Opening Day is three weeks and two days away, and today the Yankees will send their presumed Opening Day starter to the mound for the first time this spring. Luis Severino is on the bump today after the Yankees took it easy on him the last few weeks. He’s endured a big workload the last two years and he just signed a nice little four-year contract, so they’re protecting him arm. Makes sense.

In addition to Severino, Dellin Betances is also scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut this afternoon. He reported to camp a few days late because his wife gave birth to their first child three weeks ago. Severino and Daddy Dellin still have plenty of time to prepare for the regular season. Today’s the start of that process in earnest. Here is the Braves’ lineup and here are the players the Yankees will use today:

1. SS Troy Tulowitzki
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. LF Giancarlo Stanton
4. 1B Luke Voit
5. 3B Miguel Andujar
6. C Gary Sanchez
7. 2B Gleyber Torres
8. DH DJ LeMahieu
9. CF Estevan Florial

RHP Luis Severino

Available Position Players: C Kellin Deglan, C Francisco Diaz, C Kyle Higashioka, C Jorge Saez, 1B Mike Ford, IF Angel Aguilar, IF Thairo Estrada, IF Kyle Holder, IF Gosuke Katoh, OF Trey Amburgey, OF Jeff Hendrix, OF Matt Lipka, UTIL Tyler Wade. Aguilar, Katoh, and Hendrix are up from minor league camp.

Available Pitchers: RHP Daniel Alvarez, RHP Dellin Betances, LHP Nestor Cortes, RHP Cale Coshow, RHP Chad Green, LHP J.A. Happ, RHP Tommy Kahnle, LHP Stephen Tarpley. Alvarez is up from minor league camp. I hope he pitches. Happ will come out of the bullpen at point after Severino. There’s no chance a veteran guy like him is on the day’s list as an extra arm.

Not a great day in Tampa. It rained much of the morning and will be gloomy this afternoon. No rain, but gloomy. This afternoon’s game will begin at 1:05pm ET and you can watch live on YES and MLB.tv. There are no MLB.tv blackouts in Spring Training. Enjoy the game.

After nearly a week of waiting, the Yankees are back on television today. They have not played a televised game since Monday — Tuesday’s game was supposed to be televised, but it was rained out — and our reward for going this long without the Yankees is a pair of televised split squad contests today. Half the team stayed in Tampa to play the Tigers and the other half made the half-hour bus trip to take on the Blue Jays in Dunedin.

Most of the regulars are staying in Tampa (duh). We’re entering the second week of spring games now and that means the veteran relievers are beginning to make their way into games. Accordingly, Aroldis Chapman will make his spring debut this afternoon. We’ll also get to see Adam Ottavino on the mound for the first time this spring, though it is his second Grapefruit League appearance. Here is the Tigers’ lineup and here are the players the Yankees will use at home today:

1. LF Brett Gardner
2. DH Aaron Judge
3. RF Giancarlo Stanton
4. C Gary Sanchez
5. 3B Miguel Andujar
6. 1B Greg Bird
7. CF Estevan Florial
8. 2B Thairo Estrada
9. SS Kyle Holder

RHP Masahiro Tanaka

Available Position Players: C Francisco Diaz, C Ryan Lavarnway, IF Angel Aguilar, IF Diego Castillo, IF L.J. Mazzilli, IF Wendell Rijo, 1B/3B Dermis Garcia, 1B/OF Ryan McBroom, OF Trey Amburgey, OF Rashad Crawford, OF Isiah Gilliam, OF Ben Ruta. Diaz, Lavarnway, and Amburgey are in big league camp as non-roster invitees. Everyone else is up from minor league camp for the split squad games.

Available Pitchers: RHP Albert Abreu, LHP Zach Britton, LHP Rex Brothers, LHP Aroldis Chapman, LHP Nestor Cortes, RHP Jonathan Holder, RHP Jose Mesa Jr., RHP Adam Ottavino, LHP James Reeves, RHP Adonis Rosa. Reeves, Rosa, and Joe Table II are up from minor league camp for the day.

