With reports indicating that superstar free agent Manny Machado will sign with the New York Yankees in early January, it’s justified that we begin looking at the batting order.
For the Yankees, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton make up an impressive bout of power and strength, sending 25 balls into the bleachers in 2018. Machado will only add to the intimidation of the lineup as he sent 37 balls over the fence himself last season.
Adding an impressive bat like Manny’s will ultimately propel the batting order into another stratosphere, despite the absence of Didi Gregorius for potentially a significant chunk of the 2019 season.
The order will look something like this:
1.) Brett Gardner/Aaron Hicks
2.) Aaron Judge
3.) Manny Machado
5.) Miguel Andujar
6.) Gary Sanchez
7.) Aaron Hicks/Luke Voit/Greg Bird
8.) Clint Frazier
9.) Gleyber Torres
This lineup will provide balance and power throughout, as Machado has a high on-base-percentage (.367), which will come in handy with two power hitters on either side of him. The difference between a solo or multi-run homer can be significant – the difference between winning and losing on some occasions.
We can make the assumption that Sanchez will also have a better season at the plate. Two groin injuries and offseason shoulder surgery surely contributed to him hitting .186 on the year. He was ineffective for a majority of the year and failed to come up clutch, something that we aren’t used to after successful 2016-17 seasons.
The New York Yankees need to focus on consistency:
Consistency will be key with this order, and having so much star power never hurts. It can mask the cold-streaks of some hitters, something we saw with Stanton last campaign with Judge picking up some of the slack.
Additionally, every opposing pitcher has a game-plan for how they’re going to pitch against each batter, and facing All-Star after All-Star will eventually see them into a losing battle. Battering the confidence and pitch count will be the game to play, and the Yankees will surely have all of the tools to effectively carry this task out.
With the upgrades made, this lineup can surely be World Series caliber if it wasn’t already.