Yankees: 3 X-Factors in Shortened 2020 MLB Season

The New York Yankees are about to play a very unique 2020 season with some tricks up their sleeve.

The New York Yankees are about to play a season unlike any other, and will have to entirely refocus their mindset from 2019. “Next Man Up” is now “Please Don’t Force Us to Bring the Next Man Up From the Taxi Squad in Nashville,” and if there’s any hope of a first-place finish, it will likely feature mostly first- and second-stringers.

So, where are the Yankees most equipped to succeed in a 60-game sprint rather than a 162-game marathon? Where is the depth a notch better than their competitors?

In an effort to look for advantages for the Yanks in a world where the playing field is suddenly much more level and tilted towards those with young legs who can bounce back quickly, these three areas stand out.

3. Yankees: Miguel Andujar

Miguel Andujar could change the complexion of the 2020 Yankees season.

If Miguel Andujar approximates what he did for the New York Yankees in 2018, the NYY will have a Rookie of the Year candidate’s bat at their disposal. They’ll also have the ability to float him around the diamond in a way they were wholly unable to during his rookie year.

When Andujar arrived, he was a bat-first, glove-very-much-last option, and the team had very little recourse for such things. Now, the landscape has changed entirely. The Yankees have Gio Urshela entrenched at third, and the versatile DJ LeMahieu now on the roster, who can play third in a pinch.

Andujar can play third at times if he drastically improves, sure, but the Yanks were insured against his arrival this time around. He can play left. He can DH. He can fill slots and allow Giancarlo Stanton and the other outfielders to rest.

Even if all Andujar does is find the middle ground between his shoulder-marred 2019 and his exemplary ’18 debut, he’d be a valuable weapon for a team that could use elite and movable bats for a two-month blast-off.

2. Yankees: Outfield Depth

The Yankees will have exceptional outfield depth in 2020.

When New York brings their 30-man roster to the diamond to start off 2020, they could have six All-Star-level outfield bats in play — seven, depending on what you think of Rosell Herrera (half-kidding?).

Beyond Stanton, Judge, Hicks and Brett Gardner, New York will also have the luxury of carrying Mike Tauchman, who hopefully builds off his landmark 2019 debut with a bit less pressure laid upon him, as well as Clint Frazier, who simply has to be here as long as the minor-league season is canceled.

And, of course, Hicks is back just in time.

Days off aren’t really a part of the game plan for 2020, but small nicks and bruises are going to happen, and players simply…aren’t going to be able to give 110% day after day following a three-month layoff (or longer, if you’re talking about every single starter). A team relying on Stanton, Judge and Hicks to deliver every single day after they’ve accrued a combined 27 months of rest come July would be set up for disaster.

But the Yankees’ entire second unit is a starting outfield for some of their AL competitors. Depth matters less in a short season, but it matters so much in the area where the Yankees are most well-stocked. It will be tough to navigate a 60-game season where Judge is absent, but there’s so much to trust here.

And speaking of depth and strange times…