Meanwhile, over in Dunedin, DJ LeMahieu is going to play third base for the first time in a televised game today, so it’ll be our first look at him at the hot corner. He’s played one other game there this spring. It was his first game action at a position other than second base since 2014. The Yankees are planning to use LeMahieu as a utility guy, albeit one who plays nearly every day, so he’s spending the spring get reacquainted to first and third bases. Here is the Blue Jays’ lineup (Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is playing) and here are the players the Yankees sent on the road:

1. 2B Tyler Wade
2. 3B DJ LeMahieu
3. SS Gleyber Torres
4. 1B Luke Voit
5. LF Clint Frazier
6. DH Mike Ford
7. C Kyle Higashioka
8. CF Matt Lipka
9. RF Billy Burns

RHP Domingo German

Available Position Players: C Kellin Deglan, C Jorge Saez, 1B Chris Gittens, IF Oswaldo Cabrera, IF Wilkerman Garcia, IF Gosuke Katoh, IF Hoy Jun Park, OF Jeff Hendrix, OF Jhalan Jackson, OF Pablo Olivares, OF Zack Zehner. Deglan and Saez are non-roster players this spring. Everyone else is up from minor league camp to make the road trip for the split squad game.

Available Pitchers: RHP Cale Coshow, LHP Danny Coulombe, RHP Matt Frawley, RHP Drew Hutchison, LHP Anderson Severino, RHP Trevor Stephan, RHP David Sosebee, RHP Greg Weissert. Frawley, Severino (no relation to Luis), Sosebee, and Weissert are the extra arms from minor league camp.

It is warm but not oppressively humid in both Tampa and Dunedin today. Good afternoon to spend at the ballpark. The home game will begin at 1:05pm ET and you can watch live on YES and MLB.tv. The road game begins at 1:07pm ET and MLB.tv will have that one. There are no MLB.tv blackouts in Spring Training. You can watch both games at the same time. Enjoy.

The Grapefruit League season marches on and today we’ll see two important firsts: DJ LeMahieu at third base and Tommy Kahnle in general. LeMahieu has not played third base since 2014, not even in Spring Training, and even that was a small 38.1-inning sample. The Yankees are planning to use LeMahieu as a super utility infielder though, so third base is part of the job, and today’s our first chance to see him away from his familiar second base.

As for Kahnle, he’s making his spring debut today, and it’s an important spring for him. He is out of minor league options and that’s not enough to guarantee him an Opening Day bullpen spot. The Yankees have enough power arms to cast Kahnle aside if he’s not throwing like he did in 2017. The YES Network broadcast has velocity readings in Spring Training, though I don’t know how accurate they are. Still, a few 96s and 97s would be a welcome sight, even in late-February. Here is the Phillies’ lineup and here are the players the Yankees will use today:

1. LF Brett Gardner
2. DH Aaron Judge
3. RF Giancarlo Stanton
4. 1B Luke Voit
5. 3B DJ LeMahieu
6. C Austin Romine
7. CF Estevan Florial
8. SS Kyle Holder
9. 2B Tyler Wade

RHP Masahiro Tanaka

Available Position Players: C Kellin Deglan, C Francisco Diaz, 1B Mike Ford, 1B Chris Gittens, IF Angel Aguilar, IF Thairo Estrada, IF Wilkerman Garcia, IF L.J. Mazzilli, OF Billy Burns, OF Rashad Crawford, OF Clint Frazier, OF Matt Lipka. Gittens, Aguilar, Garcia, Mazzilli, and Crawford are up from minor league camp for the day.

Available Pitchers: RHP Chance Adams, LHP Zack Britton, LHP Rex Brothers, RHP Cale Coshow, LHP Danny Coulombe, RHP Tommy Kahnle, RHP Brady Lail, LHP Stephen Tarpley.

Bad news: There’s rain in the forecast today. Quite a bit, actually. It’s really supposed to pick up not long after first pitch, and once the heavy stuff starts, it’s not supposed to stop until sometime later tonight. Today’s game might be a short one. That’d stink. Anyway, today’s game is scheduled to begin at 1:05pm ET and you can watch on YES and MLB.tv live. There are no MLB.tv blackouts in Spring Training. Enjoy the game.

