Now before we can get up to New York for Opening Day, it's probably a good idea to take a look at what we're going to be working with here. As you'll see below, this year's squad is probably a 140 game winner... If this were the mid 2000s. The fact of the matter is that this is an expensive, aging team filled with a mix veterans who are long past their heyday, premadonnas, guys who have no business being on a big league roster and a couple of intriguing young talents. So, without further adieu, lets take a look at this sad excuse for a roster that we're going to be rolling with in '16.
Catchers- Brian McCann, Austin Romine
B-Mac figures to handle the majority of the reps behind the dish. He's actually one of the few remaining vets on this squad who can actually play above-average. He's still a good defensive option and still hits well. Austin Romine, who it seems like has been around forever, will handle the backup catching duties. Also, as a brief aside, our top prospect, Gary Sanchez, figures to factor in here at some point. When he's finally big league ready, the catching situation will get reeeaaaal interesting.
First Base- Mark Texeria
Tex, after being hurt so many times in the past few years, is no longer the elite bat he once was and is nothing more than an expensive, average player. With his contract getting ready to end, this is likely his last ride in New York. Hopefully he can make the most of it.
Second Base- Starlin Castro
Castro came over from the Cubs in the offseason and it's the hope that he will provide some stability at a position that has been a revolving door since the departure of Cano. He's still relatively young and so he still has some upside that he could deliver on. Count on him being an interesting piece moving forward.
Shortstop- Didi Gregorious
Brought in to replace Derek Jeter, Gregoruious has an incredibly glove and an impressive arm. As of now, he's an offensive liability but if we can get his bat going, he's definitely got a spot in our future. If not, he's likely destined for somewhere else come deadline time.
Third Base- Alex Rodriguez
Yeah, it pains me to say that A-Rod is the starting third baseman... But after he went ham last year and in the spring, can you really blame Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi? As much as I'd love to, we can't just flip him the bird and sit him. He's going to get every chance to play until it's clear he can't play anymore. As a result, he figures to be a major point of contention in this year's rendition of the 'Yankee Years'
Left Field- Brett Gardner
Gardner is one of the veterans on this team that is actually still productive. He's got a great bat and good speed so along with Ellsbury, he'll be anchoring the top of the lineup. The only problem here is that he's 33 and it's surely a matter of time before his bat and speed go down the tube. Look for him to be a piece moved at the deadline.
Center Field- Jacoby Ellsbury
Despite a poor tenure in New York so far, Ellsbury is actually a still productive player. He still does a little bit of everything but its pretty clear that injuries have limited him and his dynamic style of play. His albatross contract pretty much guarantees the fact that he's gonna be in New York for the long haul.
Right Field- Carlos Beltran
Beltran is certainly not the player he was in the early 2000s. With that being said, he's still a solid above average veteran option. It is clear however that he's due for some major regression in the last year of his contract in New York. if he gets off to a hot start and the Yankees are out of it, looked for him to be moved.
Designated Hitter- Greg Bird
Bird is one of the few young players on the Yankees. He's got some pretty significant upside with the bat and he's starting at DH so he can focus solely on developing that part of his game. This positioning is merely a stepping stone before he takes one full time at first in 2017.
Bench- Romine, Dustin Ackley, Aaron Hicks, Chase Headley
The bench has some interesting pieces on it. Ackley should probably not be on a big league roster but Romine, Hicks and Headley all some sort of upside. We all know that Headley should be starting at third but lets just brush that under the rug for now. Hicks is probably the most intriguing talent because of his speed and defense combo. Depending on his performance, he may spell Ellsbury against lefties.
Rotation- Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, Luis Severino, Nate Eovaldi, C.C. Sabathia
Our rotation figures to be one of the strong points on this team. Tanaka is an established ace with Severino a budding one. The others are all solid starting options. The only weak point may be C.C. as he isn't the same pitcher he was a couple years ago because of injuries and ineffectiveness but all you can really ask from him at this point is for him to go 6 solid innings.
Bullpen- Andrew Miller, Dellin Betandes, Vinnie Pestano, Ivan Nova, Chasen Shereve, Kirby Yates, Anthony Swarzak
The back end of the bullpen is loaded with Miller closing and Betances and Pestano setting up. Aroldis Chapman should be closing but he was an idiot and got himself suspended for the first month or so. The middle relief corps of Shereve, Yates and Swarzak makes me nervous because all of them lack and real swing and miss stuff. Nova will probably be getting a lot of innings as a result as he has proven himself in a long relief role this spring.
OUTLOOK: We're probably not going to be good... But we're not going to be bad either. The pitching is good enough that it should keep too many games from getting out of hand. The ticket will be scoring runs though. I'm not sure if we have enough of a punch in our lineup to win games. Ultimately, it's gonna be an interesting year as things could really go either way.