Yankees' projected lineup shows 1 flaw that could haunt NYY in 2026

Yankees' projected lineup shows 1 flaw that could haunt NYY in 2026 originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The New York Yankees have one of the best collections of hitters in baseball.

Their projected lineup for the 2026 MLB season could have one major flaw, though. It's not something unexpected, but there will be moments that it could end up hurting the Yanks' chances. The flaw?

A heck of a lot of left-handed hitters, which could make this group susceptible to strong left-handed relief pitchers. This is how the Fangraphs Roster Resource page projects the Yankees to line up in 2026, with it worth noting that this would be the most likely lineup against a righty starter: Trent Grisham CF Aaron Judge RF Cody Bellinger LF Ben Rice 1B Giancarlo Stanton DH Jazz Chisholm 2B Austin Wells C Jose Caballero SS Ryan McMahon 3B Grisham, Bellinger, Rice, Chisholm, Wells and McMahon are all left-handed hitters. MORE: Big Papi's son has a special moment for the Red Sox That also means the Yankees may do a lot of lineup changing when they face some southpaw starters -- Paul Goldschmidt for Rice, Amed Rosario at second or third, Randal Grichuk in the outfield.

But that means they're taking some of their best hitters out of the order in certain scenarios, or settling for difficult platoon matchups up and down the lineup. It's not the end of the world, because the Yankees have so much hitting talent that they should score plenty of runs regardless of the handedness of the pitchers and hitters. But it's one thing that could make matters just a bit tougher for the Yankees at points during the season, and it'll be worth keeping an eye on.