The Yankees’ path through October began on Wednesday, when pitchers and catchers performed for spring training in Tampa.
After seeing his team fail in his first three years as a coach, Aaron Boone said the Yankees are “absolutely” prepared to win a title this season.
“Talking is always cheap, obviously, right now, but I really like the winter we had, and the additions we made, I think, will have an impact,” said Boone during a call from Zoom. “The composition of this team is of the championship caliber. That is what we are here to try to accomplish. I hope this is the year that we will reach the top of that mountain. This starts for real [Thursday]. “
That’s when pitchers and catchers make their first training at the organization’s minor league complex in Tampa and the Yankees first see some of the weapons they’ll depend on in 2021, from new entrants like Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon, as well as German Sunday, that is coming back from suspension.
And they will also look at the advances of some of their youngest players during the off-season, from Deivi Garcia to Clarke Schmidt to Mike King, among others, while waiting for Luis Severino to return from last year’s Tommy John surgery.
“Inevitably there will be unknowns in any season, but certainly in the middle of a pandemic, out of a season of just 60 games, the depth will obviously be important,” said Boone.
So while they depend on Gerrit Cole, Taillon, Kluber and Jordan Montgomery, they will also seek further development for newcomers – and that includes veteran weapons, like Jhoulys Chacin, an invitation that is not on the list.
“We feel that we have 10, 11 [or] 12 pitchers not only able to go there, but go there and thrive, ” said Boone. “I feel that all the initial candidates we have are able to contribute to the championship to varying degrees. Much of this comes with question marks as well. We will do everything to help these guys reach the peak, and it will be a little different for each of them ”.
Clearly, the fact that Kluber, Taillon and the German combined to make an entry last season will present challenges to keeping them healthy and productive this season.
Boone said that Kluber (coming from a shoulder injury that limited him to one entry in 2020) and Taillon (who has not shot since his second Tommy John surgery in 2019; the first was in 2014) are “ready to go” to the spring Training.
German, according to Boone, spoke with the manager and general manager Brian Cashman and is in good standing with the organization.
The right-hander will be among those competing for the fifth title.
“I see a lot of competition there, ” said Boone. “We will see how the next five or six weeks will develop. How until the beginning of the season it may look different from where we were in May or June. “
To overcome what Major League Baseball expects to be a 162-game schedule, teams will have to find several ways to obtain sufficient entries.
Boone said repeatedly that the Yankees were likely to be “creative” in the way they do this and could discuss using a six-person rotation or hitchhiking at matches.
“These are the things that will come up over the year that will be options,” said Boone. “There is nothing we have decided.”
“We have to find a way to overcome this last obstacle. We feel that we are very close to that. “