Playing Pepper 2013: New York Yankees

For the fifth straight year, Playing Pepper returns to C70 At The Bat.  If you aren't aware, this series helps get a feel for the other 29 teams in baseball by asking those that follow them the closest--their bloggers.  We've got spring training action going, so it's time to play a little pepper.  

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C70: How would you grade the offseason?YGY: If I had to give the Yankees a letter grade, I would go with a C-. They filled some holes with veteran talent, but they let go of somebody who they shouldn't have in Russell Martin. The Yankees were so dead set on staying under the self-imposed $189 million cap for luxury tax purposes, that they created a huge hole at catcher by letting Martin sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Much of their offseason was just welcoming back some of their own players from long-term injuries, like Mariano Rivera and Brett Gardner. Meanwhile, losing Nick Swisher via free agency wasn't a surprise, but it still hurts the offense. YGY: Business as usual, really. Who knows how he'll come back from a major injury, but he's one of the few players I would feel absolutely comfortable predicting he'll have a good year. I think with him retiring at the end of the year, you can bet his mind will be set on going out with the best season he can assemble. I can see him struggling in April as he tries to get back into the swing of things, but come on strong for the rest of the year. YGY: This one is very tough. Pineda isn't expected to do much this season, as GM Brian Cashman has stated. I think it was very important for him to say that publicly rather than privately. By doing that, he has allowed Pineda to take as much time as he needs to in order to come back healthy. The rotation doesn't need the young pitcher right away, so he can take his time, not rush back and risk hurting himself again. When he gets to the Bronx, I think Yankees fans will be pleasantly surprised with his production. His return would be like an midseason acquisition for the Yankees in a department that you can never have too much of -- pitching. YGY: The Yankees won't deploy many rookies on the big club, so it's really difficult to even project which rookie would even make the club. I know it's a cop out, but I'm going to go with David Phelps. The young pitcher is quietly competing for the fifth rotation spot with Ivan Nova. Phelps did a marvelous job last season skipping between long reliever, spot starter, mid-reliever, being sent down to the minors, being recalled to the Yankees; he really did it all for the team last year. I look for him to take over the fifth starter role for the Yankees this season and push Nova to Triple-A, the bullpen, or even expendable in a trade. YGY: Injuries have ravished this team in the spring so far, so much so that they'll be without their two biggest home run threats in Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson. It's nearly impossible to replace that type of power in such short order. It appears the Yankees will go into the season content with using a younger prospect in centerfield for Granderson and Dan Johnson at first base for Teixeira. I think the Yankees before the injuries were a 90+ win team. Now, I think they'll be 87-75 and place third in the division after a tough April. YGY: More of a speed game. They are nicknamed the Bronx Bombers for a reason, but I love watching good pitching and speed on the basepaths. A healthy Brett Gardner adds a certain dimension to this team that they don't regular possess. Add in a full season of Ichiro, and the Yankees have two legitimate base stealers to help set up the middle of the order with RBI chances. 

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