Yankees: How the delayed start of the season could hurt or help the Yankees

One can pinpoint a number of reasons why beginning the season much later following a short spring training will have a deleterious effect on the Yanks.

There is a good reason why pitchers and catchers are required to report earlier than other players. Importantly, there must be enough time set aside for catchers to get in sync with their pitchers. This is especially critical if there is a new pitcher in camp, like Cole. By arriving early Cole and Sanchez are given extra time to get to know each other and work out kinks.

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In addition, batters rely on spring training to get their timing back and to physically get into game-ready shape. Batters need to face live major league pitching in order to become prepared for the regular season. Those who are changing positions, like Miguel Andujar and Gleybor Torres, need as many reps as they can get in the field.

My greatest fear is that MLB won’t pick up where they left off on the spring training schedule and after not playing baseball any games for an extended period of time, a number of Yanks might get seriously injured when play resumes. While it is true that all 30 MLB teams are in the same boat, it is also true that the Yanks, for whatever reason, are more prone to injuries than players on other teams.

A repeat of last year’s constant parade of players on the IL during a shortened 2020 regular season could ruin the team’s chances of winning the World Series.