Last season wasn’t pretty for the New York Yankees in terms of the health of the players. They set a Major League Baseball record with 30 players landing themselves on the injured list. It seemed never-ending, and this year the Yankees have already experienced a little bit of the bad luck they had last year. James Paxton was announced last week that he’ll be missing the first three to four months of the season with a back injury.
Manager Aaron Boone has said that he doesn’t see any other team that will stand in the Yankees way this season, as he’s confident for another successful season. With that being said, Boone talked about how he’s concerned about the team avoiding injuries and staying healthy.
In a Q&A with the New York Post, this is what Boone had to say about his concern regarding health:
“Obviously last year was a year in which we dealt with a lot of health issues, but also had a lot of people step up and got some really good answers on a number of people that were required to step in and contribute. My concerns are just the day to day. My focus right now is on spring training. Spring training entails trying to get individuals ready. We’re not trying to win games, obviously, down here, we’re trying to get individuals ready, and everyone’s a little but different. Some guys are coming off injury, some guys are veterans that you’re gonna slow-play a little bit more in spring. Some guys are trying to compete a little bit more for a job. So my focus right now is on making sure we’re getting the proper work in behind the scenes as far as our defensive work, our work in the weight room, and in the bullpen, in the batting cage, all those things, that we’re paying attention and really making sure we’re getting after it each and every day so that we can lay that foundation that puts us in a good position to go out and potentially win a championship.”
The New York Yankees hired a new head trainer so hopefully, this season won’t be like last year. To win number 28, the Yankees will need all pieces of the puzzle on board.