The New York Yankees are scheduled to attend spring training 2.0 in the Bronx in just one day. What a wait it has been for fans of baseball and the Bronx Bombers, having dealt with the MLB and Players Association going back-and-forth on financial negotiations. However, the day has finally come where can begin to let our excitement get the best of us.
Now we can start to iron out how the active roster will look.
The Yankees released their summer camp roster, which is composed of 58 players, some of which will be battling for the final four spots on the active roster. Due to a condensed schedule, the league has expanded the roster from 26 to 30 players.
The player pool established by the team will have to be cut down to 30, but the original 40 man roster remains pretty much intact. Now, due to injuries prior to spring training, the lineup looked quite different several months ago. The Yankees were set to start the season without Aaron Judge, Aaron hicks, potentially Giancarlo Stanton, and without several starting pitchers.
They have been given extra time to heal and recover from their individual injuries, and reports indicate that judge could be ready for the start of the regular season in late July, and Hicks will also be available to start in centerfield.
Here’s a look at the projected batting order for the New York Yankees:
- 2BÂ DJ LeMahieu
- RFÂ Aaron Judge
- CFÂ Aaron Hicks
- DHÂ Giancarlo Stanton
- SSÂ Gleyber Torres
- CÂ Gary Sanchez
- 1BÂ Luke Voit
- 3BÂ Gio Urshela
- LFÂ Brett Gardner
This order looks similar to 2019, especially with DJ LeMahieu leading off and Judge following close behind. While I might prefer Torres to hit in the No. 3 spot instead of Aaron Hicks, inserting a switch hitter, could be beneficial to create diversity.
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Hicks hit .222 with six home runs in the three spot last year, which might convince manager Aaron Boone to consider another player there. The Yankees’ lineup is strong from top to bottom, giving them more than enough talent to supplement moving Torres up two slots.
Nonetheless, Sanchez and Voit hitting back-to-back give the Yankees two sluggers who can put runs on the board at any given moment. Behind Torres, who can get on base at a high-level, this seems to be a tactical move. I do like Urshela and Gardner in the eight and nine spots given their minor unpredictability, but both represent quality.