Pinstripe Alley open thread - 2/17/21

At long last, the best day of the winter is here. No more speculation is necessary — at least for a few months — because there will be Yankees players congregating in Tampa at last. The team is almost completely assembled, and the pieces of the roster that we do know about will begin their quest for a World Series by beginning to shake the rust off in training camp. Pitchers and catchers report today, and spring training is ready to begin.

Okay, maybe I should tone it down a touch. After all, it’s just exercises and light bullpens in the immediate plans, live action is still over a week away, and meaningful games more than a month from beginning. But still, actually getting the team together instead of sitting around waiting for something to happen feels like a remarkable improvement, so an upbeat tone feels appropriate.

Today we’re dialing in on the roster as it stands, beginning with Andrew and Kunj on the latest episode of the podcast. From there we’re going to zero in on pitching, with a variety of takes on the staff and the bullpen now that all of the arms are accounted for. Peter takes the wide angle of looking at the pitching department as a whole — and where the Yankees succeeded and failed in building this staff — while Tom hones in on the bullpen itself and how the team accomplished their goals in crafting it.

Fun Questions:

1. Which player are you the most excited to see when camp opens up?

2. Who has the most riding on a strong performance in spring training?