My relationship with baseball has been the longest, most passionate, and most toxic relationship of my life. From my early years when I genuinely believed that I had a chance at pitching in the show, to formative experiences watching baseball with my Grandpa to an adulthood where baseball anchors most of my true friendships, baseball has always been a huge part of my life.
My relationship with baseball is complicated by geography. I’m a New York Yankees fan living in Regina, Saskatchewan, where baseball enthusiasm arrives in waves and leaves just as quickly. When the Blue Jays reached the 2025 World Series, the bandwagon filled up again. You could tell exactly when most people had last cared by the names stitched across their shoulders. Josh Donaldson must have had a very strong postseason. In other words, if you are in a pub in Regina that is playing a Yankees game, there is a very big chance that I am there and have overtipped my way to relevance.
Whether because of geographical challenges or just the challenges of being a Yankees fan, my relationship with baseball is as toxic as the relationship between George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin. Sure there is love and respect underpinning it all, but it's up and down and is marked by moments of intense love, equally intense anger and withdrawal.
The latest offseason was challenging. The Yankees didn't accomplish much in an offseason where AL rivals changed and tooled up for a run. The Dodgers sent the average price for a win above replacement into the stratosphere and now have a lineup that looks a lot like an NL all star team. The Yankees are reaching the end of Aaron Judge's peak. They assembled a core around him to win a World Series and have all but wasted those careers so the Dodgers' moves are relevant. The Yankees did next to nothing, but still regressed in comparison to everyone else.
On Health, and “Health”
It's hard writing about the Yankees because you run into the limits of the English language while running smack dab into the mythology of baseball. When you write about the Yankees, the word healthy carries two different meanings. There is the medical definition: intact ligaments, cooperative elbows, cartilage that hasn’t turned to dust. And then there is the other definition: do they have chemistry? Do they have edge? Do they have friction?
This is where writing about the Yankees gets challenging. They are traditionally best when they are physically healthy and emotionally unstable. The relationship between Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez is an excellent example. Statistically speaking, A-Rod was a far better shortstop (and I despise him so it hurts me to say that). But Jeet had history and tradition. The two did not like each other when they played together and yet those teams worked. The emergence of Mariano Rivera is another example of how "healthy" has different meanings when you think about the Yankees. He was one of the best closers ever, yet discovered his famed cutter when his shoulder failed him.
Sometimes I worry that Aaron Judge was cut from the Joe DiMaggio saintly cloth when what this franchise occasionally requires is something closer to Darth Vader. The Yankees are historically the best when ego friction, defensive shortcomings and personality conflicts are on the roster. Incidentally, it's also a big part of why I love the Yankees so much. When someone who hates the Yankees says something negative about them, it’s usually true. And if you know the team well enough, you know the jabs are usually more complimentary than the full truth.
'Healthy' and "healthy". The Yankees have always required both to have flexible meanings.
And now back to our irregularly scheduled article
But, what if they didn't? If their rotation survives the season, they have the best starting rotation in the American League and possibly in all of major league baseball. Unfortunately, their rotation is so healthy that Monty Python's 'bring out your dead' skit is baseball journalism. If they are all healthy and pitching near their capacity, Gerrit Cole, Rodón, Fried and Schlittler are legitimate frontline starters. Luis Gil, Warren are options and while relying on Yankees prospects is a problem, Ben Hess and Chase Hampton are tracking like they might factor into the club. If everyone is healthy and pitching well, the Yankees are actually at risk of 'too many aces' syndrome. The Atlanta Braves in the early 1990s were the last team that managed their way through TMA successfully. The current Yankees are not the early-90s Braves.
The only thing I can compare watching their bullpen to is getting an angiogram, but that comparison doesn't really hold up. I got sedated before my angiogram so I was in happyland. Unfortunately, baseball is not considered a valid reason to seek sedatives in a hospital. They call it 'high risk' and 'abnormal'.
Aaron Judge has been the best hitter in baseball the last several seasons and if he plays 150 games, he can put up record numbers. Giancarlo Stanton looks as fast as glacial retreat on the base paths this spring and that's really a big improvement. Paul Goldschmidt has apparently been mentoring Ben Rice at first base; with the Yankees luck at first base, Rice could bat .285 with 45 dingers or end up in Japan making Tik Tok videos with Bauer by next season. Cody Bellinger looked great in Yankee stadium last year.
Incidentally, watching Bauer get bruised in a dead ball league is one of the best things I have ever seen. Baseball taketh away but giveth in droves.
And so yes, the Yankees regressed in comparison to everyone else and have a lot of question marks. But maybe they didn't have to spend. If they stay somewhat healthy, they have a very strong lineup.
I think that for the Yankees, this season will come down to a few key factors. The Blue Jays were the hottest team in baseball last fall. Will the Jays maintain their form or regress to their team mean? If the Jays play above themselves like they have shown they can, the Yankees will have a more challenging postseason.
A lot will also depend on what happens with pitchers like Rodón and Cole in the next month or so. I can't escape the feeling that Nestor Cortes was the backup plan, but he's out for at least 9 months. Depending on how Schlittler tracks, a Fried-Gil-Warren core three starters could be an absolute disaster. If Aaron Judge stays healthy, he can make up for a lot of stratospheric ERAs....but not if he doesn't have anyone to protect him at the plate.
So I have a lot of questions but also a lot of reasons to be optimistic. Unfortunately, this seems like one of those seasons where the Yankees have to rely upon health first, and if they get blessed with good health, they have to rely upon their players playing up to their levels. Baseball is such a strange sport that they could win a pennant this season or miss the playoffs. That's part of the charm of spring training. In February, the reports sound encouraging. In October, you find out who was actually physically capable of playing a season.