Yankees Face Uncertainty Heading Into 2015

The New York Yankees in 2014 found themselves out of the playoff picture, winning 84 games and finishing 12 games behind the division-winning Baltimore Orioles.

2014 marked the second consecutive season the Yankees failed to reach the playoffs. Prior to that, the Yankees made the playoffs in sixteen of the last seventeen seasons.

Heading into 2015, there are a number of question marks surrounding the team: Can Masahiro Tanaka stay healthy? What about C.C. Sabathia? Can Didi Gregorious potentially replace Derek Jeter?

Sweeney Murti, Yankees reporter for WFAN, believes health will be the key this season for New York.

“[How the Yankees do] depends on how healthy they are,” Murti tells WEBN. “There are a lot of teams in this division that have a lot of question marks, and the Yankees are one of them.”

New York Daily News sports columnist John Harper agrees that the team needs to stay healthy, but he thinks the Yankees’ success this season depends on their pitching staff.

“The questions about the pitching staff is the biggest thing,” Harper tells WEBN. “There’s really a lot of questions there.”

The Yankees have an aging roster. Seven of the nine projected starters are 30-years-old or older. Harper believes keeping their older veterans on the field will lead to a successful season.

“It’s really all about age and injuries with the Yankees,” says Harper. “If they stay healthy, they have a chance to be really good.”