MLB New York Yankees

Starting Rotation Could Be New York Yankees’ Biggest Strength In 2015

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By @ogab_3

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Noah K. Murray – USA Today Sports

The New York Yankees have some clear weaknesses on their team as they head into the new year. However, that doesn’t mean that this team still isn’t without their strengths. Perhaps their biggest one, as long as everyone stays healthy, is their starting rotation.

The unquestionable ace of the staff will be second-year pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. He looked like the front-runner for the AL Cy Young Award through the first half of the season. Then, an arm injury derailed his season and the Yankees shut him down for the rest of the year. He is expected back to start the year, however, and he is a game-changer for that staff. He adds a dominant force that they lacked last year.

The other player that they’re expecting to return to form is C.C. Sabathia. If Sabathia can stay healthy and pitch like everyone knows he can, that gives them one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball. And then if Michael Pineda and others can give them good innings, their rotation suddenly becomes a strength. But once again, Pineda has struggled with health and inconsistency for his entire tenure in pinstripes.

As for most teams in MLB, health can be the deciding factor between a playoff team and a team that’s a complete disaster. While I’m not sure that the Yankees at their peak are a playoff team, it’s certainly true that a lot of their success in 2015 will ride on the health of the starting rotation. The Yankees’ staff can be an elite unit if everyone performs up to expectations. But in baseball, as in life, expectations and reality can often be very different ideas.

Owen Gabbey is a baseball writer who also contributes for the NFL for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ogab_3, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google. 

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