Without Dellin Betances, Luis Severino, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Aaron Hick, Didi Gregorius, and more for a chunk of the 2019 season, the New York Yankees still managed to scrape 103 wins together on the backs of reserve players.
This can be viewed in two ways — Aaron Boone is a phenomenal coach, or the reserve players just played above expectations. I believe it was a mix of both, as players like Gio Urshela, Cameron Maybin, and Mike Tauchman don’t just rise from the ashes without a bit of magic.
The New York Yankees needed their big-names entirely healthy for the postseason:
However, big-names can also fall into a similar category, whether it be at the hands of injury or cold-streak. Giancarlo Stanton was one of those players in 2019, as he missed virtually all of 2019 with a bevy of injuries. He appeared in just 59 at-bats all of the last season, earning him a .288 BA with three homers.
“I think it was very frustrating for him. And, to his credit, he handled it very well,” Boone said Tuesday on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio. “He was in such a good place last year, going into the season — not only physically, but mentally.
“I felt like his process and his work, even in the small amount of games that he did play for us, is at that quality to start the season before he got hurt. Then, he came back and had the fluke (injury), where he hurt his knee on a weird slide into third base. His at-bats and his focus and his process really, really good last year. I felt like he was going to have a monster season for us. And I feel that way very much going into this year.
Returning to full health in 2020 is the priority for Stanton, and Boone is confident he can make a marvelous return to form:
“So the big thing is going to be just keeping him healthy, keeping him built up properly, using spring training smartly. And I do feel like he’s got a special season. The desire and the burn is very much there.”
Stanton’s abilities range far and wide, but he will likely slot into the designated hitter role more often than not, as a precaution for injury. The Yankees went a step further, though, renovating their strength and conditioning program, hiring Eric Cressey to oversee operations.
Cressey is a renowned strength coach, specializing in player health and maintenance. He should play an instrumental role in lowering the number of soft tissue injuries and injury list stints from 2019 (39).
The Yankees are still on the hook for nine more years of Stanton’s $325 million guaranteed deal, and taking the necessary steps to extract as much value as possible is the ultimate goal. Cressey should help in this facet.