NEW YORK — Between the two of them, Hal Steinbrenner and Steve Cohen spent over a billion dollars in home improvements this winter. But after all that the prospects for a Subway World Series remain murky for both.
We start with the Yankees where Prince Hal laid out a total of $573.5 million, most of it in retaining Aaron Judge ($360M) and Anthony Rizzo ($40M). That would be considered maintenance. On the other hand, the $162 million for Carlos Rodon represents a significant upgrade to the starting pitching which the Yankee high command hopes will be sufficient to close the gap between them and the Astros. Certainly if Gerrit Cole, Rodon, Luis Severino and Nestor Cortes — all of whom have pitched as No. 1s on various occasions — stay healthy, the Yankee rotation is as formidable as any in baseball.
It should be remembered the Yankees’ 99-win first-place finish in the AL East was largely attributable to a phenomenal first-half performance by their entire five-man rotation which yielded more than three runs in a start only four times. By mid-June, they were on pace for a regular-season MLB record 117 wins and were 64-28 at the All-Star break. Then came August and the inevitable injuries: Severino was sidelined six weeks with a lat issue; Giancarlo Stanton missed a month with an Achilles injury; DJ LeMahieu was hampered the rest of the season with a toe issue; Rizzo dealt with a back problem the whole second half; Matt Carpenter broke his foot; and the previously invincible back end of their bullpen, Michael King and Clay Holmes, were both sidelined, Holmes with a back injury and King with a season-ending fractured elbow.
