Into spring training, Yankees hope big spending pays off

The consensus across the baseball landscape is that the Yankees club that starts spring training this week in Tampa is better than the outfit that ended 2013, a season highlighted by injuries to marquee players and underwhelming performance by others.

However, after spending close to a half-billion dollars to attract high-end talent and losing Robinson Cano, are the Yankees good enough to win the AL East which houses the Rays, Blue Jays, Orioles and world champion Red Sox?

Pitchers and catchers report to George M. Steinbrenner Field on Friday, and the hurlers are the first or second biggest question mark in the Yankees universe. All five starters CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Masahiro Tanaka, Ivan Nova and whoever earns the fifth spot has to answer questions.

David Robertson replacing Mariano Rivera isnt the Yankees biggest problem in the bullpen. That would be: Who takes over for Robertson, among the best eighth-inning relievers the past few seasons?

Position players report Feb. 19, and the first full-scale workout is the next day.

Though the additions of Tanaka (seven years, $155 million), center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury (seven years, $155 million), catcher Brian McCann ( five years, $85 million) and right fielder Carlos Beltran (three years, $45 million) certainly provide the opportunity to be better, general manager Brian Cashman isnt ready to proclaim this years model an upgrade over last years bunch going into camp.

I have no idea, Cashman said when asked if his club was better than last years team at this point. We lost a high-profile player in Robinson Cano and [now] have a huge hole in the middle of the diamond. Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and Robinson Cano are gone. We added significant pieces but lost a significant piece. I am not saying anything. We were a championship-caliber team last year until the injuries, and if this team stays healthy we will be a championship-caliber team.

An infield of Mark Teixeira who played just 15 games last year due to a right wrist problem Brian Roberts, Derek Jeter and Kelly Johnson is eons away from the 2009 infield of Alex Rodrigues, Jeter, Cano and Teixeira that propelled the Yankees to a World Series win over the Phillies.

Rodriguez is gone for the year via suspension. The 31-year-old Johnson, who has played 14 career games at third base, is front-runner for the bulk of playing time. Roberts, 36, appeared in 77 games last season, which was the most since 2009 when he played in 159.

We have Jeter at shortstop, Cashman said of the Yankees captain, who turns 40 in June and was limited to 17 games last season due to a leg problems that started with a re-fracture of the left ankle in spring training.

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Into spring training, Yankees hope big spending pays off