New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi addressed the press for the first time in 2017 and he touched on a surplus of topics. 

As pitchers and catchers reported to George M. Steinbrenner field on Tuesday, New York Yankees‘ manager Joe Girardi addressed the media at 11 a.m. for his first press conference of 2017.

Girardi, 52, is entering his tenth season as the Yankees’ skipper. It is also the final year of his four-year, $16-million deal signed in 2013.


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Since succeeding Joe Torre in 2008, Girardi has won 819 games at the helm compared to 639 losses and while he has never had a losing season despite past-their-prime players crowding his roster, he has failed to reach the postseason in three of the past four seasons.

Yes, this could be his last first press conference as the Yankees’ manager, but that’s not what he’s concerned with. Girardi’s mind is set on a successful 2017 season and touched on the state of the organization as baseball returns into our lives.

Here are the highlights:

Some Hard Feelings? 

The Yankees and All-Star reliever Dellin Betances will have their arbitration hearing on Feb. 17. Dellin filed at $5 million while the team that drafted him in 2006 filed at $3 million.

Girardi said the Yankees may have to deal with “hard feelings” when it’s all set and done as the arbitration process is pretty much the organization saying the player isn’t worth what he filed for while the player must prove he is. Not fun.



The last arbitration hearing for the Yankees was back in 2008 when Taiwanese sinkerballer Chien-Ming Wang was presented with a raise from $489,500 to the team’s $4 million offer instead of the $4.6 million Wang requested.

Since coming into the league as a relief pitcher in 2014, Betances has registered the most strikeouts (392) among major league relievers while his 15.53 strikeout-to-walk ratio led the majors in 2016.

Even With Carter, The Kids Come First

In a rather surprising move, Brian Cashman inked the reigning National League home run co-leader Chris Carter to a one-year, $3.5 million contract for the 2017 season, adding a massive righty power presence to the roster.


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While some are worried this might take away at-bats from Tyler Austin or other “Baby Bombers,” Girardi explained how the slugger’s at-bats will be determined on how the young guys do. The Yankee manager said Greg Bird or Austin could win the first base job.

In 31 games last season, Austin slashed .241/.300/.458 with an OPS of .758 and five home runs. Despite striking out in 43% of his total at-bats, New York’s 13th round pick of the 2010 draft went 6-for-12 with two home runs in his last five games.

Against left-handers, he slashed .348/.444/.652 and maintained a 1.097 OPS while maintaining the highest clutch rating among Yankee hitters with at least 80 at-bats.

Bird, who’s recovering from a torn right labrum, had an impressive cameo in 2015 (11 HR in 46 games) but is looking to shake off the rust demonstrated in the Arizona Fall League. The 24-year old slashed just .215/.346/.364 and hit one home run in 17 games.

So, at least from Girardi’s words, it appears as though Carter is the third string first baseman and insurance in case the injury bug bites extra hard this season. Since 2013, Carter has hit the sixth-most home runs in the major leagues.

Warren To Get A Shot

As the battle for the final two rotation spots is about to get underway, Girardi will have right-hander Adam Warren start games this spring and fight for a role as a starting pitcher.

Over his five-year career, the 29-year old owns a 3.88 ERA and a 6.6 K/9 ratio as a starter compared to a 3.51 ERA and 8.0 K/9 ratio as a reliever.

In 2015, after making his way onto the 25-man roster as the fifth starter, Warren made 17 starts and went 6-6 with a 3.66 ERA including a strikeout per nine innings rate of 6.3. Notably, his strikeout rate was 9.4 that year out of the ‘pen.



Warren will contend with Luis Severino, Chad Green, Luis Cessa and Bryan Mitchell in camp but keep in mind, last year’s Yankees saw Yankees’ saw 22 starts made by hurlers that weren’t even in the rotation to start the season. Expect the rotation to vary throughout the regular season no matter who wins a spot by Opening Day.

Tanaka To Open Up 2017

To no one’s surprise, Girardi stated that he plans to hand the ball to Yankees’ ace Masahiro Tanaka when the 2017 season commences on April 2 in Tampa Bay.

In 2016, the righty pitched in 199.2 innings, the most by a Yankee since Hiroki Kuroda in 2014, and finished with the third-best ERA (3.07) among qualified American League starters behind Aaron Sanchez of the Toronto Blue Jays (3.00) and Justin Verlander (3.04) of the Detroit Tigers.



According to FanGraphs, Tanaka also owned the ninth-highest win probability added among starters in major league baseball, assuredly securing his spot as a Top-10 starter in the sport.

Since joining the Yankees on a seven-year, $155 million contract in 2014, Tanaka has a 39-16 record and a 3.12 ERA. He can opt out of his deal after this season.

1996?

Joe Girardi was a member of the 1996 World Champion Yankees and at his first press conference almost 21 years later, he compared the 2017 squad to that very same team.

That’s an easy comparison as, just like in ’96, the organization was experiencing the rise of its core led by Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and Bernie Williams along with several veteran pieces like Darryl Strawberry, Wade Boggs and Paul O’Neill — just to name a few.

Now, it’s Bird, Austin, Severino, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and others on the way mixing with Brett Gardner, Matt Holliday, CC Sabathia and Jacoby Ellsbury.

Given the fact that the Yankees have not won a postseason game since the 2012 American League Division Series, Girardi better hope his comparison holds some truth as his contract enters its expiration year.

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