New York Yankees fans want nothing more than seeing their team return to the World Series. To do that, the organization needs to have these four goals in mind in what is shaping up to be an extremely competitive American League.
Fix the offense
The Yankees’ offense was mediocre in 2021, and if you followed the team last year, that isn’t a secret. They finished 19th in runs scored with 711, far off the Houston Astros’ 863. Clearly, the Yanks have so much more potential than that.
They let former hitting coach Marcus Thames go and replaced him with the pro-analytics Dillon Lawson. The Yankees hope he can help jumpstart the offense again, focusing on struggling stars Gleber Torres (94 wRC+), DJ LeMahieu (100 wRC+), Joey Gallo (95 wRC+), and Gary Sanchez (99 wRC+).
Bring in at least two starters
The Yankees lost Corey Kluber, and while they will have Luis Severino healthy to start the season, he isn’t a lock to pitch past 150 innings. Jameson Taillon could start the season on the injured list, too.
The Yankees need to sign, or trade for, at least two starters: a mid-rotation stalwart and a back-end type. They already have an ace in Gerrit Cole, so they are covered there, but they need reliable arms to fill out the rotation.
Take as many “winnable” games as possible
The 2021 Yankees finished with a solid 92-70 record, but it could have been so much better had they taken advantage of the lowly Baltimore Orioles. New York finished their season against the O’s with a mediocre 11-8 record against them. Take the example of the Rays: they won 18 of their 19 games against Baltimore.
The 2022 will be too close in the AL East for the Yankees to throw away “winnable” games with astounding frequency.
Keep Luis Severino healthy and fresh
Since dominating in 2017 and 2018, Yankees’ righty Luis Severino broke down and suffered lots of injuries that limited him to 18 innings in the last three seasons. He lost all 2020 with Tommy John surgery, and didn’t return until September 2021, as a reliever.
He will presumably return to the rotation in 2022, but the Yankees need to come up with a plan to keep his arm and body fresh throughout the year. It’s the ultimate New Year resolution for New York.