REPORT: Four Yankees hitters aren’t doing themselves any favors in spring training.

Not all of the players have arrived at the party yet.

Nothing at all matters about the New York Yankees’ spring record. Whether or not a group of 26-year-old randos managed to hang onto tiny seventh-inning leads, fans will be content if you can give them a clean sheet of health and some evidence of summer improvements. The purpose of spring training games is to prepare teams for the regular season, not to win.

Fans will be a touch nervous if key offensive cogs don’t appear particularly prepared or can’t manage to display a spark coming into a crucial season in which they’re starting at the outside of the roster. The same goes for throwers whose arms move slowly. It’s sad, but that’s life. We’ll make a lot of effort. Rather than judging the results, evaluate the peculiar results in any case.

This spring, a few Yankees who are being closely watched have performed admirably. Juan Soto and Anthony Rizzo in particular have served as potent reminders that they are capable of leading and supporting an offense that wants to regain relevance (and domination). Others? They haven’t really stuck. They appear to have some slow bats. Their abs hurt a little.

These four are the only Yankees struggling to put up a strong offensive showing this spring, out of all of them.

*Oswald Peraza deserves honorable mention. I apologize, dude. It’s been a difficult month.

A handful of the Yankees who are being intently monitored have played well this spring. In particular, Juan Soto and Anthony Rizzo have been powerful reminders of their ability to guide and assist an offense seeking to reclaim relevance (and dominance). Others? They haven’t truly adhered. It looks like they have some slow bats. Their abs ached a bit.

Out of all the Yankees, these four are the only ones who are finding it difficult to mount a convincing offensive campaign this spring.

* Honorable mention should go to Oswald Peraza. I’m sorry, man. It’s been a challenging month.

Regretfully, Cabrera’s problems began with the postseason series. He only managed to go 2-for-19, appearing lethargic at the plate. He showed uneasiness in the outfield, where there had only been success and praise before, when colliding with Aaron Hicks in left field. A miserable postseason run must have caused the genial Cabrera to doubt his whole base of support throughout the 2023 season, as he lost 1.5 bWAR in total, all but erasing his brilliant cameo from the previous campaign.

By 2024, something needs to give. If not, the most visible player in the game will once again lose his or her relevance. Although it’s something the Yankees never want to do, they always seem to move on with less assets and less emphasis on prospect development.

Unlike with Anthony Volpe’s swing path, he reportedly changed his approach, but we’re not really seeing it. Cabrera has gotten a lot of reps but hasn’t done much with them. He enters spring with a roster place all but secured, but there are still a lot of unanswered issues. Even though Cabrera rarely shows emotion, going 6-for-32 without a single home run or RBI is enough to make anyone wince. Nevertheless, he must be feeling a little bit of pressure in this situation.

LeMahieu, DJ
The best you can give LeMahieu credit for this spring was demonstrating that, when necessary, he could still go the other way with authority, if his objective was to demonstrate that the “Old DJ” had made a comeback after a problematic toe injury had diminished his strength. It took place. He cut one or two doubles. You can research it.

But the Old DJ? That individual scored a.340. That man is usually good for an inside-out single to ignite a rally or provide a vital insurance run. He defied the odds to become one of the game’s toughest outs. He was, dare we say it, downright Jeterian in 2019–20.

He has largely avoided injury this spring, but he hasn’t achieved any kind of success or helped his anxious fans forget about his altercations and the inevitable aging process that affects all of us.

LeMahieu is 5-for-24 through play on March 14 with three RBI and runs scored. In pointless demonstration competitions, veterans usually don’t have much to prove, and LeMahieu is one of those who values reps and getting back into his routine more than outcomes.

But as we get closer to the “two week” mark before Opening Day, The Machine, who is aware that he can feel despite popular opinion, is beginning to sense that his ground ball blues have persisted. There’s still a slim chance for him to be calibrated before him, but time is running out.

Vivas Jorbit
resisted doing this. Didn’t want to do this at all. But outside from two massive home runs that would have made Rougned Odor proud to watch, Jorbit Vivas hasn’t really done much this spring.

In the end, it’s alright. Even though there was suddenly a space available on the bench due to Peraza’s injury, he had a Triple-A ticket all along. Vivas would be a strange fit at third base and is incapable of covering shortstop with ease. The 23-year-old second baseman has the entire season to establish himself in the major leagues, and the Yankees were still searching outside the club for infield support despite his outstanding March.

However, you can’t deny that Vivas had a fantastic opportunity to stand out at a thin position, particularly with Gleyber Torres, the current second baseman, having an uncertain future in the Bronx and Peraza’s MLB future appearing to be in jeopardy. Although Vivas had moments, he did not play consistently for the entire month; as of Friday, his two home runs have accounted for half of his hits in the competition.

To alleviate Yankees supporters’ anxieties, Trey Sweeney has only hit one home run in his five games played at Dodger Stadium, going 5-for-18. Though neither player helped the Dodgers or Yankees emerge as the clear winners in this historic offseason trade, they did show their respective fan bases that they have something in their toolkits.