The New York Yankees have regained their winning ways and now are back to eyeing a division title, and hopefully a World Series championship. After the trade deadline, the Yankees have looked like a much better team, despite failing to fill a few holes, New York is back into the swing of things.
The good news for Yankee fans is things are about to get a whole lot better. The Bronx Bombers faithful were concerned that the Yanks didn't get another bat, a lefty arm in the pen and there are still pitching concerns. With that said Brian Cashmen reverted back to his standard talking point of saying 'just wait until guys get healthy'. While pinstripe fans have heard that before this season it rings true.
Giancarlo Stanton returned healthy and he brings an immediate threat to the middle of the lineup. Jose Trivino also returned late last week giving New York another threat behind the plate, even if he will be more of a Wells backup after this return. The depth is starting to grow into a strength. Those additions are good news, but both were fully expected and understood by the fans and team.
This team will add even more in the coming weeks, and that could push them to the division and possibly to greater heights. New York will welcome back Jon Berti. Berti is a speed threat who was specifically chosen in the offseason to be that ultra utility man. He can take over at 3B if needed, but also spell a defensive liability at 2B in Torres and even SS with Volpe having some foot issues. Anthony Rizzo will also be returning and while the Ben Rice experiment was fun, there was still hope that Rizzo could come back to his pre concussion self both at the plate and in the field.
We can also look to the farm system and anticipate Jasson Dominguez to be patrolling left field in short order. Dominguez seems to be the missing bat that Cashman needed to complete this lineup and his addition makes everyone around him better. Dominguez is tearing up the minor leagues since his return and on the year is batting over .310, with a .870 OPS, to go along with 6 home runs and 5 steals in just over 100 plate appearances. Oswaldo Peraza has also started to show some real signs of improvement in AAA and he will give the Yankees even more flexibility when he returns to the majors. He has mashed 10 home runs and has 17 steals on the year.
The bullpen will get a boost and have a number of arms to choose from when they are fully healthy. The long awaited return of Scott Effross is on the horizon, while Ian Hamilton, and his 15 holds, JT Brubaker, and Nick Burdi could all return to the pen and give Aaron Boone plenty of options. The biggest need right now seems to be the rotation where there are a few starters who have watched their ERA skyrocket and concerns are growing. Clarke Schmidt should alleviate some of those concerns upon his return, as he was having a banner season before going down with an injury. Schmidt looked like a staff ace while Cole was out with an injury and his 2.52 ERA and 1.14 WHIP would change this teams outlooks in a heartbeat.
All of these injury riddled players won't be returning at the same time, but New York expects them to be major contributors and when you add that type of potential to this team, it's ok to dream big.