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As Opening Day draws near, the YES Network trio of Paul O’Neill, David Cone and Michael Kay fielded some Yankees questions from The Post’s Steve Serby.
Q: How will Juan Soto leaving affect Aaron Judge?
O’Neill: It affects everybody. What inning wasn’t fun to watch when Soto and Judge hit back-to-back? I think the Yankees have plugged so many holes by not having Soto’s salary, that overall, they might be a better team. Offensively, probably not. No doubt in my mind he’s going to have a great year for the Mets. I think team-wise, defensive-wise, everything put together, you’re going to be fine.
Cone: It really was that magical. It was as if we were looking at Ruth and Gehrig. The Yankees rode them all the way to the World Series. That World Series in my mind was closer than you think. A lot of it was because of Soto, so with him gone, it’s a huge loss. The only thing they could do is pivot and try to make up for it in a lot of different categories. I don’t think the Yankees are done yet, but I think the pieces they got were very good choices.
Kay: I think maybe a little fewer RBIs, but Judge had a 62-home run season without Soto. I think they both benefitted from each other last year. I think he’s going to have another big year. If anything, he might walk more, but a lot of that is predicated on the guys hitting behind him as well.
Q: What should Yankees fans expect from Judge?
O’Neill: He makes it look so easy. Everybody talks about his size and his power, but what he adds to defense, and his instincts on the bases, he just does everything right. There’s one thing in his mind, and that’s to accumulate some World Series wins to make his career complete.
Q: Who protects him this year?
O’Neill: Aaron Judge has gotten very good at knowing when he’s being pitched around, and being able to take walks and not frustrated to the point where he leaves the strike zone. You’re going to have to have a lineup that people know their roles. If you’re Aaron Judge, your role is to hit 50 home runs and drive in 120. I don’t think that there’s one guy that you can plug in behind Aaron Judge that’s just going to just make a difference day in and day out. You’re going to have to have a team that scores runs day in and day out so you get the ball to the bullpen.
Q: Cody Bellinger and the temptation of the right field porch?
O’Neill: If you look at his swing, he can pull the ball, and obviously as a lefty that’s the first thing that comes to your mind. I just think he’s going to fill a lot of voids as far as he’s athletic, he can run, he can play a lot of positions for you. You got an opportunity to play for the Yankees, you grew up playing in the playroom when your father (Clay) was on the team, I think that’s going to be a big challenge for him to just try to control that and not try to do too much.
Kay: I think when he’s healthy he’s an impact player. You can just see the ball flies off his bat. They improved themselves defensively. His swing plays in that ballpark for sure.
Cone: Right guy at the right time, doing the right thing, wearing the right uniform. Wearing his father’s number. His swing is built for Yankee Stadium. If he was ever going to approach his MVP-type numbers that he had earlier in his career with the Dodgers, it’s going to be as a Yankee in Yankee Stadium.
Q: With that short right field porch, do you think he’s a 30-home run candidate?
Cone: Absolutely. He has the ability to get the ball in the air on the pull side a lot, meaning he can go down and get off-speed pitches that are away and hook them, and get them in the air, get them out of the ballpark.
Q: Paul Goldschmidt at age 37?
Kay: Well the Yankees have had almost no production out of first base for a long time now. After Anthony Rizzo suffered that concussion when he ran into (the Padres’ Fernando) Tatis Jr. at first, he was not the same player, did not have the same impact. And frankly, although he was a former Platinum Glove winner, he was not great defensively the last two years. If Goldschmidt has the season that he had last year, and I think he’s gonna have a better season, I think it’ll be a giant plus for the Yankees.
O’Neill: There was a big hole at first base and a big void. This is one of the things you take on I think as an organization and just hope it’s the right time and the right fit.
Cone: That’s another guy that I think Yankee Stadium will help. His power’s the opposite field, that inside-out style of hitting to get the ball the other way like Judge. He’s still a fantastic athlete in fantastic shape, a great defender, a really smart base runner, a really great influence in the clubhouse. Is he going to be his MVP self? He doesn’t really have to be. If he’s above league average in all of those categories, that’s going to be a major improvement for the Yankees.
Q: Max Fried as an ace in New York with Gerrit Cole lost for the season?
Cone: I think he’ll be fine. He’s been a big-time pitcher since the first time he walked on a mound when he was in Little League. He’s ready for this. And he chose this.
O’Neill: He’s always been a winner. He’s a lefty, which can really help pitching in Yankee Stadium against other powerful lefty hitters.
Kay: He’s got the stuff, he’s been an ace in Atlanta, he pitched big games and won a World Series for them. … New York, you’ll have to see. It seemed like he embraced it, he wanted to come here.
Q: What impresses you most about him?
