3 questions Yankees have already answered at spring training, 1 they haven't

The New York Yankees are approaching two full weeks of spring training games, which have felt joyous if a little meaningless from oh, say, Game 2.

The first game of spring training represents rebirth and renewal. We've waited oh so long to get here. All the familiar sights and sounds are greeted with reverence. Oh, a chopper to short! Straighten that out, but otherwise, it was beautiful!

Once you finish Game 1? Every spring contest mostly just feels like an unnecessary injury risk. But that hasn't stopped these Yankees from playing them anyway, allowing them to powerfully answer a few of the questions that hung over the roster when the curtain first rose. Obviously, spring performance doesn't dictate much about the regular season, but it's at least a solid indicator of whether a player can or cannot accomplish a task. Hitting .438 in the spring doesn't mean someone's going to win the batting title, but powering a 430-foot home run off the scoreboard proves a slugger still has that in him.

Early in camp, the Yankees have answered three offseason questions reasonably well, but -- forgive the pessimism -- one familiar refrain still looms.

3 Yankees questions they've answered at spring training, 1 lingering issue

Is Anthony Rizzo still able to contribute, if healthy?

This is not to say that Anthony Rizzo will be healthy, or will be the Yankees' long-term first base solution, or will replicate his spring training output as soon as the regular season starts.

It's simply worth noting that Rizzo proved, in his two-homer game on Friday night, that he has physically recovered from post-concussion effects to perceive pitching and strike the baseball with the same force he did before the injury.

Against the Blue Jays, Rizzo smashed a pair of home runs and worked a walk -- almost as impressive, given where he ended last season -- in three plate appearances. Following the concussion that destroyed his vision and depth perception last May, he hit a grand total of one home run in the months of June and July (July 23 against the Kansas City Royals). When Rizzo got off the schneid, it was treated humorously last summer. Nothing, in fact, was funny at all about his blurred vision and the medical malpractice involved.

Two home runs in spring training wouldn't mean nearly as much to any other Yankee as it does to Rizzo. Add in the patience he's displayed, and it's clear that a Rizzo bounce back is now physically possible.

Which pitchers will be the first to receive call-ups when the rotation hits injury snags?

The Yankees helped sort out their internal pecking order a bit over the weekend by demoting Gil, Chase Hampton and Yoendrys Gómez to minor-league camp, leaving several "sixth starter" options still on the big-league board.

Gil will likely have his time to shine before too long, though both he and Gómez rank closer to "last resorts," as the 25-year-old flamethrower continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery. Meanwhile, the aforementioned Poteet has shown off a shapely breaking ball, proving exactly why the Yankees chased him (and why Brian Cashman will likely have to learn his name sooner rather than later). Luke Weaver, the favorite for the long relief role entering spring training, hasn't done anything to dissuade that belief, showing off an improved cutter.

Hampton leaving so quickly was no surprise, and he should be back in the Yankees' Spring Breakout game while he plots the remainder of his rapid rise. For now, Will Warren and Clayton Beeter -- Friday night's primetime starter against Miami -- feel likelier to get quick call-ups, though the team will presumably favor a slightly more experienced veteran like Poteet.

Lingering Question: Can Yankees count on Carlos Rodón?

Until Rodón steps foot on the mound in the regular season, then rocks and fires 97 to the outside corner like we were promised (based on early spring bullpen work), this question will remain unanswered. And, even then, fans will demand a larger sample size, after being burned time and again in 2023.

Rodón's first season in pinstripes finished with its lowest moment; the lefty ace's turn in Kansas City, where he did not retire a batter and turned his balky back on Matt Blake, might've been the worst singular start in franchise history. Just when it seemed he might've turned a corner, too.

In an effort to live up to his long-term pact, he reported to camp in January, and his early side work portended a return to form. His first start of the spring didn't feature 97, but there was no reason for him to ramp things up unnecessarily; 95.9 MPH was plenty good enough, and his fastball had the requisite life to miss big-league bats, given proper location.

But that's what was missing last season. Even his "stuff" seemed to stack up, according to Stuff+, to with his 2021-22 Cy Young campaigns. Year-over-year, he was the same pitcher throwing the same pitches displaying vastly inferior command, likely hindered by his developing back condition.

As long as he makes it out of camp healthy and bounces back properly between outings, the Yankees should chalk that up as a win -- an appropriately low bar. But ... what happened during the live BP he threw on Friday, when four minor-leaguers homered off him in three innings of work? Was he trying to get the cutter right? Did his command regress once more? Was something bothering him that wasn't manifesting itself earlier in the spring?

Right now, fans have one positive data point, one strange one, and a whole lot of glowing reports from several weeks ago, all of which came across our desks second-hand. This powerful, looming question has not been answered yet.