The current Major League Baseball lockout certainly is not helping the New York Yankees in the slightest as they would have been determined to get back to the plate as quickly as possible after a rather poor campaign last season.
The New York Yankees had a poor 2021 season
As we know, The Pinstripers had a rather poor year on the field and despite having been touted as a franchise that was expected to contend for the World Series, they never really managed to get going and were, arguably, rather poor throughout the entirety of the campaign by their own standards.
The Yankees managed to clinch an unlikely Wild Card that allowed them to enter the playoffs after they managed to record a season-high 13 game winning streak, which was their longest winning streak since 1961.
Having finished the regular season with a record that stood 92-70, it meant that the team would go on to qualify for the postseason as the fifth seed in the American League (AL). However, they would then wind up losing to the Boston Red Sox (who were the fourth seed) in the AL Wild Card Game that was played at Fenway Park. The New Yorkers, with its fifth consecutive playoff exit, disappointed the expectant and passionate fan base that has continued to follow this historic baseball team.
Lockout may have come at a bad time for the NY Yankees
With those disappointments firmly in the minds of many, there will have been an immediate desire to get back to Yankee Stadium and begin the 2022 season but, unfortunately, we have had to deal with the 2022 MLB lockout which has already had a rather damaging impact on the upcoming season.
It’s been over two months since the MLB lockout began.
(h/t @JeffPassan) pic.twitter.com/j6kloYdIle
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 15, 2022
Of course, one of the major incidents that have been experienced is in regard to the fact that the spring training games have had to be pushed back to the beginning of March at the very earliest, thus providing the team with an even shorter spring training which could have an impact on the performance on the field.
Additionally, the delay in getting spring training underway also means that we could see the scheduled Opening Day of March 31 in real doubt, which is something else many in New York might be rather disappointed about as it will be the first season that they will be able to legally make online wagers for.
Indeed, the state of New York recently allowed for online sports betting to go live at the beginning of 2022, therefore, many of the Yankees’ fans have been eagerly anticipating the opportunity to place a wager on MLB, getting the benefits of licensed sites, such as caesars sportsbook NY, as soon as all of the teams take the field. In fact, most of them are incredibly passionate about their team and will have been wanting to back them as much as they can this year in the hope that it would be able to rally the team on even further knowing how much it means to the supporters for the franchise to do well.
Of course, they will still have the opportunity to place wagers on the action that takes place throughout
the season and in spring training, however, there may be some that may have been a little upset that they
will not be able to do it as soon as they may have originally expected even though the season may only be
delayed a week or two depending on the current lockout situation.
But, what can we expect from spring training when it does get underway and what impact can the lockout have on the organization moving forward?
Well, it would seem that it could have a rather huge impact on the team in a variety of different ways, including having an impact on returning players and those that are looking to win a spot on the roster. Let’s take a little more of a detailed view of the areas where the Yankees could have issues.
Players who return from injury
There are two key players for the Yankees who could certainly have done with the full duration of spring training this year as they return from significant injuries. Luis Severino and Aaron Hicks are the notable players to be returning from injuries.
Happy 28th birthday Luis Severino!
Severino is one of three pitchers in Yankees history with multiple 200-strikeout seasons (230 in 2017 and 220 in 2018).
The others are David Cone (1997-98) and Ron Guidry (1978-79). pic.twitter.com/NTKFcCfKpS
— New York Yankees Stats (@nyyankeesstats) February 20, 2022
Severino is healthy at the moment and has already revealed that he is throwing bullpen sessions, however the upcoming campaign will be his first season in which he will try to pitch fully since 2018, therefore there is no doubt he would have benefited from a full spring training, especially as he only managed 7 ¹/₃ innings last year.
Hicks has had his issues since 2019 and lost a lot of the 2021 season because of a wrist injury, which has meant over the last three campaigns, he has made just 145 regular-season games. He did play in the Dominican winter league in the offseason, though, but there is no doubt he would have benefited greatly if a full spring training program was on offer.
Players who need to build value
Spring training could have been the perfect opportunity for players to try and build value, including Luke Voit. The only true first baseman on the 40-man roster, Voit had a troubling season last year in which he was plagued with injuries and was subsequently replaced by Anthony Rizzo, who is a free agent now but
looks set to be back at the team.
Knowing that the Yankees are going to be back in the market for a first baseman, Voit would have perhaps wanted to create value and work his way into the discussion, or at least make himself become a valuable chip that could help the team in the future.
Players who are trying to win a spot
Joely Rodriguez was the only free-agent deal that was made by the New York Yankees prior to the lockout, although the team did invest in a number of minor league free agents, too.
Ender Inciarte was one of those, and he could be hampered in his efforts of trying to show how he can be a valuable backup outfielder for the team due to the shortened practice time, whilst players such as Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt will need to bounce back after poor 2021 seasons.
Spring training could have provided them with the opportunity to work their way into the back end of the rotation, especially as Jameson Taillon works his way back from ankle surgery.
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