Yankees biggest concerns after opening weekend

After playing four games opening weekend, the Yankees are standing at .500 and have not performed as well as many hoped. But are concerns about this season reasonable or is it too early to not brush away any struggles that have occurred?

The Yankees played an American League East counterpart in the Toronto Blue Jays this past holiday weekend and did not look like the team to beat in the division after stacking the lineup with more power.

But how valuable was this new power surge to the already exceptional team the Yanks had? Was it worth it to add Giancarlo Stanton, Brandon Drury and Neil Walker?

Obviously, adding Stanton to an already good team only makes them better. Hitting .281 with 59 home runs cannot be seen negatively in anyway whatsoever.

But what about Walker and Drury? Walker, being 32, does not have much upside, especially with his recent lack of playing time. On top of that, his performances while in his “prime” were solid, but not great.

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As for Drury, he’s young — only 25, leaving the Yankees with the hope that he will improve. But as of now, Drury is not all that great. He certainly is not a star player.

But Drury is hitting well as of now. Holding the team’s second-highest batting average after four games — carrying the team. So what’s the concern?

The Yankees are a power-oriented team. They are set up to either win by a landslide or lose swinging and missing.

And I mean that literally. Aaron Judge has six strikeouts in 15 at-bats; plus ZERO home runs for the younger half of the twin towers in the outfield.

On top of that, the injuries have begun to pile up, including Greg Bird, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clint Frazier, Aaron Hicks and the recently called up and then injured, Billy McKinney. All this leaves the Bombers with some temporary holes, especially in their once crowded outfield.

Don’t forget about the pitching. Before the season started, the worry was in the starting rotation, but after opening weekend, the Yankees saw struggles out of the bullpen in some of their veteran arms.

The Yanks’ bullpen has given up 11 earned runs in their first four games, compared to the three given up by all starters thus far. To further this, starters have thrown 20.2 innings while relievers 13.1 innings.

Sitting at .500 after opening weekend is not a horrible way to start the season out. But the lack of impressive performances from those which success is expected is a bit worrisome, but not of the highest concern.

Seeing high-level performances from the mid-tier players is exciting, perhaps it’s insight into what these guys are capable of.

As for what to expect for the future this season, the Yankees are a go big or go home team. They can hit a ton of homers or go down by the strikeout every plate appearance.

Yankees GM, Brian Cashman, and the team’s front office has gambled on the longball this season, hoping their pitching can hold together, well enough to evade the opposition.

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We will see if this decision pans out. In the meantime, enjoy the success of the Yankees’ role players, especially in place of any injured starters.