The New York Yankees are in a (relatively) long World Series drought, having failed to win a championship since 2009. For an organization with 27 World Series championships in its history, the past decade of failure has been subpar. The team has spent big in order to compete, signing some big-name free agents such as Gerrit Cole, Aroldis Chapman, and DJ LeMahieu, while simultaneously fortifying the roster with trades, acquiring the likes of Luke Voit, Joey Gallo, Gleyber Torres, and Giancarlo Stanton.

Despite their transactional activity, the Yankees have fallen short of their ultimate goal each year since 2009, and seem poised to do so again in 2022 barring some turnarounds from key players. With the amount of talent on the roster, the Yankees have no excuse to not overthrow the Rays in the AL East, but to do so will require everyone to play up to their potential, something many players have failed to do in recent years.

With that in mind, here are four Yankees players who need to step up for the team in 2022 and shake off what was a disappointing season last year.

Yankees players who need bounce-back seasons in 2022

4. DJ LeMahieu

LeMahieu was an American League MVP candidate in both 2019 and 2020, but after the Yankees tied him down to a lucrative extension, the production tailed off. LeMahieu went from hitting .364 in 2020 to a mere .268 in 2021, struggling to make the same type of contact he did during his MVP-caliber seasons. LeMahieu hit 10 home runs in 150 games in 2021, the same amount he hit during the shortened 60-game season in 2020 (in which he played just 50 games). Reports of a painful injury emerged after the season, which could be behind the downtick in production from the veteran infielder. But if anything's certain, it's that LeMahieu will need to pick up the slack from last season if the Yankees want to contend.

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3. Gary Sanchez

This is beginning to sound like we're beating an old drum, as Gary Sanchez's name comes up in these types of conversations every year, but this rings just as true in 2022 as it did in 2019. Sanchez was expected to be a game-changing batter with a rocket of an arm for the Yankees behind the plate. Instead, “El Kraken” has been a liability both offensively and defensively. He's a poor pitch framer who often overthrows his target when attempting to catch a runner stealing, and has not come close to addressing his strikeout-prone approach at the plate. Sanchez hit just .204 last season with 23 home runs and 54 RBI, striking out in 27.5% of his plate appearances. This season should be Sanchez's last chance to impress in the Bronx.

2. Joey Gallo

Joey Gallo was acquired to be a powerful left-handed presence in the lineup. On paper, Yankee Stadium is an ideal landing spot for Gallo, who should be able to park baseballs into the short porch in right field with ease. That wasn't the case during his half-season with the team, however. While the slugger launched 13 home runs in his 58-game stint with the club, he slashed a disgraceful .160/.303/.404 and recorded 88 strikeouts in 228 plate appearances. His OBP dropped from .379 with Texas to .303 in New York as he was drawing fewer walks and popping out more. The Yankees will be hoping he can make more consistent contact in 2022, as the home runs will almost certainly come with a power-hitter like him at the dish.

1. Gleyber Torres

What on earth happened to Gleyber Torres over the past two seasons? In 2019, Torres looked like the future of the Yankees, enjoying one of the best seasons we've seen from a player aged 22. That season, Gleyber launched 38 home runs, drove in 90 RBI, and recorded a .871 OPS. Since then, across 169 games, Torres has slashed .256/.337/.366 with just 12 home runs, 67 RBI, and 132 strikeouts in 676 plate appearances. The drop-off in power is a major concern, as while his 38 home runs came during the “juiced ball” season, he's struggled to come even close to replicating that type of production since. Once one of the most valuable trade pieces in all of baseball, there's perhaps no player who has taken a bigger fall over the past two years than Torres. If the Yankees want to compete this season, they'll need more out of the 25-year-old on both sides of the ball.