The Yankees are the American League favorites heading into the second half of the 2019 season
With
the All-Star break coming into a close, the Yankees sit at the top of the
American League East with a comfortable 6.5 game lead of the second place Tampa
Bay Rays. By winning percentage, they are the best team in the American League
as they have a two-game advantage in the loss-column over the Houston Astros. With
all this being said, it is not a surprise that the Yankees head into the second
leg of the season as the favorites to meet the best team in the National League
in the World Series. Per MyTopSportsBooks.com, the Bovada odds for the Yankees
to win the championship sit at +320, the second best mark to the Los
Angeles Dodgers who sit at +250. In order of their respective odds, the Astros, Twins, and
Rays are the Yankees’ biggest threats. Instead of focusing on the other teams
in this race, I want to take a quick look on what must go right for the Yankees
to continue on this course.
The
most important thing of all is that the team needs to stay healthy. The Yankees
have seen half of their 40-man roster go down with various injuries to this
point in the season, and finally have most of their team back on the playing
field. The eventual returns of Giancarlo Stanton, Luis Severino, and Dellin
Betances should play a major role in deciding whether or not the Yankees can
take that next step. In those three players, the Yankees could be getting back
an ace, a dominant late-inning arm, and a middle-of-the-order bat. Those types
of players are who other contenders will be searching for from selling teams at
the Trade Deadline. Luckily for the Yankees, they have these three potential
additions internally. The only difference is when they will become available is still up in the air and the question if they will be able to perform to their pre-injury standards.
Despite
the aforementioned internal reinforcements, the Yankees' front office will also be on the lookout
for external options to improve the team. The Yankees already struck a
deal earlier this summer in acquiring slugger Edwin Encarnacion from Seattle, but do not
expect that to be the only deal Brian Cashman makes. Later this week, we will
be releasing who the Yankees will likely target for the rotation and the
bullpen, the two areas the Yankees likely plan on addressing. The Yankees have an
above average rotation and bullpen, but have had some issues with their middle
relievers and back-end pitchers. With a minor league system that is still stacked
in talent, Brian Cashman should have no problem finding a trade partner before
the deadline.
The
biggest concern, however, will be the quality of the players available. Up to
this point, there are not a lot of game changing rotation pieces available on
the market, and this is for a number reasons. In the American League, the league’s
worst teams simply do not have solid rotation pieces to trade, which makes
sense since they have horrible records that reflect their quality of players. Even the teams who do have solid, young arms will likely not part with them due to the part they will play in their ball club's future. In the National League, there are too many teams that are theoretically still
in it. Only the Marlins are more than seven games out of the second NL Wild Card spot going
into this weekend’s games, so the Yankees are going to have to keep their
fingers crossed that some teams falter out of the break, thus transitioning
them into seller mode.
The
starting rotation will likely be addressed at the deadline, and Luis Severino
is projected to pitch at some point this season. However, the pitchers
currently in the rotation need to find some consistency. Masahiro Tanaka, James
Paxton, CC Sabathia, Domingo German, and JA Happ have strung together quality
starts throughout the season, but they have all had their fair share of
implosions that saw the Yankees down a boatload of runs early, forcing more pressure
on the offense and giving Aaron Boone no choice but to deploy his relievers
often and early. Each one of the pitchers I named could be a reliable starter
in a playoff series, but the problem is that the team never knows what version
of each pitcher is going to show up on a given day. Even if Severino comes back
and is his old self and Cashman acquires a starting pitcher, the pitchers the
team already employs are going to need to step it up.
Other
than praying for health, hoping Brian Cashman can strike gold in trades, and the need for some starting pitcher consistency there is not much else to say about this team. They are built with an all-time
stacked lineup, veteran rotation arms who have the ability to do their job, elite late-inning relievers, and the
ability to come back from most deficits presented to them, so it is no surprise
that they have been so successful to start this year. Even through all the
early season injury woes the team’s reserves and minor league players stepped
up and were more than just fill-ins at their respective positions. I believe
that if the Yankees stay healthy, add a few pieces, and have their injured
stars come back strong that there is no team that stop them in their quest to the
American League pennant.
Article
by: Ryan Thoms
Follow @RyanThoms_Follow @BronxBomberBall
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