One of the best times of the year is upon us, Opening Day! It's been a long and relatively quiet winter for the New York Yankees. That can be seen as a blessing or a curse depending on who you ask. No major free agent additions as we've seen in years past but some notable trades made the team stronger. Again, depending on who you ask, the additions of Starlin Castro from the Cubs and Aroldis Chapman from the Reds can be seen as a negative.

I expect the same sort of reaction when trying to predict what the Yankees will give us in 2016. They can be really really good or really really bad. Personally, I don't know what to expect. I can see it be as good as the first four months of the 2015 season where they were cruising to an 7 game lead on the July 31 trade deadline or I can see the lifeless group that gave up the last two months. Many analysts and experts are saying much of the same.

The Good:

Everyone plays to the back of their baseball cards. Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner get on base, steal the next and score a batter or two later. Mark Teixeira continues from where he left off in midst of a MVP caliber season. Alex Rodriguez proves that last season was no fluke and he can hit another 30 Home Runs and drive in 90-100 RBIs. Carlos Beltran provides the clutch hitting and productivity he was carrying the Yankees with in August and September. Brian McCann continues to be one of the best hitting catchers in the game. After a shaky first season in pinstripes, he rebounded well for '15 and was consistent threat in the middle of the lineup. Something that will be asked of him once again in '16. Chase Headley figures out what went wrong last year and does the exact opposite. His defense was the real eye opener last season, by far the worst of his career. Better defense should be on the menu, with that better approaches to the plate in the batters box and better results. Starlin Castro is the stud the Yankees think he is and adds stability to a second base position that has been struggling since Robinson Cano left for Seattle. Didi Gregorius showed he was a force at the bottom of the lineup and at shortstop once he made some adjustments to his game during the year. Him and Starlin provide a new youthful dynamic double play combo that should excite Yankee fans everywhere.

The rotation of Masahiro Tanaka , Luis Severino, Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi , and CC Sabathia can be the absolute best in baseball. Yes, in baseball! Tanaka goes out and pitches like the ace he was in the first season he was here before he injured his elbow, not many people are going to touch his stuff. Sevy has the ability to be just as electric, if not more. At 21, he seems ready to be a power arm reliable of handling the ball in big situations. Big Mike much like Sevy has electric stuff. Mothers Day last year he struck out 16 and for a period of time he was untouchable and was the ace of the staff. With not of the "ace" burden on his shoulders he can go out and just pitch. When he does, oh boy it's a site to see. Nasty Nate dazzled in first year in the Bronx winning 14 games before his injury. His stuff is filthy and is the hardest thrower in the rotation. If he can bring that same poise he had last season into 2016, expect a big year.  Sabathia is the 5th starter and just needs to be a reliable get me to the 6th inning kind of pitcher. His best days are behind him but he can contribute and he had a solid September after getting a knee brace to help him stabilize his delivery.

The three headed monster at the end of the bullpen with Chapman, Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances will leave everyone in awe in what they're witnessing. 100 strikeouts by each, dominance across the board and they will lead the Yanks into the postseason with a great chance of winning.

The Bad:

You saw what happened in August and September last year. That could very well end up being the 2016 Yankees. Injuries and old age finally catch up and it'll be a long season in the Bronx. Every night was so frustrating to watch those final two months. The Yankees are putting a lot of stock into a lot of question marks, we can only hope that this isn't the case.

Final Prediction:

92-70 1st place in the American League East and a trip to the ALCS.

OR

83-79 3rd place in the American League East.

My gut leans to the latter.

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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman, Brett Gardner, Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran, CC Sabathia, Dellin Betances, Jacoby Ellsbury, Luis Severino, Mark Teixeira, Michael Pineda, Starlin Castro

As we head into the last week of Feburary we're met with the arrivals of position players at Spring Training. Yesterday a notable arrival came without the usual pop and circumstance that has been accustomed in the past. Alex Rodriguez arrived to camp fresh off a successful comeback season.

