The New York Yankees will always be met with sky-high expectations.
However, seeing the current American League East landscape, it’s better to proceed with caution when talking about what to expect from the 2022 Yankees.
The division is as close as ever, and the rest of the offseason will be crucial for the Bombers.
Here are three realistic expectations for the Yankees this year.
3. Actually Sign Some Players
Prior to the offseason, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman implied that he would have an increased budget to spend on the roster.
Speaking a few minutes ago at the GM meetings, Brian Cashman said indications he's gotten from managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner when it comes to his off-season budget is "I have some latitude" after the Yankees successfully reset their luxury tax penalty this past year
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) November 10, 2021
Fast forward a couple of months, and the only thing the Yankees did was re-sign reliever Joely Rodriguez, protect some prospects from the Rule 5 Draft (if there is one), and that’s it.
They lost the chance of adding players before the lockout, and will now re-enter the market with lots of positions to address and many teams with money and needs besides them.
In other words, they may not enjoy the best of markets when things pick up again.
The Yanks badly need a shortstop, and will now have to secure one between Carlos Correa and Trevor Story.
They could also use a center fielder (they let Starling Marte and Chris Taylor sign with other teams) and at least a couple of starters (unless they can pry away Clayton Kershaw away from the Los Angeles Dodgers, Carlos Rodon is the best pitcher on the market at this point).
So, when we say that the Yankees are expected to sign some people after the lockout, we mean it: they need to.
Otherwise, they could risk their presence in the playoffs.
2. Fix Their Offense
Gleyber Torres slugged just .366 last season.
DJ LeMahieu, the batting champion in 2020, hit .268 and slugged .362 in 2021.
Joey Gallo hit .160 with the Yankees in 58 games.
Gary Sanchez slashed .204/.307/.423.
Gio Urshela hit an underwhelming .267/.301/.419 in the most recent campaign.
The 2021 Yankees finished 19th in runs scored, with 711.
They didn’t live up to the “Bronx Bombers” moniker last year.
As you can see, the Yankees offense was a mess, and we can only expect them to improve the situation.
They let former hitting coach Marcus Thames go and promoted a forward-thinking, analytics supporter in Dillon Lawson.
Lawson was the minor league director of hitting until last season and achieved great results.
His knowledge and resources will now be put to test in MLB.
With his expertise, and the struggling hitters’ track record, expecting the Yankees to improve their offensive output is a solid bet.
1. Make The Playoffs
The Boston Red Sox proved they belong in the same league as the Yankees this year, and the Tampa Bay Rays may be above both of them.
Oh, and the Toronto Blue Jays are determined to make their presence felt in the AL East, too.
In other words, the Yankees’ quest for the postseason will be a hard one in 2022.
Making the playoffs could be quite an achievement, all things considered.
They still have some time and money to turn around their offseason, but they will need to get to work once owners and players agree on a new CBA deal.
It’s not a stretch to think the Yankees look like the third or fourth-best team in the AL East right now.
The Yankees are the 4th best team in the AL East as things stand and there’s a good chance they don’t make the playoffs next year if they don’t massively improve #MLBNerdsReaction
— Carlos (@MattBlakeStan) December 31, 2021
That could change by the moment Opening Day rolls around, though.
