After 6 months of waiting the baseball season is starting again. For the Yankees, opening day will take place in Tampa Bay on April 2nd when they battle the Rays.
Baseball fans are counting the hours after a very busy offseason with many big transactions, new players and coaches, and renewed rivalries.
New-look Yankees Team Ready for 2017
After three very disappointing seasons, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman decided that big changes were needed. The veteran players were a little too long-toothed, earning a lot of money but not performing as expected. These big name, big contract players were interesting to other teams, so finding them homes served several purposes. Not only did they unload some payroll, replacing those players with thriftier versions, but it also freed up cash for other talent.
Who are these young players?
The farm system is good but nothing special, so the tacit of trusting the young players wasn’t an option.
The Yankees let player like Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman, Brian McCann and Alex Rodriguez go away so these players can play, but who are they?
Gary Sanchez
Sanchez is a 24-year-old catcher who has amazing power. Last year he replaced McCann and was unstoppable. He had 20 home runs and was second in the Rookie of the League ranking after playing for only two months. It will be interesting to monitor what he can do when he plays a complete season.
Clint Frazier
Frazier is a very young talented outfielder. He was traded for Andrew Miller of the New York Yankees at the 2016 trade deadline along with three other players. The 22 year old hasn’t debuted in the mayors this year but played amazing in the minors last year.
Gleyber Torres
Torres is the best prospect of this group. He occupies the top-ranked short stop and seventh overall in the MLB ranking. The Cubs traded Torres to the Yankees for Aroldis Chapman. Like Frazier, Torres hasn’t played in MLB but last year in the minors he was crowned as league MVP.
What can we expect from the Yankees this season?
There is a lot of talent in this team. With so many changes and several unknowns, expectations are far from sky-high. A trip to the post-season in an extremely competitive division that also features Boston, Toronto, and even Baltimore, may be a best case scenario.
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