Astros, Diamondbacks, Rays loom on tough early schedule

MLB schedule-makers didn’t do the Yankees any favors to start the 2024 season.

The Yankees begin the year at their longtime house of horrors in Houston, then travel farther west to face the reigning National League champion Arizona Diamondbacks, and only get one day off in the first two weeks.

It’s an early test for a retooled Yankees team that enters the season with World Series aspirations but is battered and bruised following multiple key injuries during spring training.

Gerrit Cole, last year’s American League Cy Young Award winner, is set to begin the season on the injured list due to nerve irritation and edema in his throwing elbow, forcing the Yankees to navigate the Marchapril gauntlet without their steady, innings-eating ace.

Leadoff hitter DJ Lemahieu’s Opening Day status remains unclear after a foul ball off of his right foot left him with, as manager Aaron Boone described it, a “pretty significant bone bruise.”

Aaron Judge says he’ll be ready to go after abdominal discomfort this month cost him more than a week of spring training and put him behind schedule.

A fast start would help the Yankees further distance themselves from last year’s disappointing 82-80 campaign, but again, it won’t be easy.

Nestor Cortes is set to start Opening Day on March 28 in Houston, where he’s in line to face Astros lefty Framber Valdez. Cortes last pitched on Aug. 5, coincidentally against the Astros, before a rotator cuff strain ended his 2023 season early.

Valdez, who boasts backto-back top-10 finishes in Cy Young voting, last faced the Yankees during the 2022 ALCS, where he hurled seven scoreless innings in a Game 2 win. The Yankees catch a bit of a break, as longtime foe Justin Verlander will begin the season on the injured list for Houston as he works back from a shoulder issue.

Houston, which eliminated the Yankees from four postseasons between 2015-22, won its sixth AL West title in seven years last season and has since added All-star closer Josh Hader.

Following a four-game series in Houston, the Yankees head to Arizona for a three-game set without a day off in between. Because Houston and Arizona’s stadiums both have retractable roofs, neither team needs to schedule an off day after Opening Day in preparation for a potential rainout.

The Yankees get their first day off on April 4, then host their home opener on April 5 against another 2023 playoff team in the Toronto Blue Jays.

They then host the Miami Marlins, who also made last year’s playoffs, from April 8-10 before embarking on another road trip that takes them to Cleveland (April 12-14) and Toronto (April 15-17).

The Yankees’ first series against the Tampa Bay Rays, who won 99 games last year, is scheduled for April 19-21 in the Bronx. That will be their sixth series out of the first seven to take place against a 2023 playoff team.

The schedule eases up from there, with the Oakland A’s, who went an Mlb-worst 50-112 last year, coming to Yankee Stadium from April 22-25.