When it comes to the sworn enemies in the major leagues, the first thing that comes to mind is definitely the Yankees and Red Sox in the American League East. After a winter of operation, who will play better in the new season, the two traditional giants who reached the playoffs last year but have not made it to the end? Let's take a look.
2021 Season Review
For the Yankees, who have a glorious team history, last season's performance was certainly not a success. Known as the "Bronx Bomber" in the past, they did not play a magnificent offensive performance, on the contrary, due to the weaknesses of several main guns such as the high rate of three strikes and the lack of speed batters, their offensive line was easily targeted, and their state fluctuated.
With the help of several mid-season traded players, it was not until the final day of the season that it squeezed into the playoffs with a record of 92 wins and 70 losses. However, in the wild card battle, facing the sworn enemy Red Sox, Yankees ace Gerrit Cole played abnormally, which also put their efforts to the ground up all season.
Personnel changes
In this offseason, the Yankees did not open the money bag as usual to replenish, but lost a lot of players.
2020 American League home run champion Luke Voit was traded to the padress, and role players like Clint Frazier, Tyler Wade and Rougned Odor were also dropped.
Aside from the renewal of coach Aaron Boone and free-market first baseman Anthony Rizzo, there is only a slight deal with the Twins.
2015 American League MVP Josh Donaldson
The Yankees sent two main players, Gio Urshela and Gary Sanchez, in exchange for 2015's American League MVP Josh Donaldson, former Golden Gloves interiorr Isiah Kiner-Falefa and young receiver Ben Rortvedt. It may take at least a season to get an answer to the question of who is the winner of the deal involving five major league players.
Source: Kinafalefa personal social media
Key star: Aaron Judge, outfielder
Last season, "Judge" Judge was largely healthy, handing over 39 home runs and 98 RBIs and winning his second silver rod of his career. In this offseason, he will be given the last chance to arbitrate before stepping into the free market, and if he can't negotiate a contract extension with the Yankees in advance, he can become a free agent as early as the end of the season.
Whether the Yankees can tie up the team before the start of the season to watch the cricket star, and whether Judge can contribute to the team while staying healthy will be the Biggest attraction of the Yankees this season.
Training clip of the "judge"
Dark Horse Candidate: Luis Severino, starting pitcher
After a long recovery after undergoing surgery to reconstruct the elbow ligaments, the strong thrower, who had been ranked third in the Celeron Prize vote, finally returned at the end of last season and played as a rescue pitcher in five games, including wild card battles.
In his first two appearances in spring training, Severino performed poorly, with a SELF-point rating of close to 20, but this is not incomprehensible for a pitcher who has just recovered from a serious injury, his main problem is that the possession is unstable, and the quality of the ball thrown is not bad. If he can adjust his form before the start of the season, he can still be an important reinforcement for the Yankees' starting group.
Recruit registration: Luis Gil, starting pitcher
Coming to the Big Apple in a deal in 2018, Hill also trained for a few years at Yankee Farm. Finally getting his mlb ticket last year, he delivered a 3.07 ERA in six starts, and Hill took 38 strikeouts in 29.1 innings with a four-stitched speedball averaging 96 miles, triple-digit speed and more than 80 miles of skates. With the Yankees' rotation uncertain, if Hill can strengthen his possession, he will become the next young man in the Yankees' rotation to look forward to.
2022 season outlook
The Yankees, who have gone in and out of the offseason, don't seem to have much advantage in the competitive American League East, but the American League East will never be easy to play, and in the new season of expanded playoffs, the Yankees' goal is definitely to fight for the playoffs, for the championship.
The Red Sox performed surprisingly well last season, with surprising results from the start of the season and even occupying the top spot in the American League East at one point in the middle of the season. Although they lacked some stamina in the final stages of the regular season, they eventually won a wild card to enter the playoffs with a record of 92 wins and 70 losses.
In the playoffs, the Red Sox played well, knocking out the Yankees and Rays two division rivals to reach the American League Championship, and at one point took a 2-1 lead. Unfortunately, they were unable to block the counterattack of the old spicy astros in the end, and they were drunk and hated by their opponents after winning three consecutive games.
In this winter's free agent market, the Red Sox lost midseason reinforcement Kyle Schwarber and strong pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez.
But in march, they won two-time Silver Rod Winner Trevor Story on a six-year, $140 million contract. With the Red Sox already owning Xander Bogaerts in the shortstop position, "Story Brother" Story is expected to play for the team as a second baseman in 2022.
Two-time Silver Rod Winner Trevo Story
In addition, they sent heavy gun outfielder Hunter Renfroe to the Brewers, replacing defensive veteran Jackie Bradley Jr. and two minor league players, while the pitchers were added to several experienced veterans such as Michael Wacha, James Paxton and Rich Hill.
Overall, after an offseason operation, the strength of the Red Sox has improved slightly, but whether it can seize the leading throne of the United States in the new season needs further observation.
Source: Red Sox Social Media
Key star: Rafael Devers, third baseman
The 25-year-old heavy artillery third baseman played extremely well last season, firing 38 home runs with 113 RBIs and winning the first Silver Rod Award of his career. As a batter who excels at hitting when there are people on base, his tandem of firepower will be the guarantee of the Red Sox hitting the playoffs. For his part, he will be qualified as a free agent after next season, and he also hopes to win a big contract with early extension from the Red Sox management through excellent performance.
Dark Horse Candidate: Tanner Houck, starting pitcher
Hawke, who started and ran from both sides of the bullpen last season, has gained a lot of game experience, scoring an excellent 3.52 at the regular season pitch in 69 innings and delivering 87 strikeouts. The Red Sox are looking forward to the 25-year-old pitcher growing into a steady starting pitcher in the new season. If Hawke's growth is in line with expectations, it will be a key shot in the arm for the Red Sox, who are weak in attack and defense and full of injury hazards in the pitcher's group.
Recruits: Triston Casas, first baseman
The past year has been a very busy year for Casas, AA, AAA, and he even represented team USA in the Tokyo Olympics! At the end of the minor league season, he played non-stop in the Arizona Autumn League and showed his skillful batting ability in the game. The 2018 draft's first-round pick is not only a good batsman (last year's hits were as high as 0.279/0.394/0.484), but even his defense is unambiguous, and Casas, who is both offensive and defensive, is likely to be a silver stick + gold glove winner in the future.
Like the Yankees, the Red Sox' goal is to reach the playoffs and win the final championship. After the winter operation, their strength has improved compared to last year, but they still need to maintain the health of the first group to be able to withstand the impact of the major teams in the same region during the long season.
Do you think the stockings will meet again in the playoffs? Hurry up and discuss it with us in the comments section.