The New York Yankees have very little left to do to ensure their team is ready to compete for a World Series in 2020. They’ve signed Gerrit Cole, arguably the best pitcher in all of baseball, retained key contributors and depth pieces, and re-invigorated their strength and conditioning program.
Sometimes, those behind-the-scenes moves are more influential than you may think, as the Yankees led the league in injuries last year (39 separate stints on the injured list).
Moving forward, the Bombers need to be more careful with their players and ensure proper treatment to avoid soft-tissue injuries. Slugger, Giancarlo Stanton, missed virtually all of 2019 with a number of different ailments, and Aaron Judge also missed significant time, mostly due to freak accidents, like being hit on the wrist by a pitch.
However, establishing an active back-end program to improve player health going into the regular season was the goal, and the Yankees did just that with Eric Cressey, a renowned conditioning coach. Last season, manager Aaron Boone led his men into battle without Luis Severino and Dellin Betances, who both picked up injuries during the pre-season. Since then, Betances has moved on, and Severino has moved back in the pitching rotation (second behind Cole).
Could Gio Urshela be a potential backup shortstop for the Yankees?
Let’s not get things twisted; the Yankees fully expect Urshela to feature on the hot corner, as he posted a 3.4 rWAR with Miguel Andujar riding the bench with a torn Labrum. Since Andujar needs more time to recover and return to form, offensively, Urshela will slot right in after hitting .314 in 2019 with 21 homers. However, Urshela could also be the backup shortstop if need be, according to MLB’s Bryan Hoch.
Urshela certainly could handle the position on a fill-in basis; while the Yankees didn’t use him there in 2019, he appeared in 13 big league games as a shortstop for the Indians and Blue Jays. Considering Urshela is viewed as the probable Opening Day third baseman, Thairo Estrada and Tyler Wade project as the more likely in-house backups for Torres. The Yanks are also open to adding an experienced middle-infield option, preferably on a Minor League agreement.