The Yankees Are Having A Nightmare Spring Training

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Yankees fans should be very grateful that the Dallas Mavericks exist. At least there's another sports organization somewhere having a worse few weeks than them.

It's Spring Training so it's been somewhat under the radar but the Yankees are having some real problems. If guys keep getting hurt while Brian Cashman stands still, it could make for a challenging 2025 for such an elegant fan base.

Luis Gil's Injury

SOURCE -When Aaron Bone revealed earlier this week that Luis Gil had a high-grade lat strain that would come with at least a six-week shutdown, he mentioned that the Yankees were still getting additional opinions from doctors.

That has happened and while Gil’s diagnosis did not get any worse, it did not get any better.

The reigning AL Rookie of the Year flew back to New York this week to undergo a more sophisticated MRI than the one he got in Tampa over the weekend, Brian Cashman said Thursday, which confirmed their initial read on it.

The Yankees at one point had SEVEN starting pitchers. They did trade Nestor Cortes to the Brewers for Devin Williams but that was a smart trade and still left them with six. The good news for the Yankees is that they still have a decent staff. 

SP Gerrit Cole

SP Max Fried

SP Carlos Rodon

SP Clarke Schmidt

SP Marcus Stroman

The bad news is that the margin for error might now be gone with Gil getting shelved. Can they be sure Schmidt and Cole will remain healthy until Gil comes back (likely not until June)? What if any of those five do get hurt? Will Warren has been the one bright spot in this Spring Training From Hell, but he's also a guy who had an ERA of 10.32 in 5 starts last year.

Giancarlo Stanton Doesn't Have A Working Elbow

Stanton's always hurt. Yankee fans will tell you until they are sweating Axe body spray and Aqua Velva that it doesn't matter if Stanton plays in the regular season, as long as he's available in the playoffs.

But it does matter now with Juan Soto gone. This lineup stinks other than Aaron Judge. Ben Rice is now slated to be the DH until (if?) Stanton comes back. The same Ben Rice that hit .171/.264/.349 last year. 

I guess there were talks with J.D. Martinez but those have fallen apart. I can't entirely blame the Yankees as myself and all Mets fans watched him age like milk in the second half. But, if you're the Yankees, you need to go find another option. The regular season starts up in less than three weeks.

The Yankees Don't Have A Third Baseman

They can't blame this one on Spring Training. The Yankees haven't had a third baseman since DJ LeMahieu stopped being a good baseball player in 2022. I don't know what the game plan was for the Bronx Braintrust with this one. At least they can't trot out LeMahieu's corpse anymore.

SOURCE - LeMahieu underwent imaging that showed a Grade 1 or 2 calf strain, he said Thursday morning.

And while he had yet to talk to the Yankees’ medical staff about an exact timeline, he knows it is going to be a bit before he starts doing baseball activities again, all but ensuring he will open the season on the injured list.

So, I guess the plan is Oswaldo Cabrera? I think he's a fine bench piece but the plan is for him to play a full season at third base? At some point, someone other than Judge and Cody Bellinger will need to score some runs.

Jasson Dominguez Is A Mess In Left Field

This isn't the only time Dominguez has looked awful in left field. This is a massive problem considering how big the left side of the outfield is in Yankee Stadium. Is this why we never saw him play defense in the playoffs last year? And if that's true, then it was always the plan to have someone who struggles defensively to play everyday in left field in 2025?

The other issue is if you stick Dominguez at DH until Stanton gets back, then you have to play Trent Grisham everyday. He hasn't hit .199 in any season since 2021.

These holes and issues are starting to really add up. The Yankees do have the benefit of playing in the American League but it's not like the AL East is a joke. The Red Sox are clearly better than last year. The Orioles will likely be a playoff team yet again. 

Having Gerrit Cole and Max Fried will keep you in games, even with this shitty lineup. But they can only pitch 40% of the time. Can this lineup be successful? 

Too bad they couldn't add a bat like Juan Soto. That would make such a huge difference.