better than during the middle of the season.

Pardon me if I am forgetting any, there are just so many, but Didi Gregorius, Aaron Hicks, C.C. Sabathia, Luis Severino, Dellin Betances, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jordan Montgomery, and Ben Heller are all listed on the injury list at the time of this writing. Some of those players might only miss a little bit of time while others are out for the foreseeable future.

So, it is not the amount that the Yankees have, it really isn’t all that bad it is just where the injuries are that sting. A key starter, reliever, and batter are all injured. That is going to deplete the Yankees regardless of who is injured. It just so happens to be four of the most important players on the team. (Sabathia, Severino, Didi, and Betances.)

The Yankees will be entering the season already testing the limits of their depth. I would even argue the number one reason for brining Tulowitzki on was solely because the Yanks knew how long Didi would be out.

A lingering impact of the Hicks injury is forcing Stanton to be in the outfield. While capable of playing the field, Stanton is the poster chid for what I would want a team’s DH to be. The wear and tear of the outfield is unneeded for the Yanks in that regard.

Thankfully, the infield depth is fine now thanks to the parts I have already mentioned. The Yankees have three, four, true aces when everyone is healthy so losing pitching is impactful, but I am fine with Masahiro Tanaka getting the number one spot for the early stretch of the season, for now.

Last year, Aaron Judge missed time. No player is more valuable on the Yankees than him. That still stands true for this season They overcame that to still win 100 games and make the playoffs. The key for the Yankees is not to avoid injuries altogether, I mean they should try, but they are part of the game, it is to make sure they continue to overcome and stay on top of the ones they are already dealing with.

In spite of everything I just mentioned, the Yankees still have a really solid, what I would say a B+ roster on Opening Day. Once those guys come back, it’ll be an A roster again. That is a wonderful thing, folks.

What do you think is the most interesting thing about the Yankees as they begin the season? Let us know in the comments below or find us on social media. It’s baseball season now! We would love to talk baseball with you all!