New York Yankees: The 2022 Opening Day Dream Lineup

Batting Second: Aaron Judge (Right Field)

Who else? The man should have a contract extension offer this offseason. He’s the most consistent player on the team and the Yankees would’ve been dead in 2021 without him. More vocal leadership from Judge would be great, though. Perhaps that’s his next leap.

Best hitter in the two-hole. There it is.

Batting Third: Matt Olson (First Base)

Oh man! Another one all the haters are going to weep about! Olson isn’t on the block at the moment, but the entire baseball world knows how Oakland Athletics GM Billy Beane operates. He’ll cycle out his best players once they approach escalating salaries in arbitration in exchange for top prospects to keep the machine going.

The Yankees can offer a few MLB-ready guys and it won’t be long before Oakland has their next playoff-contending team in order. Olson is set to make $12 million in 2022 and is under club control through 2023. Perhaps the A’s keep him on board, but with Starling Marte, Mark Canha, Josh Harrison, Yusmeiro Petit, Sergio Romo, Jed Lowrie and others hitting free agency, now might be the time to unload and start anew.

Olson batting from the left side of the plate at Yankee Stadium is a dream. He’s been inconsistent to start his MLB career, but perhaps being protected by a stacked lineup will help him achieve his ceiling after an All-Star 2021 campaign.

Batting Fourth: Giancarlo Stanton (DH)

Big G. Cleanup. Another guy who kept the Yankees alive in 2021 without much help from anyone else. Giancarlo Stanton blew everyone away in August and September and then was the best hitter in the AL Wild Card Game against the Red Sox.

Hopefully he can continue to play a little defense because we think that definitely helped with his approach at the plate.

Batting Fifth: Carlos Correa (Shortstop)

No matter who you want taking over at shortstop in 2022, you’d be hard-pressed to find many fans upset with Carlos Correa coming to the Bronx. He’s played for the enemy since 2015 and has had health issues like Corey Seager, but his All-Star 2021 campaign and performance throughout the playoffs has sealed the deal.

The Yankees need energy and postseason pedigree, two things they severely lack. Correa is one of the most outspoken figures in the sport and comes ready to play in high-pressure moments. That explains his career .273 average and .868 OPS in 73 postseason games. He’s a tremendous defender too. Shouldn’t be any problems up the middle with him holding down the fort.

Batting Sixth: Joey Gallo (Left Field)

Yup, it’s possible the Yankees trade Gallo, but moving him down in the lineup and taking on the final year of his arbitration eligibility at just over $10 million can’t really hurt. He’ll have a full offseason to get acclimated, get his head straight, and come back to crush homers at Yankee Stadium in 2022.

Look at it this way: he can’t get any worse than he was in the second half with the Bombers. Throw in the fact he’ll know left field will probably be his primary position, and he can better prepare for that. Expect more production, improved defense, and a threatening power lefty bat from Gallo in pinstripes next year.

Batting Seventh: Gleyber Torres (Second Base)

Cashman hinted at Gleyber Torres’ return last week, suggesting he’ll be at second base and that the Yankees will need to find a shortstop. That’s why Correa’s now here, and Torres’ team-friendly salary will prove too good to pass up for the cost-conscious Yankees.

If Torres is more comfortable at second base, perhaps his bat comes around and he’s back to being an All-Star. Either way, it’ll help that he’s protected by more talent and hopefully fewer underachievers. A 25-homer Torres puts this team over the edge.

Batting Eighth: Gary Sánchez (Catcher)

El Gary did have a bounce-back year in 2021, but his second half was really bad. His stats were mostly buoyed by his first-half performance. Another problem? He doesn’t catch Gerrit Cole, so there’s a good chance he’s not playing in some of the team’s most important games. But the Yankees need to figure that out this offseason.

Non-tendering or trading Gary is an option, please do not forget. However, the market for catchers this offseason is bad. So bad. We’d go as far to say it might be a mistake for the Yankees to seek out another option, unless they can pull off something insane (a trade for someone better?), but that probably won’t happen.

The defense-first options that will be available aren’t exactly enticing, either. Expect Sánchez to stay for what will likely be his final year in the Bronx.

Batting Ninth: DJ LeMahieu (Third Base)

The Yankees have to do something with DJ LeMahieu, and if you’re one of the people that want him gone, you might waste a lot of time hoping for a scenario that probably won’t happen.

After a regression in 2021 plus season-ending sports hernia surgery, nobody is taking five more years and $75 million of DJLM. But the good news is that we can likely attribute his injury to his poor play this past season. Additionally, he’s versatile on the defensive end, which allows the Yankees to plug him at third base. Sorry guys, Gio Urshela has to be traded if this happens. That’s just the more realistic option. He has value and teams will want his cost-effective salary.

Is LeMahieu at third base the most comforting option? Not really. But he’s certainly up for the task, having played 143 career games there (the second most of any position on his ledger). If this is the one “negative” the Yankees have to deal with in 2022, so be it. We just watched about five guys play out of position in 2021 and it was the worst it’s going to get.

Using LeMahieu to lengthen the lineup by putting him in the nine-hole, assuming he returns closer to his team MVP form from 2019 and 2020, would really make this offense, top to bottom, a nightmare for opposing pitching. And if we’re being honest, he can’t start 2022 in the leadoff spot. He was mediocre at best for much of the year and can’t be eating the most important at-bats of the game until he’s able to get back on track.

We’ll admit, this is lineup a little wacky, but how can you say it’s out of the question that the Yankees spend big on a shortstop and use their prospect capital to swing trades for Marte and Olson? You’d have to assume some of that value will replenish itself if the Bombers give Anthony Rizzo the qualifying offer and trade Urshela and Voit (and perhaps a few others).

And again, it’s supposed to be a tad unrealistic because it’s a series of DREAM scenarios/outcomes. What changes would you make here?

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