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The Yankees’ road to October began on Wednesday, when pitchers and receivers showed up for spring training in Tampa.
After seeing his team miss in his first three years as manager, Aaron Boone said the Yankees were “absolutely” poised for a title this season.
“Talking is still cheap, obviously, at this point, but I really like the winter we’ve had, and the additions we’ve made, I think, are going to have an impact,” Boone said during a Zoom call. “The composition of this team is championship caliber. That’s what we’re here to try to accomplish. Hope this is the year we get to the top of this mountain. It starts in earnest [Thursday]. “
That’s when pitchers and receivers have their first practice at the organization’s minor league compound in Tampa and the Yankees get their first glimpse of some of the arms they will depend on in 2021, new starters. like Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon, as well as Domingo. German, who is coming back from his suspension.
And they’ll also take a look at the progress made by some of their young rookies during the offseason, from Deivi Garcia to Clarke Schmidt to Mike King and more, while they wait for Luis Severino to return from Tommy John’s surgery of the year. last.
“There will inevitably be some unknowns coming up any season, but certainly in the midst of a pandemic, after a season of just 60 games, depth will obviously be important,” said Boone.
So, while they will depend on Gerrit Cole, Taillon, Kluber and Jordan Montgomery, they will also seek more development from newcomers – and that includes veteran weapons like Jhoulys Chacin, an unlisted invite.
“We feel like we have 10, 11 [or] 12 pitchers not only capable of going out there but also going out and thriving, ” Boone said. “The starting contenders that we have, I think, are all capable of being championship-caliber contributors to varying degrees. Many of them are also accompanied by question marks. We’ll do everything we can to help these guys reach their peak, and it will be a little different for each of these guys.
Obviously, the fact that Kluber, Taillon and the German combined to pitch an inning last season will present challenges in keeping them healthy and productive this season.
Boone said that Kluber (after a shoulder injury that limited him to one sleeve in 2020) and Taillon (who hasn’t pitched since his second Tommy John surgery in 2019; the first was in 2014) are ” ready to go ”for spring training.
German, according to Boone, has spoken to both director and general manager Brian Cashman and is in good standing with the organization.
The right-hander will be among those vying for fifth place.
“I see a lot of competition there,” Boone said. “We’ll see how the next five or six weeks unfold. The way we even start the season may seem different from how we are in May or June. “
To get through what Major League Baseball hopes will be a 162-game schedule, teams will need to find different ways to get enough innings.
Boone has said on several occasions that the Yankees would likely be “creative” in the way they do it and could discuss using a six-man rotation or starters on occasion.
“It’s going to be things that come up over the course of the year that will be options,” Boone said. “We haven’t decided anything.”
“We have to find a way to overcome this last bump. We think we are very close to it.
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