A couple weeks ago, Matt Provenzano went over how the Yankees looked according to Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS projections. Spoiler alert: they look good. Projections are not a fail-safe, and reality will always diverge from what is forecast. That the Yankees project demonstrably better now than they did in recent years, however, can only be taken as a good sign.
There are other teams the Yankees must contend with, however. Chief among them are the Red Sox. Indeed, Boston has won the AL East each of the past two seasons. No matter how good the Yankees look moving forward, the Red Sox are still here, and they must be taken seriously.