In 2015 Alex played a pivotal part of the Yankees success. he also played into their late season downfall. At 40 years old, A-Rod showed signs of a man who sat out an entire season due to suspension and someone who had two surgically repaired hips. Nonetheless Alex delivered a solid season and put 33 home runs while being the offensive force in the middle of the lineup we had been accustomed to since his arrival to the Bronx in 2004. Alex turns 41 in July, has two years remaining on his legendary contract and is 27 homers shy of tying Babe Ruth on the All-Time HR list. When asked about reflecting on 2015 Alex said:

“I kind of went back and studied the season a little bit, and one of the things (was) I started my (training) process November, December, January. Really (significant) workloads for me, kind of prepping for spring training. I ran out of gas in August. My energy kind of picked up again in September, I just stunk. August, I was fatigued a little bit. September, I felt great and played poorly. So one of the things I’ve adjusted going into 2016 is to kind of pace myself a little bit more and use spring training as a ramping instead of coming here ready to go Day 1, which I did last year.”

I think if we get anything near the performance we did last year, we'd all be happy and take it. Assuming Alex and his fellow teammate Mark Teixeira  stay healthy, it'll provide the Yanks with the same 3-4 punch that provided an 8 game lead as late as July 31st.

Alex will once again serve as the teams DH. Manager Joe Girardi reiterated he has no plans to use Alex in the field. After two hip surgeries, why take the chance. The Yankees have made moves to add infield depth. They are talking about getting their Second Basemen Starlin Castro and Rob Refsynder some reps at Third Base. Castro could also serve as the back up Shortstop. Starting Third Baseman Chase Headley is the backup First Baseman should Teixeira need some time off or goes down with an injury. This should provide for some very interesting lineups this season.

As for Alex, I expect a similar if not slightly less productive season to the one we saw in 2015. I will go with a .265 AVG 27 HR 73 RBI. Nothing spectatcular but productive for someone finishing the season at 41 years of age. The drama appears to be a thing of the past for Alex so I expect the focus to be there but ultimately, he is past his prime, he's closer to 50 than 30 and he didn't have last season off. Let's hope for the best for A-Rod. At least for the remaining 2 years and 60-70 million left on his deal.

 

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Tags: Alex Rodriguez, Chase Headley, Joe Girardi, Mark Teixeira, Rob Refsnyder, Spring Training, Starlin Castro

On Tuesday night the Yankees made their first big move of the offseason. They sent pitcher Adam Warren and infielder Brendan Ryan to the Chicago Cubs for Second Baseman/Shortstop Starlin Castro. This is a good move for both sides and gives the Yankees another young solid infielder. Gone are the days of overpriced aging players. I love this!

There are many things to like about this. But first lets say goodbye to Adam Warren. He was the most consistent pitcher the Yankees had and most reliable in 2015. Wherever they put him, he was dependable. In the rotation or in the bullpen, he was good. He always gave the Yankees just what they needed that day and there's a lot of value in that, especially with a team full of question marks. Warren seemed to fit the role of 4th or 5th starter just fine but he was pushed to the bullpen after 17 starts in '15 because Ivan Nova came back from Tommy John surgery. Warren then filled the gap from starter to the trio of Justin Wilson-Dellin Betances- and Andrew Miller. THAT role he filled proved to be so vital because once he was inserted back in the rotation late in the season, his absence in the bullpen was felt. Manager Joe Girardi tried replacing Warren's absence with kid after kid from the minors in BIG spots. They rarely delivered. It ended up costing them the division. Warren now joins a World Series contender and probably one of the best rotations in the National League.

With Castro, the Yankees get a 25 year old 2B/SS with 6 years of major league experience. He hit just .237 through the end of July, but hit .335 in the final two months. For the Yanks, he fits the profile of their recent targets as a young, cost-controlled player in a buy-low opportunity. Castro is signed through 2019 with a team option for 2020. He has $38 million guaranteed left on his contract. The idea of him and Didi Gregorious as the Yankees new double play combo lights up my eyes and gets me excited to see what they can do

“You could be greedy (at second base),” manager Joe Girardi said at today’s Winter Meetings before news of the Castro trade went public. “You look for outstanding defense and offensive production. I mean, that’s the greedy part of it; that you can get a lot of production, too, offensively."

 The move gets the Yankees younger, cheaper and hungrier. GM Brian Cashman went on the Michael Kay Show last week and said he was focusing on acquiring players through trades as opposed to signing the usual big free agent contract. Today we see that Cashman and company have a plan they're sticking to. The Yankees are getting younger and more athletic....and I'm ok with that. Good job!

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Tags: Adam Warren, Andrew Miller, Chicago Cubs, Dellin Betances, Didi Gregorius, Joe Girardi, Justin Wilson, Starlin Castro, Yankees