Cone: I’m impressed with all of his weapons. He’s got a number of different ways to get hitters out. It’s not just by the strikeout or not just by power. Although he has power. But he can certainly stay off of the barrel, he can get a lot of ground balls, he can cut it, he can sink it — he’s really a movement specialist. A real craftsman. He’s a fun guy to watch pitch.
Kay: He’s got so many different pitches that he commands to both sides of the plate, he’s smart, his stuff is electric. I don’t think he gets afraid on the mound. The key to him is health. He would have been a great No. 2 for the Yankees, now he’s going to have to be a really good No. 1.
Q: Devin Williams and his Airbender?
Cone: He’s a unicorn, there’s no doubt about that. The thing that makes his Airbender, that changeup, so successful and more like a screwball really is that it has such incredibly tight spin on it.
O’Neill: Every year there’s new pitches and new words. (Luke) Weaver was really, really good at the closer’s role, so now you’ve got a bridge to one of the best closers in baseball.
Kay: This is one of the top two closers in all of baseball, he or (Cleveland’s) Emmanuel Clase. When you got a guy that can nail down the ninth inning, and then you can almost have Luke Weaver actually play the role of the 1996 Mariano Rivera, when he can pitch the seventh and eighth innings … and then the X factor is going to be Jonathan Loáisiga. He’s as good as any relief pitcher in the game if he’s healthy which he hasn’t been for a couple of years. I think the Yankee bullpen stacks up with any bullpen in baseball.
Q: Middle relief?
Cone: I think having Devin Williams just makes everybody else that much better. Everybody moves down a notch. I certainly feel like they have a good mix. I’m still a believer in different styles that mix well together. How the pieces fit together matter to me. That’s a real art to putting together a pitching staff.
Q: The Anthony Volpe-Jazz Chisholm double-play combination?
Cone: That’s I think going to be really fun for Yankee fans to watch, it’s just the speed and the athleticism around the bag.
O’Neill: Chisholm really surprised me positively last year when he came over. He shows he has a lot of power, he’s got great speed, tremendous arm. And now I think he’s going to be even more comfortable going back to second base where he’s used to playing. Volpe still has a ways to go to hit his ceiling where he’s going to be one of the game’s better shortstops.
Kay: Brian Cashman told us on the “Hot Stove” show on YES that he acquired Chisholm to play second base, but then Gleyber Torres refused to play third. He and Volpe have been inseparable during spring training, and Volpe is a Gold Glove-winning shortstop.
Q: Any concern about Oswaldo Cabrera at third base?
O’Neill: Defensively no. I think that could be kind of a platoon thing possibly. If he gets an opportunity to play every day and he runs with it, then it makes it very easy for Aaron Boone. Third base is a spot where you need production offensively.
Cone: Yes, it is. Oswaldo Cabrera deserves a shot to show what he can do, he’s earned that right even though he’s probably better suited as a utility guy playing all over the field.
Q: DH without Giancarlo Stanton?
O’Neill: I think (Ben) Rice is going to get an opportunity. I don’t think you’re going to have a guy like Stanton, or like when we had Chili Davis, who was just a DH. I think you’re going to kind of see a revolving scene around the DH as far as giving people rest and plugging in guys that are good matchups on that given night.
Cone: I like Ben Rice. Once again, I think the theme with the Yankees is going to continue to be similar to what it was in the early-’90s and where you’re building a Core Four, it still has to come from within, you need the young guys to continue to step up. Ben Rice needs to be that guy this year, Will Warren needs to be that guy this year, among others.
Kay: They’re a little light on right-handed hitting even if Stanton was healthy. Right now the DH becomes a revolving door. I think it’s less of an issue if Ben Rice is an impact player.
Q: What impressed you about Rice?
O’Neill: His attitude, for one thing. He’s a happy kid, you could tell he was kind of in awe just to be there. … He can even put catcher’s gear on if he has to. If he swings the bat, he’s going to get a lot of bats, especially against righties in the DH spot.
Cone: He was never overmatched. Even when he was slumping at the end, he never really looked like he was not in control of the situation or that the game was above him. He always got good at bats. Hit the ball really hard when he did hit it hard. I just love the way he swings the bat, I love his power potential.
Kay: His plate discipline, taking pitches. I think the league caught up with him a little bit, so that affected him toward the end, but I think he’s made some adjustments, and also he’s put on some muscle.
Q: Austin Wells?
Kay: The one knock against him coming up was that he was not a good defender. He’s become of the top framing catchers in the game. He’s still doesn’t have the greatest arm, but I think it’s serviceable enough that he can throw out 25 to 30 percent of base stealers, which would be great. I think he’s going to be a force offensively. I think the Yankees have a real diamond in the rough there.
Cone: So much better defensively than he was ever given credit for coming up through. He’s a leader back there, he frames exceptionally well, all the metrics say so. He throws certainly average or better. He’s both ends, defense and offense.
