All the talk this winter is about the MLB’s Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and the moves they’ve made this off-season. But make no mistake about it; the New York Yankees are still the team to beat in the American League (AL) East.
Yes, they’re older. Star shortstop and captain, Derek Jeter, is still healing from a fractured left ankle suffered during the 2012 MLB playoffs. All-Star third baseman Alex Rodriguez will miss a substantial part of the regular season after his recent hip surgery. Left-handed pitching ace C.C. (Carsten Charles) Sabathia is coming off off-season surgery himself.
But the Yankees still feature unparalleled talent across their depth chart made up of some of baseball’s top players. They have won the AL East title and advanced to at least the American League Championship Series (ALCS) in three of the last four years, winning the World Series in 2009 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
New York has great young talent ready to carry the Yankees into the future, like second baseman Robinson Cano and right-handed pitcher Ivan Nova. There are seasoned veterans like future Hall of Fame outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, first baseman Mark Teixeira; and beloved Yankee great Andy Pettitte. And of course, there is legendary closer Mariano Rivera.
The team is still heavily focused on the home run after hitting a league-leading 245 in 2012, but it has speedsters like Ichiro and outfielder Brett Gardner (stealing bases and stretching singles into doubles or triples), who were absent for much of the Yankees’ 2012 campaign.
The pitching staff is in far better shape than it was a few years ago, despite the fact that three of the Yankees’ starters are over the age of 32. And there are plenty of youthful bodies awaiting their opportunities in the minor leagues, such as pitchers Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances, and catcher Austin Romine; who may have a chance to compete for Yankees’ starting job this spring.
It may be fun to imagine a world where the Yankees are not the team to beat, but there is no denying a team coming off an American League-leading 95 wins (third most in all of Major League Baseball) and a trip to the ALCS — no matter how badly it all ended.
The special thing about the Yankees and their success is not the money they spend, but how consistent their key players are. They are predictable, even in old age. But they’re dependable under pressure.
It’s a mere certainty the Yankees will struggle. Injuries are a perennial hurdle they must leap, but as the end of the summer draws near, the Bronx Bombers always seem to evolve into this dominant, unstoppable force with the refusal to spend October watching the playoffs from their $10 million waterfront mansions in St. Petersburg.
With every team in the AL East built to compete, New York’s battle for divisional supremacy will not be easy. 95 wins is unlikely but may not be necessary in a division where all five teams (the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Devil Rays included with the aforementioned Blue Jays and Red Sox) will put a beat on one another throughout the season.
The Yankees are still the defending division champs and still feature a core of talent that few in Major League Baseball can match. Their time may be running out — there’s no telling how much longer Jeter, A-Rod, Pettitte and Rivera will play. But in the American League and its Eastern Division, the road to the top runs through Yankee Stadium.
Louis Musto is a contributor to the Sports Journey Broadcast Network. You can follow him on Twitter @LouisMusto.