Update (12:45pm ET): Well, so much for that. Today’s game has been rained out, the Yankees announced. It won’t be made up because lol at making up a Spring Training game. Too bad one of the televised games was rained out. The team’s next broadcast is not until Sunday.

After a weekend on the road, the Yankees will play their first home game of the Grapefruit League season this afternoon. The Yankees are at George M. Steinbrenner Field today and that means we’ll see Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton for the first time this spring. I wouldn’t call Judge a veteran yet, but he’s definitely earned “you don’t have to go on road trips in February” status.

Today’s main event: James Paxton. He is making his spring debut — he’ll also be the first member of the projected Opening Day pitching staff to appear in a Grapefruit League game — after being the team’s prized offseason addition. Paxton will only throw two innings or 30-ish pitches, something like that, but this’ll be our first opportunity to see him on the mound. Should be fun.

Also, Troy Tulowitzki is the lineup for the first time today. Aaron Boone said the Yankees will take it easy on him early in camp — it’ll be a few weeks until he plays back-to-back days — though today will be our first chance to see him in action. I’m more curious to see how he moves at shortstop than how he swings the bat. Here is the Blue Jays’ lineup and here are the players the Yankees will use today:

1. SS Troy Tulowitzki
2. RF Aaron Judge
3. DH Giancarlo Stanton
4. CF Aaron Hicks
5. 2B Gleyber Torres
6. 1B Greg Bird
7. C Kyle Higashioka
8. LF Trey Amburgey
9. 3B Angel Aguilar

LHP James Paxton

Available Position Players: C Kellin Deglan, C Francisco Diaz, C Jorge Saez, 1B Mike Ford, 1B/OF Ryan McBroom, IF Oswaldo Cabrera, IF Diego Castillo, IF Dermis Garcia, IF Wilkerman Garcia, IF Kyle Holder, OF Billy Burns, OF Estevan Florial, OF Isiah Gilliam, OF Jeff Hendrix, OF Zack Zehner. Aguilar, McBroom, Cabrera, Castillo, Gilliam, Hendrix, Zehner, and the Garcias are up from minor league camp. I hope we get to see Dermis launch some bombs in the late innings.

Available Pitchers: RHP Luis Cessa, RHP Cale Coshow, LHP Phil Diehl, RHP Domingo German, RHP Chad Green, RHP Joe Harvey, RHP Jonathan Holder. Green and Holder wouldn’t be on the list as extra arms. They’re pitching today. I imagine Cessa and German will as well.

It is warm, cloudy, and windy in Tampa this afternoon. Not as windy as it is here in New York, but windy. Today’s game will begin at 1:05pm ET and you can watch live on YES and MLB.tv. There are no MLB.tv blackouts in Spring Training.

Now that the pomp and circumstance of the Grapefruit League opener is in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty. The day in, day out grind of baseball. At this time of the year, the focus is on preparing for the regular season, not securing wins. Either way, it’s baseball, and I love it and I missed it.

What to watch today in the Yankees’ second spring game? Well, today will be our first chance to see DJ LeMahieu in pinstripes spring blues, and I’m pretty sure righty Trevor Stephan is scheduled to pitch at some point. I ranked him as the 13th best prospect in the farm system and Aaron Boone recently singled him out as a young player who’s impressed in camp. Should be fun. Here is the Rays’ lineup and here is the Yankees’ lineup:

1. 2B DJ LeMahieu
2. LF Tyler Wade
3. 1B Luke Voit
4. DH Clint Frazier
5. C Austin Romine
6. CF Estevan Florial
7. RF Trey Amburgey
8. SS Thairo Estrada
9. 3B Kyle Holder

RHP Jonathan Loaisiga

Available Position Players: C Kellin Deglan, C Ryan Lavarnway, C Jorge Saez, 1B Mike Ford, IF Oswaldo Cabrera, IF Diego Castillo, IF Gosuke Katoh, IF L.J. Mazzilli, OF Billy Burns, OF Matt Lipka, OF Ben Ruta, OF Zack Zehner. Cabrera, Castillo, Katoh, Mazzilli, Ruta, and Zehner are all up from minor league camp for the road trip.

