The New York Yankees struggled a lot last season. However, they had enough depth in their bullpen. Moreover, the 27-time champions have been top contenders to land the biggest international free agent, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. This Japanese 25-year-old pitcher is a pretty good prospect for the NY side’s starting lineup alongside Gerrit Cole.
But then what? The Yankees can feel a real lack of balance in their pitching department at present. Hence, they must figure out a way to keep their bullpen deep. Lately, the hitting coach of the captain Aaron Judge, Richard Schenck, came up with some ideas to help the Bronx. On the podcast, The Bronx Pinstripes Show, the Captain’s hitting coach left no wiggle room for doubt.
Surprising Insights From Aaron Judge’s Personal Hitting Coach
Richard Schenck mentioned he never really wanted to be the Yankees hitting coach. However, if he gets the opportunity to be a consultant for any franchise, then he would roam from Single A, Double A to Triple-A in the major league teams regularly. Then, that franchise would become an “Offensive Juggernaut.” As a result, the franchise would not have to draft any pitchers as they would hit so well that others would want their sluggers. Hence, they could trade for the best pitchers and can have as many as they want. Later, the hitting coach of the Yankees captain mentioned that no team, including the Bronx, had ever asked him how he was doing.
Schenck claims he knows nothing about James Rowson, the new hitting coach of the Pinstripes. Adding to that, he said he never met Rowson and never talked to the Yankees captain about him. On top of that, Schenck did not even remember the new hitting coach’s name correctly. He guessed if Rowson came from the Detroit Tigers. But in his defense, Schenck’s experience with Judge has been entirely about the Yankees. Since Rowson was not a Yankee, the captain’s personal hitting coach had no knowledge about him.
Yankees Had To Sacrifice A Lot Of Quality Pitchers For The Juan Soto Trade
But they didn’t have any hitting superstars except Aaron Judge. Hence, there was too much pressure on the NY side’s captain. Moreover, Judge hurt his toe in the middle of the regular season. As a result, the captain was out of the game for a couple of months. Eventually, things fell apart, and the Bronx Bombers could not qualify for the playoffs. That’s the reason why the Yankees were desperate to sign the biggest hitters available in the market.
Later, the NY side signed Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres. But the trade was not easy for the New York franchise. Moreover, the Yankees had to sacrifice a lot of relievers and catchers to the Padres to seal the deal. Later, the Bronx Bombers sacrificed even more pitchers to bolster their hitting lineup. Very early on in the offseason, the Pinstripes let six players go. Among them, there were a few good pitchers as well. Hence, the Yankees Faithful fear that now there must be a certain lack of balance in their bullpen.
