5 early impressions from Yankees camp

February 26th, 2020

TAMPA, Fla. -- It should come as no surprise that slipped into his unofficial role as team spokesperson to perfectly summarize the Yankees’ mindset, speaking in detail about what the outfielder views as a “driven” team intent upon reaching its first World Series in more than a decade.

“Just walking around here seeing everybody, there's a different level of focus this year,” Judge said. “That comes with experience the past couple years, making it as far as we did. These guys, these boys are ready. And we’ve got to go out there and finish it this year.”

Here are five impressions and observations from the early days of Yankees camp:

1. The cupboard is full
Coming off a season in which they had 30 players serve 39 stints on the injured list, the Yankees would have preferred not to have their depth tested so quickly, but that already appears to be happening with injury clouds around (back surgery), (season-ending Tommy John surgery), (Grade 1 right calf strain) and -- to a lesser extent -- Judge (right shoulder soreness).

Judge is expected to appear in Grapefruit League games next week, but the loss of Severino is significant, considering he was slated to team with and to create a dominant trio atop the rotation. With Paxton and the suspended Domingo Germán both expected to return by June, general manager Brian Cashman said he doesn’t anticipate making a trade, so Severino’s injury projects to create opportunities for some of the impressive young arms in camp.

“The thing that stands out to me is the quality of our young prospect pitchers that are starting to emerge -- kind of the 15th through 30th pitchers on our roster,” manager Aaron Boone said. “I feel like we’re better than we've been, certainly in the last few years, as we see some of our young pitchers really start to knock on the door. There are guys that have been added to the 40-man roster that we’re really high on in Spring Training this year. I feel like that’s showing itself.”

2. Gleyber glad to be back at shortstop
With their focus almost completely on landing Cole, the Yankees made only one free-agency overture to Didi Gregorius, which prompted the former Bomber to tell : “Get ready to play a lot of shortstop next year.”

Torres initially didn’t believe what he was hearing, but the 23-year-old is embracing the return to his original position, teaming nicely with double-play partner in workouts. Torres served as the Yanks’ shortstop in 77 games last season, starting there regularly while Gregorius was recovering from Tommy John surgery.

“I’m super excited,” Torres said. “It’s really good that I'm going to be back. I’m prepared to do a really good job at my position and help my team. After Didi signed with the Phillies during the offseason, I prepared full time at shortstop. I just prepared really well and tried to get in really good shape to play full time at that position.”

3. Like bein’ low
At the suggestion of new catching coach Tanner Swanson, is trying a new right-knee-down stance behind the plate, which is intended to assist Sánchez’s framing while allowing him to maintain the strides that were made in his blocking last season. Swanson said that a similar setup greatly benefited Mitch Garver, a backstop with a similar body type, during his time with the Twins.

As Sánchez continues to gain comfort in the new setup, it will bear watching throughout March. While catching Cole on Monday, Sánchez reverted to his usual crouch for a few pitches, which he said was an unintended force of habit. Some of the catchers are not participating -- one example is , who is already rated as an elite receiver.

“It's a work in progress right now,” Sánchez said through an interpreter. “It's something new to me and something that I still am learning. A couple of times, I felt that I was in between. The rhythm was not as good. Some locations, it was pretty good and the desired results were there. But you know, it's like I said, it's a work in progress. I’ll keep on working on it.”

4. Conversation station
Cole’s locker has become the clubhouse equivalent of the Central Perk café on "Friends," an inviting gathering spot where any and all topics are in play (just with less caffeine). In his first weeks wearing pinstripes, Cole is earning a reputation as one of the team’s chattier players, especially when steered toward breaking down the art of pitching.

While Cole’s arsenal drew awestruck crowds for batting practice sessions early in camp, the Yankees were impressed with how detailed his analysis of each mound session could be. During one spirited chat in a back-field dugout, Cole quizzed Higashioka about how he attacked each batter and their strengths and weaknesses, offering a glimpse of what will transpire in the dugout when the games count.

“Gerrit's a guy that loves talking the game, loves talking pitching and his craft,” Boone said. “When he engages you, it's usually a high-level conversation. I'm sure over the years he's smartly taken from those conversations that have aided him in becoming an elite-level pitcher.”

5. Up for anything
During an offseason visit to the Dominican Republic, Boone approached and suggested that improving his versatility could help his chances of being carried on the 26-man roster to open the regular season. To Boone’s surprise, Andújar responded that he had already begun taking balls at first base and in the outfield on his own, with those workouts having continued into the early weeks of camp.

While Andújar has not been perfect in his early outfield drills, he is gamely taking on the challenge, and the Yankees believe that he is athletic enough to make the transition. Andújar made his first play without incident during Wednesday’s exhibition against the Nationals, calling off Torres on a routine popup to left field.

“I haven't played outfield since I was a little kid, but we have great coaches here,” Andújar said through an interpreter. “What they've been teaching me, it is definitely making a difference. … I've done a lot of practice there and the results have been encouraging. Again, I want to get in the game and see some action. I'm just waiting for that opportunity.”

Did you like this story?
In this story:

Senior Reporter Bryan Hoch has covered the Yankees for MLB.com since 2007.