It is impossible for the New York Yankees to have a scandal-free offseason.
First, you have a New York Post picture of an overweight Derek Jeter. Second, you have a report linking Alex Rodriguez to BioGenesis PED scandal.
The Blue Jays and Rays improved their rosters with big trades and the Yankees, besides signing Kevin Youkilis, they did not sign any top free agents.
Can the Yankees win another AL East crown?
Here is the 2013 MLB season preview for the New York Yankees.
2012 Win/Loss Record: 95-67
Key Additions: 3B Kevin Youkilis, DH Travis Hafner, 1B/OF Juan Rivera, P Shawn Kelley, OF Matt Diaz, C Bobby Wilson, 1B Dan Johnson
Key Losses: OF Nick Swisher, C Russell Martin, OF Andruw Jones, OF Raul Ibanez, P Rafael Soriano, P Pedro Feliciano, OF Chris Dickerson, 3B Casey McGehee, 3B Eric Chavez, P Freddy Garcia, P Derek Lowe
Interleague Schedule: NL West + New York Mets
Projected Starters: Chris Stewart, Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Kevin Youkilis, Derek Jeter, Juan Rivera, Brett Gardner, Ichiro Suzuki, Travis Hafner
Projected Starting Rotation: CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte, Ivan Nova, Phil Hughes
Closer: Mariano Rivera
Fantasy Sleeper: 2B/3B David Adams – Due to Alex Rodriguez’s injury, Adams could find himself in the Majors. Kevin Youkilis should play a lot at third base with Jayson Nix as his primary backup. If Travis Hafner doesn’t pan out as the DH, Youk could DH or play 1B and have Teixeira split DH duties with him. If that happens, Adams will be an automatic call-up. He spent the first few years at second base, but spent half of the season at third base in Double-A. He has hit over .300 at every level so far, but the highest level he’s played is Double-A. Finding a keeper on the Yankees is quite difficult. They have been very patient with their prospects and try not to rush them in fear of them struggling early, like Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. The Yankees usually trade for need, but with them wanting to cut payroll, bringing Adams up is more plausible.
Team Analysis: The Yankees plan to cut payroll over the next few seasons to avoid the higher luxury taxes. They were picky this offseason with their signings and let Nick Swisher, Russell Martin and Rafael Soriano walk. The Yankees aging stars are becoming more of an issue. They didn’t get any younger by signing Travis Hafner and Youkilis. Robinson Cano is the only position player I can confidently say will play like an All-Star this season. There are too many question marks on this team. I like CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda, but the rest of the pitching staff are inconsistent. We don’t even know if Mariano Rivera will back as dominant as he was. I still think this team will be .500, but with an improved Orioles and Blue Jays, the usual doormats will make the AL East race the talk of sports talk radio the entire season.
Sportsbook.ag’s 2013 Wins Over/Under Line: 87.0 (Prediction: UNDER)
2013 Projected Win/Loss Record: 84-78 (3rd in AL East)
CLICK HERE to read the rest of our 2013 MLB Team Previews
Now I’ll leave you with a picture of Joba Chamberlain doing something douchey.
