New York Yankees Pitchers and Catchers Kick Off!

It’s officially time for New York Yankees baseball!

Today is the day pitchers and catchers will finally make their long anticipated return to George M. Steinbrenner field down in Tampa, Florida – officially kicking off the 2016 season!

While much of the Yankees starting rotation has remained in tact from last season, their bullpen will feature some new faces, including the flame throwing southpaw Aroldis Chapman.

The Yankees shipped out important bullpen arms in Adam Warren and Justin Wilson to upgrade the rest of their roster, and young guys like ‘the strikeout factory’ Jacob Lindgren and Bryan Mitchell will look to make a name for themselves this spring.

John Ryan Murphy will no longer accompany Brian McCann behind the dish, as he too was traded this off-season during a slew of moves made by GM Brian Cashman. Instead, it’ll be veteran Carlos Corporan, the once-promising prospect Austin Romine and the highly touted 22-year old Gary Sanchez joining Brian McCann as Yankees catchers this spring.

Related Story: Is Gary Sanchez a Future MVP?

The Starting Rotation

As the Yankees pitching staff gets set to begin their spring training regiment, the biggest news surrounding the pitching staff is that the team will open up camp without ace Masahiro Tanaka.

Tanaka traveled back to New York on Thursday to join his wife Mai, who just gave birth to a baby boy and the newest member of the Yankees family.

Tanaka also underwent surgery in the off-season to shave down a bone spur in his pitching elbow, but the right-hander recently threw from flat ground in Yankees Stadium and reported no issues. The Yankees are hoping Tanaka can return to true form and be the anchor of their rotation in 2016.

Aside from Tanaka, the Yankees also need to keep a close on Nathan Eovaldi this spring.

After pitching to a 14-3 record with a rather high 4.20 ERA, Eovaldi suffered a season-ending injury that put team doctors on high alert when he complained about forearm tightness in his pitching arm last summer. Prior to the injury, Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild fine-tuned Eovaldi into a decent starting pitcher, but he still needs to work on his command and putting hitters away.

The health of Ivan Nova has also developed into quite the story for the New York Yankees. After pitching to a 5-11 record with a 5.07 ERA in his return from tommy john surgery, the 26-year old now finds himself competing with former AL Cy-Young winner CC Sabathia for the fifth and final spot in the starting rotation. The Yankees are hoping $4.1 M dollars and the fact that Ivan Nova is in a walk-year before becoming a free-agent next October for the first time in his career is enough to motivate Nova to have a successful season.

Speaking of the veteran CC Sabathia, you have to wonder if the 35-year old southpaw has enough left in the tank to hold a rotation spot in the Bronx. Not only has he continued to have injury complications with his knee, but he had a brief stint with alcoholism last season that forced him to enter rehab and miss the teams first playoff berth since the 2012 season.

Michael Pineda has one goal in 2016, and that’s finally eclipsing the 200-inning mark for the first time in his career. After coming over to the Yankees in 2012, ‘Big Mike’ has suffered countless injuries that cause him to break down season after season. Hopefully that all changes in 2016.

The soon-to-be 22-year old Luis Severino enters spring training as the only starting pitcher without injury complications, and one has to wonder whether or not the young right-hander will be on an innings limit as we start the upcoming the season.

While Severino has the potential to be an ace, the fact of the matter is he still has a lot to prove in 2016. After all, he only pitched to a 5-3 record with a 2.89 ERA in just 11 games started with the Yankees. That said, I’m not sold on Severino until he pitches more than 62.1 innings and faces opposing clubs on multiple occasions before deeming him ace material.

Look for 24-year old right hander Bryan Mitchell and the newly acquired Luis Cessa to put up strong efforts this spring as dark horses to make the Yankees starting rotation.

Related Story: NY Yankees Spring Training Surprise Candidates

The ‘Pen

One of the more notable players reporting to camp for the first time in pinstripes is new closer Aroldis Chapman. Following his off-field domestic violence complications and his one-year $11.325 million deal, you have to wonder if Chapman’s success in Cincinnati will carry over into the spot light of New York. If it does, the Yankees will have the best bullpen in baseball history when they team Chapman alongside Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances.

Also, with Adam Warren and Justin Wilson out of the Bronx, the Yankees will use spring training as a tryout to fill the front end of their bullpen.

The Yankees have plenty of young candidates in-house like Jacob Lindgren, James Pazos, Chasen Shreve and Branden Pinder looking to make a name for themselves as well as a number of players on minor league deals with an invitation to spring training including Kirby Yates, Anthony Swarzak, and Vinnie Pestano.

The Youth Movement… 

Aside from the injury riddled pitching staff and the battle of the bullpen, there are other exciting things to watch for as pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

One thing to watch for is the development of young pitchers in the Yankees farm system. Two key prospects with invitations to spring training include James Kaprielian and Ian Clarkin.

Kaprielian was selected 16th overall out of UCLA by the New York Yankees in the first round of last years MLB Amateur Draft. While he might not be an ace, Kaprielian has the potential to be a solid number two or three starter and he’s actually fairly close to the majors already.

Despite sitting out all of 2015 with an elbow injury, the 21-year old southpaw Ian Clarkin returned to action in the Arizona Fall League where he quickly regained his form. Clarkin is reportedly 100% healthy, and 2016 should be a big year for him in terms of development. If he can pitch pain-free through 20 starts, Clarkin should remain on pace to break into the major leagues in 2017.

The rest of the New York Yankees roster is set to report to spring training next Wednesday, and their first full workout as a team is scheduled for Thursday, February 25th.

The Yankees first Spring Training game is on Wednesday, March 2nd at 1:05 PM EST against the Detroit Tigers.

For more updates and full coverage through spring training be sure to follow us right here at Yanks Go Yard!