EVERY FEW YEARS the Yankees decide to
flex their financial muscles. In 2009 they
signed CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and
A.J. Burnett en route to a title. Five years
later the Bombers brought in Jacoby Ellsbury,
Brian McCann and Masahiro Tanaka, with
lesser results. Now, they’ve signed righty
Gerrit Cole to a nine-year, $324 million deal,
the largest ever for a pitcher.
Cole was the one that got away, New
York’s first-round pick in ’08 (No. 28) who
chose to attend UCLA instead. He would be
the No. 1 choice in the draft three years later,
developed by the Pirates then unleashed
and perfected by the Astros. Last season
Cole whiffed 326 batters; since the mound
was lowered in 1969, only Randy Johnsonand Nolan Ryan have struck out more.
The Yankees have been an ace short the
last few Octobers, including in ’19, when
no starter pitched into the seventh in nine
postseason games. Meanwhile, for Houston,
Cole averaged 7^1 / 3 innings over five playoff
starts, going 4–1 with a 1.72 ERA.
New York is certain to be in the title
mix, especially now that the Red Sox
have unloaded outfielder Mookie Betts,
the second-best player in baseball. (The
Rays are a threat, but only if everything
goes right.) Even with concerns about the
rotation behind Cole (Luis Severino, whowas an All-Star in ’17 and ’18, will miss ’20
after Tommy John surgery), the Yankees
enter the season with the same dominant
offense led by Aaron Judge and shutdown
bullpen that nearly got them to the World
Series—plus infielder Miguel Andújar and
slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who return from
injuries. With Houston, the team that stood
in the way of the Yankees’ winning the AL
pennant in ’17 and ’19, now diminished,
in part because of Cole’s departure, the
Yankees are better positioned than they have
been in years to win title number 28.|JASSON DOMINGUEZ| CF | Dubbed “The Martian” and compared
to Mike Trout when he signed at 16 from the D.R. in ’19, Dominguez
has followed Jason Heyward’s career path (minus the elite glove):
ups and downs, more good than bad, but the prevailing feeling is
[`jXggf`ekd\ekfm\i_`jle]lcÓcc\[gfk\ek`Xc%Fe\^ff[p\XiY\]fi\
free agency could boost both Dominguez and the Yankees, who
are reeling from two sub-.500 seasons after six straight playoff
appearances. Manager CC Sabathia’s job is on the line.2030 PREDICTION
4.91 ERA | 1.2 WAR
Happ’s ERA has
risen for three
straight years,
and he allowed
34 homers in
’19. It’s hard
to expect that
the lefthander,
who turns 38
in October, will
bounce back.YANKEES
GREG NELSON ( 2 )
Even with concerns about the
rotation behind Cole, the Yankees
still have the same dominant
offense and shutdown bullpen.