Even before the start of spring training was pushed back by Major League Baseball on Friday, players were preparing for a shortened time to prepare for the regular season due to the ongoing lockout.
“We’re just getting work in where we can,’’ Luke Voit said last week. “It’s a little bit harder not being able to use the [team] facility, but we don’t want to get too far behind for whenever we do start.”
Now that MLB has pushed back the start of spring training games to March 5 at the earliest — putting the scheduled Opening Day of March 31 in serious peril — a shortened spring training is almost a certainty.
Whether it’s four or five weeks, rather than the usual six, fewer Grapefruit League games will impact the Yankees in several ways.
Players returning from injuries
Luis Severino is healthy and said he has been throwing bullpen sessions, but as he aims to pitch a full season for the first time since 2018, the right-hander would no doubt benefit from a full spring training after tossing just 7 ¹/₃ innings last year, including the postseason.
Aaron Hicks, who has been sidelined by several injuries since signing an extension prior to the 2019 season, is coming off a wrist injury that cost him most of 2021. Over the past three seasons, Hicks has appeared in a total of just 145 regular-season games.
He was healthy enough to play a dozen games in the Dominican winter league this offseason in an effort to eliminate some rust, but he could use more at-bats this spring.
Players trying to build value
Voit is the only true first baseman on the Yankees’ 40-man roster, but he’s coming off an injury-plagued year, during which he was replaced by Anthony Rizzo, who now is a free agent. The Yankees are in the market for a first baseman, whether it be via a signing like Rizzo or Freddie Freeman, or a trade for someone, such as the Athletics’ Matt Olson.
Perhaps Voit could play his way into the conversation or become a more valuable trade chip, since he’s due to make around $5.4 million in arbitration and led the majors in homers in 2020.
Players trying to win a spot
The Yankees only made one free-agent deal before the lockout, bringing back Joely Rodriguez to the bullpen. But they did add some minor league free agents, including Ender Inciarte, who would normally attempt to show his value as a backup outfielder over the course of a typical spring. Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt are among the pitchers looking to bounce back from tough 2021 seasons, and could conceivably work their way into the back end of the rotation, especially with Jameson Taillon coming back from ankle surgery.
Infield chatter
After struggling at shortstop last season, Gleyber Torres went back to second base toward the end of the year and looked a lot better. With the Yankees still in search of a new shortstop, the middle of the infield will need to build chemistry quickly.