Available Pitchers: RHP Daniel Alvarez, RHP David Hale, RHP Brady Lail, LHP James Reeves, RHP Adonis Rosa, LHP Anderson Severino, RHP David Sosebee, RHP Trevor Stephan, LHP Stephan Tarpley. Alvarez, Reeves, Rosa, Severino, and Sosebee are the extra arms from minor league camp.

The Yankees are on the road in Port Charlotte this afternoon and it is another hot and humid day on Florida’s Gulf Coast. It’s cloudy too but there’s no rain in the forecast. Today’s game will begin at 1:05pm ET and you can watch live on MLB Network and MLB.tv. MLB Network will show the game in the Yankees’ home market and there are no MLB.tv blackouts in Spring Training. Enjoy the ballgame.

At long last, that slog of an offseason is (kinda) over and baseball has returned. The Yankees begin their 32-game exhibition schedule this afternoon with the Grapefruit League opener on the road against the Red Sox. The ALDS wounds are still fresh, but trust me, no one on the roster is thinking revenge today. Not on February 23rd.

The Yankees sent a skeleton crew on the two-hour bus trip south to Fort Myers. Only three no-doubt big league position players made the trip and we won’t see a single member of the projected Opening Day pitching staff this afternoon. That’s alright. Part of the fun in Spring Training is seeing players we don’t usually get to see during the regular season.

Two things to watch this afternoon: One, Miguel Andujar’s defense at third base, and two, Clint Frazier’s return from last year’s concussion issues. One game won’t tell us much — at this point I am in “just please no one get hurt” mode — though this will be our first chance to Andujar’s new footwork and healthy Frazier for the first time really since 2017.

Also, the new 20-second pitch clock will be in use today. We still don’t know whether it’ll be used during the regular season (bet on it), but MLB wants to give players and umpires a chance to get used to it in case it is implemented, so they’re using in Spring Training. I watched the A’s vs. Mariners yesterday and barely noticed it. Today we’ll see the Yankees use it for the first time.

Neither AL East rival is giving the other a look at their best players today. The Red Sox are also using a lineup loaded with minor leaguers today. Here is their lineup and here is the lineup the Yankees will use this afternoon, at least for the first few innings:

1. CF Aaron Hicks
2. 2B Gleyber Torres
3. 3B Miguel Andujar
4. 1B Greg Bird
5. LF Clint Frazier
6. DH Mike Ford
7. C Kyle Higashioka
8. SS Tyler Wade
9. RF Matt Lipka

LHP Nestor Cortes

Available Position Players: C Kellin Deglan, C Francisco Diaz, C Jorge Saez, IF Angel Aguilar, IF Thairo Estrada, IF Kyle Holder, OF Trey Amburgey, IF Gosuke Katoh, 1B/OF Ryan McBroom, OF Estevan Florial, OF Jeff Hendrix. Aguilar, Katoh, McBroom, and Hendrix are up from minor league camp for the road trip. Minor league Spring Training isn’t officially open yet, so those guys have presumably been working out at the minor league complex across the street the last few days/weeks.

Available Pitchers: LHP Rex Brothers, RHP Cale Coshow, LHP Danny Coulombe, LHP Phil Diehl, RHP Joe Harvey, RHP Drew Hutchison, RHP Brady Lail, RHP David Sosebee, RHP Greg Weissert. Sosebee and Weissert are extra arms from minor league camp.

It is hot and humid in Fort Myers today. Mid-80s with humidity hovering around 80%. It’ll be a sticky day at the park for everyone in attendance. Today’s game will begin at 1:05pm ET and you can watch live on MLB Network and MLB.tv. MLB Network will show the game in the Yankees home market and there are no MLB.tv blackouts in Spring Training. Enjoy the game, folks. Baseball’s back.