O’Neill: He puts together good at bats. I love the way he catches. He’s on the mark as being one of the better defensive catchers in the American League. I don’t think that he’s hit his ceiling yet either. I think it’s a really opportune time for him to take off and be an everyday catcher.
Q: Jasson Domínguez?
O’Neill: You can see his bat speed and his overall speed, he’s capable of doing some things. Everything you hear about him, read about him, he’s gonna be an offensive presence, and you just hope that, especially young guys, get off to good starts so they don’t start pressing and start trying to force things.
Kay: I think he can be a star at the plate, especially against right-handed pitching. I think he still has a ways to go batting from the right side. Defense is going to be an issue, but I’ve always said offense is a great deodorant for defense.
Cone: They need him to be their guy, they need him to be that switch-hitter with power and speed. He’s got to learn how to play left field, too, as well. I can actually see him getting some DH time here and there as well. His bat should play in the big leagues, his speed should play in the big leagues. This is the year they need to find out.
Q: Can this team manufacture runs with its speed?
O’Neill: I think that the Yankees will be better at it this year.
Cone: You’ll have Jazz Chisholm for a full year. He’s a legitimate 30-30 guy, and Volpe just needs to get on base more. Once he gets on base more, he’s an excellent base runner. He has a high aptitude. He’s swinging the bat with more authority, hitting the ball harder. Those guys are going to be a force for them defensively and offensively running the bases.
Kay: If they lead off Wells, they’re not going to have speed at the top of the lineup, but they will have speed from 3 on. A lot of it’s going to rest on how much Volpe can get on, because I think he’s a stolen base waiting to happen.
Q: Do you like Wells in the leadoff spot?
Kay: I do, because your No. 2 hitter is Judge. I don’t want to get anybody thrown out.
Q: The state of the rotation with Cole gone and Luis Gil shelved?
Cone: The Yankees need to find out how many arms that they can develop. Some of the young guys really have to step forward.
Kay: To be frank, it worries me. The old saying Next Man Up, well now you’re going at least two men Next Man Up into the rotation.
O’Neill: Teams win without their best players sometimes. That’s what’s going to have to happen. You just move on. You figure out a way, whether it’s to be a better offensive team day in and day out, or if you look at the way they’ve played baseball since I’ve been doing games the past 10 years, get to the middle of the game and then have a really, really good bullpen.
Q: Team defense?
Cone: We need to see Domínguez in left develop and see if he can handle the position or not. Moving Aaron Judge back to right field puts him in his Gold Glove spot in my mind. Up the middle the Yankees are strong, Goldschmidt’s a Gold Glove at first base, and then Cabrera’s very good at third base as well. I expect the defense overall to be better.
Q: How do you see the division?
O’Neill: I think the American League East will be extremely competitive and I think the Yankees and the Red Sox will have that rivalry thing going again because both teams are strong.
Cone: The division is as tight as ever. It’s back to being the Beasts of the East for me the year. … Boston’s got more talent than anybody in terms of prospects right on the verge. That’s why I say the Yankees’ young guys really need to match what’s going on. … The whole division’s kind of up for grabs in my mind.
Kay: I still think they’re good enough to win the East. The teams that scare me would be the Orioles and the Red Sox. I’m not going to put lipstick on a pig and say losing Cole is not impactful, of course it is. But you just got to get it done and find a way. … Nobody in this league scares me. I would still say they can make it to the World Series.
Q: Having come so close to winning the World Series, how will that affect this team’s hunger?
O’Neill: It makes it a long offseason, and you just realize when you go into Opening Day, that it’s not a given you’re going to get back there again. Do they have the pieces? I think so. … The Yankees, by getting into the playoffs, and getting to the World Series, it’s only going to help them in the future when they get back to those spots. Every once in a while you just have that perfect year, that perfect chemistry, and who’s not to say that that’s going to be this type of year for the Yankees?
Kay: They certainly have a lot of bulletin board fodder. The stuff that the Dodgers said, I don’t know why they said it … if that doesn’t provide motivation that, “We knew they’d make mistakes, we knew they’d throw the ball away, they didn’t run the bases well” — it’s right there.
Cone: The core guys, it’ll stay with them, it’ll motivate you. When you’re on the losing end of something, especially the way it happened, you have no other alternative but to use it as motivation. They’ve really had kind of the dirt kicked in their face because of the last game and the errors and the miscues and the baserunning and everything kind of mounting up on them, so they’ve really kind of had it rubbed in their face a little bit. To me, that’s even extra motivation for them, to show, ‘Hey, you know what? We’re going to get back there again this year. Even though we lost Soto, we’ve got enough here to go through the American League and get back to the World Series.”
