Bleeding Yankee Blue: THE YANKEES ARE THE BIGGEST BENEFICIARIES OF PROPOSED BASEBALL REALIGNMENT

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

THE YANKEES ARE THE BIGGEST BENEFICIARIES OF PROPOSED BASEBALL REALIGNMENT

Source: USA Today

I am as happy as you are with this headline. You had me at Yankees are the biggest beneficiaries! Yes, believe it or not, the Yankees are topping the ten teams in the new Eastern Division in early projections. Their closest kins are the Washington Nationals, which gave the Bombers a tough time last season. The projected Yankees success boils down to three main reasons: 1. Starting Pitching; 2. Mashing Lineup and 3. Bottom Feeding Teams.

Let's start with Starting Pitching. Yes, Starting pitching is a strength of the 2020 Yankees, headlined by the biggest free-agent signing of all time. According to the Washington Post, "Gerrit Cole, their new ace, is expected to be the most valuable pitcher in baseball per FanGraphs’ calculation of wins above replacement. Cole will join a starting five that should also include Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, J.A. Happ and Jordan Montgomery. Only the Nationals, also in the division, are projected to have a better starting rotation." Despite losing Luis Severino to Tommy John surgery, the Yankees are primed to take down teams with their starting rotation. If everyone stays healthy and sharp, there will be a number of great pitching duels in the newly aligned Division.

Source: N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg

A Mashing Lineup. I kinda like the way that sounds. Even without Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, the Yankees have performed well above average with their "second string." But now that second string is the first string and after a banging season that saw guys like Brett Gardner having the season of his career, they are just getting warmed up. "Second baseman DJ LeMahieu, shortstop Gleyber Torres, catcher Gary Sánchez, outfielder Brett Gardner, first baseman Luke Voit and third baseman Gio Urshela round out a lineup expected to be among baseball’s best," reported the Washington Post. Recall that this lineup contributed to the 306 home runs last season, one shy of best in baseball posted by the Minnesota Twins.

Lastly, with the realignment brings a number of lower-level, sub .500 teams in the Miami Marlins, Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates. The Yankees could easily top the Division if all goes well as long as they can hold off nuisance teams like Tampa Bay and maybe even the New York Mets.

With the season still a question mark, it is exciting to at least see some plans come together, particularly those that give the Yankees a favorable chance to win. Considered part of the home park proposal, the Eastern Division could prove to provide just enough competitive action to keep the Yankees sharp while giving them the advantage they need to top the Division and take the road toward the World Series.