New York Yankees Have Plenty Of Questions As They Prepare For 2023

The New York Yankees team that won 99 games last season, has questions to answer as they enter the new season.

The Yankees were able to retain slugger Aaron Judge during an offseason bidding war that resulted in the Yankees giving Judge a 9-year, $360M contract.

But the World Champion Houston Astros did not stand still. The Yankees American League rivals added All Star first baseman Jose Abreu to a club that already had Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, Jeremy Pena, and more in a star-studded lineup.

Michael Brantley, injured most of last season, returns on a new contract

The Astros pitching staff has also been superb.

Judge, 30. will have a tough time hitting 62 homers and driving in 131 runs, as he did last year.

Consider that in 2021, an All Star season for Judge, he hit 39 homers and drove in 98 runs. That was considered to be a great season. Hitting 62 home runs, and driving in 131? Off the charts.

Pitching Question Marks:

To this writer, the Yankees have certainly fortified their starting pitching by adding two-time All Star lefty Carlos Rodon. Rodon, 30, who was signed away from the San Francisco Giants as a free agent. The Yankees have given Rodon six years and $162M in his new deal.

Question No. 1? Can the pitching staff stay healthy?

Carlos Rodon has been healthy recently, making 24 starts for the White Sox in 2021 and 31 starts for the Giants last year.

Rodon had Tommy John surgery in 2019. Shoulder issues surfaced in 2021.

Last year was the first time Rodon had more than 30 starts. His last two years have been outstanding, and without injury.

Rodon may not make it for the length of his contract, but based upon his performance last year, it looks very favorable for him to have a great 2023 season.

Question No. 2? What is the status of Frankie Montas’ shoulder?

Right-hander Frankie Montas, who will turn 30 in March, is set to undergo shoulder surgery. It is hoped the surgery will not find significant damage. However, history has shown that shoulder issues are tough to repair with pitchers. The team will have to wait to see the results of the surgery to determine if they can count on Montas this season.

It can’t be dismissed that lefty Nestor Cortes had to bow out of playing in the World Baseball Classic due to a hamstring issue. But manager Aaron Boone feels he will be ready for the start of the season.

Luis Severino, who turned 29 February 20, had a good season, making 19 starts. But…he has a history of shoulder and arm miseries that have limited him in his career. Can he stay healthy for 30 starts?

The health of those three starters will mean a great deal to the fortunes of the Yankees.

Offensive Question Marks:

Question No. 1- Is Aaron Hicks capable of being a starting left fielder?

Aaron Hicks has suffered a a serious wrist injury, elbow and back injuries in his past, and a knee injury last year. Can Hicks stay healthy? And if he is healthy, can he hit enough to be the starting left fielder?

If not Hicks, is it Oswaldo Cabrera in left? Cabrera is only 24, and he has only 171 major league plate appearances.

Do the Yankees have a hole in left field? Hicks or Cabrera, take your pick. Does either offer the offense the team needs to drive in runs and help catch the Astros?

Question No. 2- Is it safe to turn the shortstop position over to rookie Oswald Peraza?

The Yankees may be planning to turn the shortstop role over to Oswald Peraza, who is 22-years-old, and has exactly 57 plate appearances.

Yes, he did hit .306/.404/.429/.832 with one homer and two RBI in his brief big league trial.

And yes, Peraza is a very highly rated prospect.

The Yankees have to wonder if Isiah Kiner-Falefa isn’t a better overall option at shortstop for the short-term? Maybe Peraza is ready. But maybe he needs more development time.

How long do the Yankees give Peraza to prove he can do for New York what rookie shortstop Jeremy Pena did for Houston?

Question No. 3-What does third baseman Josh Donaldson have left in his tank?

Josh Donaldson is still a good defensive third baseman. His glove helps Yankees pitchers.

However, last year, his first year with the Yankees, Donaldson hit just .222/.308/.374/.682 with 15 homers and 62 RBIs in 546 plate appearances.

Donaldson, who turned 37 in December, hit 26 homers for Minnesota in 2021. He drove in 72 runs. His offensive decline in New York was evident.

If not Donaldson at third, would it be Kiner-Falefa? Frankly, third base could be an issue on offense.

DJ LeMahieu is still on the Yankees, and he has played third base. Maybe the club will turn to LeMahieu if Donaldson falters. But LeMahieu played in only 125 games last year, due to a serious foot injury. He has avoided surgery.

For this writer, if healthy, LeMahieu may be the best overall option at third base.

Question No. 4- Can Harrison Bader provide the power we saw in the postseason?

Harrison Bader is a Gold Glove caliber centerfielder. In fact, he won a Gold Glove with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2021.

Bader was a career .246 hitter with St. Louis in parts of six seasons. He hit just 52 homers in 1,715 plate appearances.

Last August, the Yankees traded lefty starter Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals to get Bader.

Against the Cleveland Guardians, Bader hit three home runs in 18 plate appearances for the Yankees in the 2022 American League Division Series.

In 17 plate appearances, Bader then hit two more home runs in the 2022 American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros.

To this scout, the Yankees should count on Bader hitting from 10-15 homers during the regular season.

Projected Lineup:

RosterResource lists the projected 2023 Yankees starting lineup to be:

Gleyber Torres-2B

Aaron Judge-RF

Anthony Rizzo-1B

Giancarlo Stanton-DH

Josh Donaldson-3B

Harrison Bader-CF

Aaron Hicks-LF

Oswald Peraza-SS

Jose Trevino-C

If Hicks, Peraza, Donaldson, Bader and catcher Jose Trevino make up the last five slots in the Yankees lineup, it could put immense pressure on the first four hitters to get on base, score runs and drive in runs.

And, the extra offensive pressure could put additional focus on the pitching staff having to keep the other team from running up the score.

Summary:

Led by 62 homers from Aaron Judge, 32 from Anthony Rizzo, and 31 from Giancarlo Stanton, the 2022 Yankees finished the regular season with 254 homers, the best in baseball.

The team hit a combined .241, which placed them exactly in the middle of their MLB pack in batting average-which still does matter, even in the era of advanced metrics. And that was with the fantastic season by Aaron Judge.

The Yankees scored 807 runs last year, second only to the 847 runs scored by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Now, however, the MLB page has turned to 2023.

The Yankees have some pitching injury issues and some questions that have to be answered as they look to unseat the World Champion Houston Astros.

Solid pitching, and a good defense will be called upon to keep games within reach. However, the offense has to step up and drive in runs.