Are Nathan Eovaldi and Didi Gregorius the Start of a Fresh New Yankees?

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The calenders have turned, the trees are blooming, the flowers are blossoming and baseball is officially back. Each of the 30 franchises are at the same point as the others, providing a thought that any team is capable of winning the immaculate Commissioner’s Trophy.

The New York Yankees have held the mentality in which if they do not win the World Series then the season will be considered a failure, despite the development and positive production that has been a result of the season. If we’re going by that mentality, the Yankees have been failures dating back to 2009. To top all of that off, the Yankees have not made the playoffs for two consecutive seasons, a feat that has not been achieved for 19 years in the Yankee franchise.

Following the 2013 season, Yankee fans were scurrying for answers as to why they had not made the postseason. The answer was simple, injuries and lack of production. Despite the long off season in which the Yankees had an extra month to ponder, fans remained hopeful. At that time, the last time the Yankees had missed the postseason in 2008, they continued the following season with large free agent acquisitions and went on to win the World Series in 2009. During the 2013 offseason the Yankees proved to retrace their marks and acquire on a large scale, in this case a much larger scale compared to the previous three off seasons.

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The Yankees agreed to spend $471 million in 2013 on, then free agents Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, and Masahiro Tanaka. 2014 seemed as if the Yankees were the front runners for the Commissioner’s Trophy, the fans could nearly smell the familiar odor of a championship winning season yet again. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your perspective, the Yankees and their fans will have to wait at least another year due to their absence from the postseason yet again in the 2014 season. The same two reasons remain intact due to the Yankee’s absence: injuries and lack of production.

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The upcoming 2015 season is set to be an interesting one. The Yankees did not break the bank in the offseason and made several surprising moves. Besides the news that Alex Rodriguez will be returning, the Yankees resigned third baseman Chase Headley and signing relief pitcher Andrew Miller. But that is not all they had done. The Yankees were tied to rumors including a three team deal with the Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks. Soon enough, the Yankees sent pitcher Shane Greene to the Detroit Tigers while receiving  shortstop Didi Gregorius (the new Jeter) from the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Following the first deal the Yankees were certainly not finished. Filling the void of Shane Greene the Yankees shipped outfielder/infielder Martin Prado and pitcher David Phelps in exchange for pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, infielder Garrett Jones, and pitcher Domingo German.

Although all the players acquired via. trade are intriguing, the two who stand out and have the utmost potential are shortstop Gregorius and pitcher Eovaldi. What remains exciting is that both Gregorius and Eovaldi are 25. Youth is not common, at least of recent, for the Yankees. In addition, Eovaldi throws his fastball at around 95 mph, touching upwards of 100 mph. The problem? Eovaldi has had his chances at a perennial career with the Miami Marlins. In his 2014 season, Eovaldi held a 4.37 ERA and gave up 223 hits, a career high in both categories. Eovaldi, who remains young, is intended to learn new pitches, including the splitter, from Yankee’s pitching coach, Larry Rothschild. The hopes and aspirations the Yankees have are lenient upon Rothschild’s mechanical and pitching expertise. In this case, Eovaldi has the, potentially, the highest ceiling, in regards of development and talent, to make an extensive impact for the well-needed franchise.

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As for Gregorius, many fans are expecting a Derek Jeter replacement. Unfortunately, that will not happen. Gregorius has not, and will not, replace the iconic Jeter, but will play his role, and perhaps rather well. After taking time in the Arizona Diamondback’s minor league system, Gregorius has played in his fair share of major league ball games in the 2014 season.  A standout immediately known if a viewer were to watch Gregorius play? His defense. Jeter’s decline included his range at shortstop, which at the end of his career was highly limited. Gregorius is considered a plus defender, but the question remains…can he hit?

In 2014, Gregorius played in 80 games, batting .226. Not exactly ideal, but the Yankees will most likely place him towards the latter parts of the lineup. Ideally, if the Yankees receive a batting average around .250-.260 it will prove to be worthwhile, in addition to Gregorius’ stellar defense.

Although the Yankees have missed the previous two postseason births, an implement of youth on their side cannot hurt. In addition to Gregorius and Eovaldi, players who are ready now to make the impact at the major league level, the Yankees farm system is in a much better state than previous years. Prospects such as Luis Severino, Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, and a vast amount of top international prospect remain intact for the future years for the pinstripes.