Yanks eye -- what else? -- WS return in '21

TAMPA, Fla. -- On the day Gerrit Cole was formally introduced as the newest Yankee, hoisting his dented "YANKEE FAN TODAY TOMORROW FOREVER" placard in Yankee Stadium’s Legends Club, Hal Steinbrenner opined that he expected to see “multiple” World Series championships over the life of the ace’s nine-year contract.

Cole did not blink, saying he agreed with Steinbrenner’s statement. Much has changed since that December 2019 morning, but the objective has not. The Yankees expect to stand tall as champions this autumn, and Cole said that he sees himself as leading a starting rotation that is capable of greatness.

“It’s encouraging,” Cole said. “When you get out of Spring Training, you want to have a healthy staff. Starters are tremendously important when we’re talking about six months. First and foremost, everybody is taking the ball when they’re asked. The performance right now is the cherry on top, and the regular season is what counts.”

General manager Brian Cashman frequently says that “pitching is the key to the kingdom,” and New York believes it has the makings of something special with Cole, Corey Kluber, Jameson Taillon, Jordan Montgomery and Domingo Germán in its starting five. Luis Severino is expected to return in June or July, which figures to bolster the Bombers’ ability to pitch deep into games.

“I like the position that we’re in,” Cole said. “I’m excited for Sevy and a couple of the other guys down at the bottom to make contributions as well. We’ve really had some nice conversations and gotten to know each other on a personal level. We’ve checked all the boxes so far, and it’s been fun.”

What needs to go right?
The biggest stumbling block between the Yankees and their goals is player health -- part of the reason they revamped their strength and conditioning programs before 2020, one year after setting a Major League record with 30 players serving 39 stints on the injured list. On paper, their lineup projects to have little difficulty putting up crooked numbers, but Boone has rarely written Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton into the same lineup. Boone is counting on a batting order that also features last season's batting champion in DJ LeMahieu and the Majors’ home run leader in Luke Voit.

Great unknown
Gary Sanchez is a two-time All-Star who was the fastest player in American League history to slug 100 home runs. He’s also coming off a season in which he batted .147/.253/.365 and watched backup catcher Kyle Higashioka start behind the plate for five of seven postseason games. New York wagers that Sánchez will return to his early-career offensive form, but there’s no guarantee. Sánchez showed glimpses supporting both arguments during the spring, mashing tape-measure homers and chasing sliders in the dirt. His defense has been a constant conversation topic, but what he does over the next 400 or 500 at-bats could determine his future in New York.

Prospect to watch
In some ways, Deivi García benefited from the pandemic-shortened 2020 season -- if the season had gone as expected, the Yankees likely would have wanted the right-hander to gain valuable experience in the Minors. With those schedules dark, García was available for use at the big league level. García got his feet wet, pitching to a 4.98 ERA in six regular-season starts, plus an abbreviated opening assignment in the playoffs. Teammates have remarked that García carries himself with maturity far exceeding his 21 years, and his curveball may be the best in the organization. After competing for a rotation spot, García was optioned to Triple-A late in camp. New York plans to keep García stretched out as a starter so he can step in during the season.

Team MVP will be ...
Stanton. Bookmark this and revisit it in August or September, because this is the year Stanton stays healthy and recaptures his 2017 AL MVP Award form. Boone believes Stanton has grown as a player over the past couple of seasons, despite being limited to 41 regular-season games since the end of '18. Stanton agrees and has altered his weight-lifting and training regimens to focus more on cardio and flexibility. Stanton’s jaw-dropping '20 postseason offered a reminder that when he’s in the lineup, he can be the best player on the field.

Team Cy Young will be ...
Any choice other than Cole would be a long shot here. At age 29 and in the prime of his career, Cole could be this year’s best AL hurler, coming off 12 starts during which he went 7-3 with a 2.84 ERA, then pitched to a 2.95 ERA in three playoff starts. In a year during which many teams will be reluctant to push their starting pitchers, Boone sees Cole as a legitimate 200-innings candidate -- a plateau the righty has reached in each of his past three full seasons.

Bold prediction
308 or bust!

With Judge and Stanton remaining healthy for most of the 2021 campaign, the Yankees will reclaim the Major League record for home runs in a single season by a team, a mark currently held by the '19 Twins (307). New York established the previous high with 306 homers in '18, when Gleyber Torres led the squad with 38 long balls. Thanks to Yankee Stadium’s hitter-friendly dimensions and the team’s improved training regimens, they’ll surpass the Minnesota "Bomba Squad" despite a slightly altered baseball intended to reduce year-to-year fluctuations in power numbers.