I know, I know – the Red Sox should worry about getting out of last place before we start worrying about first place.
BUT . . . has anyone noticed the Yankees are kind of a mess right now?
Because New York won 99 games last year, it's easy to think the season represented an exercise in start-to-finish domination. But that would be false. After winning 64 games in the first half, the Yankees went just 35-35 in the second before being swept by the Astros in the American League Championship Series.
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SIGN UP HERE By the end of the season, their offense consisted mainly of Aaron Judge hugging members of the Maris family, their starting staff had shown cracks, and their vaunted bullpen found itself wilting vs. attrition. They were lucky to beat the Guardians in the divisional round.
Tomase: Five reasons to feel good about Sox at halfway point of spring training
They entered spring training as the clear favorites in the AL East after re-signing Judge and adding All-Star left-hander Carlos Rodon on a $162 million contract, but they're already springing leaks.
Right-hander Frankie Montas, a dud of an acquisition last year, will probably miss the entire season after undergoing shoulder surgery last month. The same goes for reliever Scott Effross (Tommy John). Key relievers Tommy Kahnle and Lou Trivino will open on the injured list with biceps and forearm issues, respectively. Starting center fielder Harrison Bader left Thursday's loss vs. the Red Sox with an oblique injury.
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But most concerning of all, Rodon was shut down with a forearm strain that will cost him the start of the season. The left-hander, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019, has never been considered durable, which the Yankees are already experiencing firsthand.
General manager Brian Cashman told reporters that if it were a pennant race, Rodon would probably pitch through the pain and added that the injury isn't serious or related to his ulnar collateral ligament, but try convincing Yankees fans.
That leaves All-Star Gerrit Cole fronting a rotation that includes Luis Severino, who has made only 26 starts over the last three seasons; Nestor Cortes, who still hasn't pitched this spring because of a bad hamstring and must prove he's no one-year wonder; Domingo Germán, who has only won six games since being suspended for 81 games in 2020 for violating the league's domestic violence policy; and Clarke Schmidt, who'd ideally be the seventh or eighth man as starting depth, but will instead likely open the season in the rotation.
"It's part of doing business when you're dealing with pitchers," Cashman told reporters in Florida.
But pitching isn't New York's only concern. Though they led the league in runs last year, the Yankees hit just .235 as a team after Aug. 1, good for 21st in baseball, and there's no telling where they would've been without Judge's 20 homers in that span.
They then went ice cold in the ALCS, hitting just .162, including a 1-for-16 disappointment from Judge.
Their core is getting sneaky old, with Anthony Rizzo, DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Hicks, and Josh Donaldson all at least 33, and Judge turning 31 next month. They boast some exciting prospects in shortstop Anthony Volpe and mashing center fielder Jasson Dominguez, but it's entirely possible they're closer to the .500 team that finished last season than the juggernaut that started it on a 113-win pace.
The Red Sox, of course, have their own issues to worry about. But it's nice to know the odds of New York once again running away with the division have decreased considerably already this spring.
