TAMPA — Yankees pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report to spring training on Wednesday, along with Aaron Boone’s first press conference of camp.
The Yankees manager is entering the final year of his contract for the second time in his tenure, and 2023 will be an important year for the team as it looks to bounce back from a tough 82-80 season.
Here are three of the questions Boone may answer Wednesday.
Is everyone healthy?
After the Yankees battled a number of physical issues last season, this question won’t go away anytime soon, and their potential this year will depend heavily on whether they can stay healthy.
That’s especially true of the rotation, where Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortez combined for just 127₃ innings last year, and Marcus Stroman battled injury issues late in the season after being named an All-Star.
Last year, Cortez injured his hamstring before arriving at camp, and on report day Boone revealed that Frankie Montas needed shoulder surgery.
Rodon and Luis Severino were injured during camp. The Yankees need a healthier injury report for their rotation this spring.
What is the catcher’s plan?
The only real competition for position the Yankees will have this spring is behind the plate, with Jose Trevino (returning from wrist surgery) and rookie Austin Wells (sure to be called up in September) pairing up. It is expected.
It remains to be seen how their playing time will change, but it will be interesting to see how Boone uses catchers with certain pitchers this spring — especially since Wells has a trusting relationship with all of his pitchers. This is because we are trying to continue building.
Why is this year different than 2023?
Yes, the Yankees have improved their roster and are also counting on improved health this season (although there were other teams that overcame serious injury issues last year).
But there were other issues that came up last season, such as Aaron Judge’s insistence on the need to evaluate different numbers from an analytics perspective and the need for better ways to communicate data to players.
Boone said at the winter meeting that he will probably be a little more hands-on in certain areas. What happens when it actually works?
The Yankees claimed infielder Jordan Groshans off waivers from the Marlins on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old Groshans, the 12th overall pick in the 2018 draft, further strengthens the Yankees’ infield with most of his experience gained at third base, shortstop and first base.
Groshans, who has two minor league options remaining, appeared in 17 games with the Marlins in 2022, hitting .262 with a .619 OPS, but spent all of 2023 in Triple-A.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the Yankees selected Matt Crook.
The left-handed relief pitcher had some interesting numbers last season, but struggled with command, walking 32 batters in 38 innings between the Yankees and Triple-A.
Alex Verdugo, Anthony Rizzo, Anthony Volpe, DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera were among the players who took batting practice at the minor league complex on Tuesday.
Reliever Ron Marinacio also had a bullpen session.
