After an MLB record thirty players went on the Injured List in 2020, the Yankees built an entirely new Health and Performance Staff for the 2020 season. Eric Cressey (Director of Player Health and Performance), Donovan Santas (Assistant Director of Player Health and Development), and Brett McCabe (Major League Strength and Conditioning Coach) all joined the Yankees for the upcoming season. Meanwhile, Michael Schuk (Director of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation), Tim Lentych (Head Athletic Trainer), and Steve Donohue (Director of Medical Services) all find themselves in new positions. For those that are unfamiliar, or would like to know more about these staff members, below is a short bio of member:
Eric Cressey (38): Cressey is the founder of Cressey Sports Performance. Since its creation in 2007, Cressey has specialized in teaching the art of kinesiology and biomechanics to all ages. His most prolific clients include, but are not limited to former Olympians, and around one hundred professional baseball players (including Cy Young Award winners Corey Kluber and Max Scherzer). Yankees prospect, Michael King, has already worked with Cressey in the past and certainly trusts his methodology. Interestingly enough, Cressey has a direct connection to the new Yankees Pitching Coach, Matt Blake, who worked under him at Cressey Sports Performance. That being said, his presence has already benefited the Yankees before he officially started working for them.
Donovan Santas (42): Once the 2020 season begins, Santas will be the first Assistant Director of Player Health and Development in Yankee history. Before joining the Yankees, Santas spent the last seventeen years as the Head of Strength and Conditioning for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Brett McCabe (40): McCabe has worked in professional baseball since 2003. He was a strength and conditioning coach for Double-A New Haven (2003) and Triple-A Syracuse (2004-05) affiliates of the Toronto Blue Jays. Afterward, McCabe spent the next seven seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks. During his tenure in Arizona, McCabe spent his time there as the head of minor league strength and conditioning coordinator and oversaw strength and conditioning programs for all of Arizona’s minor league affiliates. McCabe took his talents to San Diego in 2013 where he spent seven seasons at the same position he now has for the Yankees.
Michael Schuk (37): Schuk has been a popular health and performance staff member in baseball for quite some time. He was an athletic trainer with the Cleveland Indians in 2006 and 2010. After his tenure with the Indians, Schuk worked in Army Special Forces from 2012-14. Schuk specifically worked on the THOR3 initiative while in the Army; an elite program that enhanced the mental and physical abilities of the Special Forces. Schuk then went back to Major League Baseball in 2014 where he spent six seasons as the Yankees Physical Therapist and Assistant Athletic Trainer before being promoted to his new position this offseason.
Tim Lentych (41): Entering 2020, Lentych spent an astounding seventeen years in the Yankees organization. His tenure began in 2004, where Lentych was a trainer for the Staten Island Yankees, which are a Single-A Short-Season affiliate. The following year, he had the same position for the Single-A Charleston Riverdogs until 2007. Then, Lentych was the head trainer for the Trenton Thunder, the Double-A team for the Yankees, where he won the “Athletic Trainer of the Year” award honors in 2009. Lentych was promoted to the Yankees’ Minor League Head Athletic Trainer in 2012. After four seasons there, Lentych joined the major league staff as the Assistant Athletic Trainer, before being promoted to his new position in 2020.
Steve Donohue (63): Donohue is the senior member of the Yankees Health and Performance staff as he has spent a whopping forty-two years in the Yankees organization. Donohue spent his first seven seasons as an athletic trainer in the minors, as he worked in Double-A West Haven (1979), Double-A Nashville (1980-81), and Triple-A Columbus (1982-85). From 1985-2011, Donohue was the Yankees Assistant Athletic Trainer under the iconic Gene Monahan. The duo won the “Athletic Training Staff of the Year” award of 1990 and 2010. After Monahan retired after the 2011 season, Donohue spent the next nine years as the Yankees Head Athletic Trainer, before becoming the first Director of Medical Services in Yankee history.
Besides an impressive Health and Performance Staff, the Yankees also have a talented coaching staff. Their coaching staff features Manager Aaron Boone, Pitching Coach Matt Blake, Bullpen Coach Mike Harkey, Bench Coach Carlos Mendoza, Third Base Coach Phil Nevin, Assistant Hitting Coach P.J. Pilittere, Quality Control and Catching Coach Tanner Swanson, Hitting Coach Marcus Thames, and First Base Coach Reggie Willits.
Hopefully, the Yankees refined Health and Performance Staff, and excellent coaching staff will lead the Yankees to their 28th World Championship in 2020.
