Three Crazy Potential Outcomes for the 2020 New York Yankees

The Yankees haven’t won a World Series since 2009.  In ‘09, they had so much going right for them, from walk-off wins, to new free agent signings, and success from average players.  The 2019 Yankees showed glimpses of that championship team, but fell short in the ALCS. Here are a few “out of the ordinary” results that could happen in 2020:

• James Paxton finishes in the top three of the AL Cy Young vote.

Paxton had a very odd season with the Yankees in his first campaign.  His ERA fluctuated the entire year. He made 5 starts in September/October (not including postseason), putting up a 1.05 ERA and only allowing one home run in 25.2 innings.  He even won his last ten decisions. Paxton is capable of putting up a Cy Young type season. In 2019, he had a 9.00 ERA in the first inning (29 ER/29 IP/12 HR). Paxton will in fact lower that number in 2020, helping him finish with a low 3 ERA.  Pitching in the AL East, a low 3 earned run average is very impressive. Not to mention, after the signing of Gerrit Cole, Paxton takes on the #3 spot in the rotation. This takes a lot of pressure off of Paxton. With a year under his belt in the Bronx, “Big Maple” will have an eye popping season, squeaking into the top three of the Cy Young award vote.

• Francisco Lindor is traded to the Yankees.

Many non-Yankee fans would love to think this is a stretch, but Brian Cashman always has a trick up his sleeve.  This year, the Yankees will pull off a crazy trade to bring in the Puerto Rican superstar. As of right now, Lindor has 2020 and 2021 (3rd year of arbitration) under team control.  Gio Urshela will continue his hot bat (and glove), causing the Yankees to trade away Miguel Andújar, prospect Luis Gil, and southpaw Jordan Montgomery. The Indians adore Lindor (that rhymed), but they need to get value out of him considering he’ll want a fortune entering the 2022 season.  Lindor will be the everyday shortstop for the Yankees in 2020. This will relieve the pain after losing DiDi Gregorius.

• Gleyber Torres finishes in the top three of the AL MVP vote. 

Gleyber Torres has already solidified himself as one of the better players in all of baseball.  This prediction isn’t too crazy because Gleyber is constantly progressing at a very high rate. Torres has shown that he can put the ball out of the ballpark.  Many complain that all of his success last year was against Baltimore, but that’s not true at all. Gleyber will show much more discipline at the plate this year, easily getting by that .300 batting average mark.  Moving back to second base (after the Lindor trade), a lot of pressure will be taken off of him. He has power to ALL fields and will utilize the short porch in right regularly. The Yankees lineup is so stacked, and it would not surprise me at all if Gleyber surpassed 110 RBI’s.  Gleyber Torres will be an MVP candidate in 2020 and put up a great season.