The last time Cole was the ace of the Yanks was the year Crawford was our ace. Guess who returns to the Sox, this year?
Okay, seriously, yes, Cole is a big addition to a formidable returning team, but he starts the year on the IL, along with Rodon & Schmidt. We all have seen how that works out for countless Sox SP'er beginning the year on the IL with promises of returning to form during the season, but I'm not sure why you are able to find an ounce of optimism in the dark confines of your mind for a Yankee. So be it. I do think the Yanks look better, assuming equal health to both teams. I guess my thought is that the younger team should likely have less injuries, and we no longer have Gio, Hendriks, Houck and others as part of our 2026 plans.
38 Goldschmidt
36 Stanton, Hill
35 Cole & Cruz
34 Yarbrough
33 Judge & Rodon
32 Fried
31 Bednar & McMahon
30 Bellinger, Bird
The Yanks have 4 key players at 33 or older (same as the Sox, but Cole Judge and Rodon might be their top 3 key players.) They have 4 key players between 30-33, as the Sox have one. They have a total of 8 key players at 30 or older to the Sox 5. See below.
Most of their key players are on this list. Now look at the Sox over 30 players:
37 Chapman
36 Gray
33 Contreras & Story
32 Yoshida
31 Weissert
30 Suarez, IKF, Kelly
Sox: 4 key players at 33+ and 1 at 30-32. (5 total)
Age is not the only factor involved in projecting injury, but it is a huge factor in projecting decline- sometimes sharp declines.
Watch and weep.