Yankees announce Opening Day lineup

Mar 30, 2023 - 1:29 PM

The long winter is finally over and the 2023 baseball season is officially set to begin. While a lot of the faces on the team are familiar and returning, this was as important an offseason as any. Fortunately, things worked out in favor of the Yankees and their fans, and instead of facing an orange-and-black-clad “Arson” Judge, manager Aaron Boone will be penciling in the newest Yankees captain on his lineup card.

Joining Judge will be a bunch of familiar faces, a majority of whom are are regulars from last year. However, rounding out the bottom of the lineup is rookie and top prospect Anthony Volpe. The 21-year-old getting the nod over Oswald Peraza, who will start the season in Triple-A Scranton, came as a welcome surprise since Peraza had the edge over Volpe and well, it’s just simply not how the Yankees operate. But kudos to them for doing the right thing here.

But even with a lot of returning faces, the Bombers lineup will look vastly different on a day-to-day basis just as they try and get playing time for everyone and deal with the Harrison Bader injury. Still, though, the Yankees are primed to have one of the league’s top offenses again this year, assuming everything breaks right or rather ... doesn’t break (at least too badly).

Let’s take a look at who exactly the Yankees will send out against Logan Webb on their quest for No. 28:

1. DJ LeMahieu, 2B
2. Aaron Judge, CF
3. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
4. Giancarlo Stanton, RF
5. Josh Donaldson, 3B
6. Gleyber Torres, DH
7. Oswaldo Cabrera, LF
8. Jose Trevino, C
9. Anthony Volpe, SS

LeMahieu sets the table at the stop of the lineup with the Yankees optimistic that he’s put the foot and toe injuries that plagued him in the final two months of 2022 behind him. When healthy, LeMahieu is a hitter who can do it all while also playing just about anywhere in the infield. He’ll be at the keystone today with Gleyber Torres getting the start at DH and batting sixth. Expect a fairly regular rotation at second throughout 2023 since the Yankees will want to give the latter some time there, too.

Judge, Rizzo, and Stanton form a powerful 2-3-4 in the lineup that combined for 125 homers last year. Sixty-two of them of course came from the newly-minted captain, but each of Rizzo and Stanton went deep over 30 times as well. They can take anyone out, and pitchers will not be thrilled to face them in order.

The wild card is Donaldson, who has a terrific glove at third but deeply disappointed with the bat in 2022. He finished with an OPS+ under 100 for the first time since his rookie year in 2012, and if the Yankees’ infield depth holds up, then there will probably be a short leash on the 37-year-old if the strikeouts and middling results crop up again.

The Yankees’ bottom of the order looks pretty version in this edition of the lineup, with the 2022 rookie standout Cabrera, an All-Star from last year in Trevino, and a legitimate Rookie of the Year contender in Volpe. It won’t look as shiny when Aaron Hicks takes his customary starts in left field with Stanton back at DH (though Cabrera will see time there as well), but take the good look on Opening Day!

Here’s how to follow along with the action. Let’s go Yankees!

Today’s Matchup:

New York Yankees vs. San Francisco Giants

Time: 1:05 p.m. EST

TV: YES Network, MLB Network (out-of-market)

Radio: WFAN - 660 AM/101.9 FM

Venue: Yankee Stadium