SPANISH HARLEM – It feels great to have baseball back in my life. I’m probably one of the few people in the world that loves this sport and considers it their favorite sport. There is nothing I love more than writing about the New York Yankees… and we finally have some news to digest, so let’s get right into it.
Are the Yankees Better?
With the trade of Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela to the Minnesota Twins for Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (plus some catcher), you could say the Yankees got better at 3rd base and shortstop. I think it’s safe to say that Donaldson, when healthy, is a better overall player at 3rd. IKF is better than anybody we had listed at the position, which includes Urshela and Gleyber Torres. IKF is a former Gold Glove winner at short and cleans up a very big problem the Yankees had on defense.
Sanchez on the other hand, is where the Yankees get worse. Gary was one of those players, either you loved him or hated him. Not much in-between. He was inconsistent on both sides of ball but it’s hard to argue that when Sanchez was hot, he looked like one of the best hitters in the game. Sure, that didn’t happen too often and that’s the reason he was traded. While I got frustrated with his play, as many fans did, it wasn’t his defense that pissed me off. It was his inability to understand what pitchers were trying to do to him. The swing and misses on sliders were what did it for me.
Then on Tuesday the Yankees added Anthony Rizzo for another year after losing out hope that Freddie Freeman would don the pinstripes. Personally, I liked Rizzo and what he brought to the team. Sure, I wanted Freeman (Who wouldn’t?), but once it was decided that wasn’t going to happen, Rizzo was the next best option. He brings defense and lefty power to the lineup; two things that the Yanks needed. The players really enjoyed him as a teammate and that matters, so I’m happy he will back.
Now to the juicy part. While I do believe the players the Yankees added were good players, I’m not so sure that it made a team better. They still have issues with the starting rotation and if that doesn’t get fixed, this team will not be better than the one they ran out last year.
Are the Bombers better?! More like incomplete.
Comment below – it doesn’t have to be about the Yanks – and come back tomorrow for Cam James.
