TAMPA, Fla. – Urgency is back at Steinbrenner Field, not that it ever left. Yet the win-or-else ethos that’s marked the New York Yankee franchise is viewed through a darker filter these days.
A fourth-place finish can do that for a lot of franchises, perhaps none moreso than the 27-time World Series champions who have gone title-less since 2009. An 82-80 finish that exposed both the fragility of big league depth and inadequacy of reinforcements can spur significant change, and even more soul-searching.
So, the Yankees didn’t just go shopping this winter, they went for broke – renting superstar outfielder Juan Soto for a steep cost, a move the late George Steinbrenner would have loved and one green-lit by his more corporate legacy, Hal.
When the Yankees reflect on their 19-game deficit in an American League East that was once their birthright, they didn’t just get lapped.
“It’s like sand getting kicked in your face,” noted Aaron Boone, suddenly entering his seventh year as manager.
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And when they talk about a rebound, it’s not just chasing down the Blue Jays, the Rays, the Orioles and ensuring October 2024 isn’t a monthlong vacation.
“We’re hellbent on being a champion,” says Boone. “We understand very well that last year was not anything anyone in this organization wants or demands or expects.
“I would say we have poured into that from ownership to the front office to the coaches and staff all the way to the players.”
Thursday, Yankees pitchers and catchers gathered for their opening workout of the spring, the first official act for this team but one that comes on the heels of what Boone described as a vibrant winter of unofficial workouts at the club’s minor-league facility across the street.
The spring-training pablum, though, doesn’t go too far here. A team that crumbled when reigning MVP Aaron Judge suffered a toe injury knows it well enough.
“There’s a level of determination and focus that has a little bit of an edge to it. The 82-80 is still pretty fresh in our mind,” reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole says Thursday, while noting the Yankees did well to continue their streak of non-losing seasons to 31.
“With that said, disaster was an appropriate word.”
Now, the clean-up.
‘We get injured too much’
The rebooted Yankees are assembling here quietly. Soto, the centerpiece of the seven-player deal that also sent reserve outfielder Trent Grisham to the Bronx, and former Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo aren’t due until full workouts next week.
New starter Marcus Stroman, lefty specialist Caleb Ferguson and others aren’t necessarily needle-movers, not when Japanese superstars Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto are joining forces with the Dodgers in Arizona.
The Yankees never seriously dallied in the Ohtani sweepstakes but were one of several losers for Yamamoto’s services, a mild indication they’re not the destination they once were, certainly not the one their late owner and thirsty fans believe.
Still, they will lug a luxury-tax payroll expected to top $300 million into the year, committed as they are to the many culprits of last year’s nosedive, particularly on the offensive side.
Soto paired with Judge is, for now, is a nice masking agent for those anticipating that the non-Judge 30-plus crowd – projected leadoff hitter DJ LeMahieu and DH Giancarlo Stanton, most notably – may struggle yet again.
“I think we have a chance to be a great offense,” says Boone. “Again, right now, that’s all it is – a chance.
“Last year was a struggle for us offensively, for a lot of reasons. We had key guys go down, but again, that doesn’t always derail you or end the road for you. I go back to 2019 (when the Yankees reached the ALCS) where we were ravaged with injuries and everyone just kept on stepping up.
“The reinforcements were there.”
Not so much last year, when the Yankees finished 25th in the league in runs and 24th in OPS after Judge was shelved for two months, DH Anthony Rizzo’s concussion went undiagnosed and LeMahieu (.243, ..390 slugging) and Stanton (.191, .695) were both banged up and worse than league average as hitters.
Health means less reliance on Oswaldo Cabrera (.574 OPS in 115 games) and Oswald Peraza (.539 in 52). It means shortstop Anthony Volpe’s offensive growth (.209 average, .666 OPS) are more easily offset by his stellar defense.
Boone says players’ participation in offseason workouts, spurred on by Judge, has been outstanding. Cole would like to see it bear fruit once the lights go on and players may be prone to injury.
“We get injured too much as a group. We need to improve,” says Cole, who led the AL in both ERA (2.09) and innings pitched (209) in capturing his first Cy Young Award. “By and large, you need to prepare in the offseason well.”
In Boone’s ideal, 2024 Yankee world, a healthier LeMahieu or Verdugo, the oft-productive but occasionally mercurial lefty hitter, hold down the leadoff spot.
Verdugo, Soto, second baseman Gleyber Torres – all are eligible for free agency after this season. Boone, a 12-year major leaguer, knows human nature might bring them even more focus.
Yet he also believes urgency goes beyond the walk-year pressures.
“Time is precious for a major league athlete,” says Boone. “Even the guys that will make it 10, 15, 20 years in this game are going to be a non-player a lot longer.
“One of the messages to the guys is, don’t squander this time you have as an elite athlete. Take every advantage of it.”
‘It’s special to be a Yankee’
That message should not fall on deaf ears in camp. Between the projected lineup, rotation and closer, eight players will be at least 31. That includes Stroman, who will turn 33 this season and joins the Yankees on a two-year deal after opting out of his final year of a $73 million contract with the Cubs.
It’s his fourth team since 2019, and one in which the expectations are implied.
“Very confident group,” says Stroman, a 2023 All-Star before missing much of September with injury. “It’s an honor to put on these pinstripes. Everybody knows the mission. Playoffs is what we expect and hopefully we’re pitching and playing deep into October.”
Cole calls Stroman “one of the fiercest competitors we have in this game,” and notes Stroman’s sinker-heavy, deception-oriented repertoire will play well against the hard-throwing Cole and Carlos Rodon.
Of course, the greater show – and most telling element of how the Yankee season may go – figures to come on the offensive end. Cole – who gave up a massive World Series homer to Soto in 2019 – calls the 25-year-old “just a magnificent hitter, really. Best feel for the strike zone I’ve ever come across. A combination of create-a-player statistics and (superb) attributes at the plate.”
Soto’s mere presence will already send a message to a group that Boone and Cole both say is a bit saltier after 2023, bringing what Boone says is “another level of edge and focus.”
Somehow, the buy-in has again been raised.
“It’s special to be a Yankee,” says Cole. “Because that’s the MO every offseason, is to continue to get better and up the ante.”
Now, to see how long they can stick at the winners’ table.