NFL
By Billy Lewis
Major League Baseball is getting ready to celebrate Opening Day on Thursday! The New York Yankees will take on the Milwaukee Brewers in the Bronx on Thursday afternoon. Carlos Rodon will get the Opening Day honor as he has been named the starter for game one.
New York Yankee Injury Woes
As the calendar turned to 2025, the Yankees’ pitching rotation looked like it was going to be a major strength in the Bronx. After signing Max Fried, it looked like he was going to slide into rotation right behind Gerrit Cole. However, after suffering an injury during last Spring Training, Cole was bitten again by the injury bug.
After being sidelined until June last season, the injury prognosis was more grim this season. Cole underwent Tommy John Surgery earlier in March and will miss the entire 2025 season.
Cole isn’t the only injury the Yankees have to deal with to start this season. Luis Gil filled in admirably for Cole last season en route to winning the American League Rookie of the Year. Unfortunately, Gil will be joining Cole on the injured list to begin the season. Gil is dealing with a Lat strain and is expected to miss at least three months before he’ll be able to make his 2025 debut.
Clarke Schmidt will be the third Yankee starting pitcher to begin the season on the Injured List. Schmidt’s injury shouldn’t be as severe, and hopefully, he’ll be able to make his debut in April.
The Yankees are looking for Wll Warren and Carlos Carrasco to help fill the void in the rotation due to the injuries.
New York Yankees Lineup
After Gleyber Torres signed with the Detroit Tigers, one pressing question for Aaron Boone was who would bat lead-off. Thursday, Yankee fans will see something that’s never been seen in the Bronx. Austin Wells is slated to be the first Yankee catcher to bat leadoff in their regular season history.
Austin Wells will bat first for the Yankees on Opening Day, Aaron Boone told @TalkinYanks. More than 18,000 games in franchise history and the Yankees have never had a catcher hit leadoff: https://t.co/uXMPqEBA6i
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) March 25, 2025
Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu will also begin the season on the IL for the Yankees. While it can’t necessarily be shocking, it still opens up question marks in the Yankee lineup. With Torres’s departure, Jazz Chisholm Jr. is moving back to second base. That move does open a hole at third base for the Bronx Bombers.
Versatile utility-man Oswaldo Cabrera could play a big part in that equation. If he is able to take hold of the starting job and put up good offense numbers, it would be a huge help to create a linear lineup for the Yankees.
Jasson Dominguez should also get his chance to be a mainstay in the Yankees’ lineup. The Martian has been a hyped prospect and has hit well in the Majors, albeit in limited opportunities. The biggest question following Dominguez this season will be his defensive play.
The veteran acquisitions of Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger should add a good mix to the Yankees lineup. Bellinger has had a few up-and-down seasons but will be looking to take advantage of the friendly short porch in the Bronx.
Goldschmidt is coming off a down year. Goldy is 37, so age can always be a concern with veteran players, but after a down first half, he did rally to have a much better second half in 2024, with an OPS over 100 points better than the first (.799 vs .664).
The Yankees will be looking for a bounce-back season from the 2022 NL MVP. He had a good Spring Training with an OPS of 1.003. Though Spring Training stats should be taken with a grain of salt, it is a good sign that the veteran can build off of a solid end to 2024.
Prediction:
88-74 2nd in the AL East, eventually losing in the ALDS.
Bold Prediction:
Bellinger and Goldschimdt finish with over 60 combined home runs, Carlos Rodon finishes top 5 for AL Cy Young.
