Over the next two weeks, the New York Yankees will have faced the first-place Tampa Bay Rays for 4-games; the fourth-place Toronto Blue Jays for 4-more; and then the second-place Baltimore Orioles for a trio to cap off the two week run.
The New York Yankees are once again faced with a Spring Training full of questions. The hot-topic: did general manager Brian Cashman do enough to fortify the Bronx Bombers to get by the World Champion Houston Astros.
Anthony Volpe and Jasson Dominguez are making their major league spring training debuts for the New York Yankees this week. Both have reputations that have preceded them for years before either will play a game in the Bronx. Volpe is expected to compete for the starting shortstop job for Aaron Boone's 2023 squad. Dominguez is not.
George Steinbrenner bought the New York Yankees in 1973. Four years later, the Bronx Bombers won their first World Series championship in 15 years. Steinbrenner proceeded to lead his organization to seven rings prior to his death in 2010. The team has not won a World Championship since. What would "The Boss" do following a season like 2022?
New York Yankees Hall of Famer Derek Jeter owns a World Series ring for every finger on one hand. #2 is unquestionably one of the greatest champions of all time. But how much did Yankees fans get to know their "Captain"? Jeter has always been a very private and measured person. The Pinstripes faithful struggled to get an inside look at their beloved shortstop. That changes on Monday.
The New York Yankees starting rotation is always a revolving question-mark behind Gerrit Cole and maybe pretty reliable lefty, Jordan Montgomery. Will Luis Severino return to form in 2022? How is Jameson Taillon following his ankle surgery? Well, another question-mark presented itself on Thursday.
The New York Yankees had answers on their roster to the question, 'who would play first base in 2022?' They just didn't THE answer that fans and probably manager Aaron Boone wanted to hear. Luke Voit did a great job anchoring first base and hitting home runs, when he was healthy. DJ LeMahieu can play over there but he will play a lot of places, according to Boone. But the Pinstripes needed something more. Maybe someone that they had before.
No news is good news. Right? That's not the way the Pinstripes usually roll. The New York Yankees are used to dominating even the bleakest of sports-news days in past years. Until Wednesday, Brian Cashman seemed content to let his crosstown rival little brother bask in their new over-priced free agent toys and their flashy new manager, who he fired way back in 1995. However, on Wednesday, the Bombers GM may have fired a shot a cross the bow, letting everyone know that the Yankee line-up is loaded and we've made changes to optimize that fire power.