Yankees goals for 2020 to end with winning the World Series

Reliable Yankees

The final piece of the puzzle for the 2020 Yankees to bring the championship back to the Bronx is for their reliable players to perform accordingly.

As Yankee fans love to remind the baseball world, Gleyber Torres is 23. And although he put up monster stats last season, and should have garnered more MVP attention than he did, if Torres replicate, or dare I say, achieve more than he did in ’19, we may be looking at a generational talent.

Shifting to his natural shortstop position full-time without wondering if he’d need to flip back to second base should only further allow Torres to flourish on both sides of the ball.

D.J. LeMahieu is in the same boat. Entering the final year of his contract, it’s entirely possible the 31-year-old duplicates his insanely good 2019. However, the Yankees simply need him to play to his ability and be the steadying influence he was, not only as the team’s leadoff man but a Gold Glove-winning second baseman that also plays an intelligent first.

Brett Gardner probably won’t hit 28 home runs again, and he’s likely to bat towards the bottom of the lineup, but if he can play a solid center field, and get on base at a .330 clip while acting as a calming influence in the Yankee clubhouse, then he’s well worth $12.5M.

Let’s not forget about manager Aaron Boone. He definitely had a better sophomore season managing the bullpen. Now working alongside new pitching coach Matt Blake, the handling of the pitching rotation, in general, should only get better.

Boone faced a ton of challenges with the roster last season due to all the injuries but passed with flying colors. Entering his third year as Yankee skipper, Boone will feel perhaps more pressure than anyone to succeed in pinstripes, but like his players, he’s a savage — ready to raise the World Series trophy in 2020.