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The New York Yankees have a lot to address with the MLB lockout now over.

CUE THE MUSIC!!!

Tell Grand Concourse the good news. Extend the number of B, D, and 4 trains in service. Shout it from the bottom of the Joker Steps at Shakespeare Avenue all the way up to Katonah Avenue in Woodlawn. At long last, East 161st Street and River Avenue will be flooded with New York Yankees fans.

Yes, that’s right! The MLB lockout is over and the New York Yankees are back in business. It’s time to look to the soon-approaching 2022 season and shake off the gross disappointment of 2021.

And Brian Cashman has his work cut out for him. Spring training in Tampa kicks off on Sunday and Opening Day is April 7. The Yankees have a lot to do and a short time to do it before Jerry Reed rises from the grave and writes a song about it all.

Let’s take a look at the New York Yankees and their offseason to-do list, and how Brian Cashman might be able to pull it off.

 

The lineup

Per usual, the Yankees’ lineup has a lot of questions in the offseason. The team needs a new shortstop with Gleyber Torres shifting back to second base. This almost certainly moves DJ LeMahieu to third base, and Luke Voit could be back from injury to man first base.

Except, this is where things get complicated. Voit’s injuries are piling up, Anthony Rizzo wants to come back, and word is the Yankees are interested in Freddie Freeman too. Does this mean Gio Urshela moves to shortstop, or will he be traded for another piece?

It’s also worth noting that as I write this, Trevor Story and Carlos Correa are both still unsigned. The new competitive balance tax threshold is $230 million, so count on the New York Yankees to write at least one big check.

 

Pitching

This is where the New York Yankees can breathe a sigh of relief. Pitching coach Matt Blake worked his magic as the Bronx Bombers ranked sixth in baseball with a 3.74 ERA.

The rotation is also fairly set. Gerrit Cole leads the pack followed by Jordan Montgomery, Jameson Taillon, and a returning Luis Severino. Even better, there is plenty of depth that one of a handful of pitchers could win the No. 5 slot. Be it Michael King, Clarke Schmidt, Deivi Garcia, or even Nasty Nestor Cortes, the Yankees have options.

The bullpen is pretty set too, even with Zack Britton missing the season with Tommy John surgery. Cashman’s bread and butter is building bullpens from scratch, so this year’s bridge to Aroldis Chapman may be no different.

 

Final thoughts

Finally, baseball is back and the world of sports seems whole once again. At long last, winter is over. Words cannot describe how happy I am to say this:

See you on March 13. Cheers.

Josh Benjamin has been a staff writer at ESNY since 2018. He has had opinions about everything, especially the Yankees and Knicks. He co-hosts the “Bleacher Creatures” podcast and is always looking for new pieces of sports history to uncover, usually with a Yankee Tavern chicken parm sub in hand.