Yankees make major changes to their training staff heading into 2020

After setting a major league record a season ago for players on the IL the Yankees have reportedly made big changes to their training staff heading into 2020.

In 2019 a total of 30 Yankees combined for 39 stints on the injured list. From the start of spring training all the way until October the injuries continued to plague New York and yet they still managed to win 103 games during the regular season and make it to Game 6 of the ALCS.

Last month the Yanks fired their director of strength and conditioning Matt Krause after spending the last six seasons with the club. It’s probably unfair to put all the blame on him for the inordinate amount of injuries, but somebody had to be the fall guy for what took place and I don’t think his dismissal came as a surprise to anyone.

Lindsay Adler of the Atheltic released a story on Friday saying that Eric Cressey, a highly regarded performance coach throughout the game has been hired by the Yankees to oversee their training and strength and conditioning departments. Cressey has worked with All-Star pitchers Max Scherzer, Corey Kluber, and Noah Syndergaard and will have the power to make new hires to add to his staff.

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Longtime head athletic trainer Stevie Donohue will not return in the same role but will remain involved with the organization in some capacity. It’s unfortunate to see Donohue removed after being on the big league staff since 1986, but the front office did the right thing by keeping him apart of the Yankee family in an emeritus role after all he’s contributed to the team over the years.

Who knows if this new training staff will help limit the injuries in 2020, but I think all us fans trust the front office’s decision to go in a new direction. Last season was a complete nightmare, unlike anything we’ve ever seen from a health standpoint and if not for the Yanks incredible depth they probably wouldn’t have won the division or even made the playoffs.

That’s a credit to Brian Cashman and his staff and heading into the 2020 season the Yankees depth will continue to be a major strength of the club. Let’s just hope it doesn’t have to be put to use as early and often as it was in 2019.