The Yankees will make significant changes to their strength-and-conditioning and training staff rosters for 2020 following a year in which they set a record for most injured players in a single season. The injuries began in spring training and ran the course of the season, many of which appeared to be aggravations of prior injuries. At times during the 2019 season, general manager Brian Cashman dubbed the inquiry into their injury issues as “CSI: The Bronx.”

Their next move will be significant. The Yankees have hired Eric Cressey, a well known and highly sought-after performance coach, to oversee their training and strength-and-conditioning departments, sources told The Athletic. As part of an overhaul that will include new hires by Cressey, the Yankees will also transition longtime athletic trainer Steve Donohue to a status akin to trainer emeritus, though it’s expected he will remain involved with the club.

The changes the Yankees have made and will make to their training and strength-and-conditioning programs reflect a move toward the contemporary line of thought on player performance. They’ve made similar transitions elsewhere in the organization this winter, primarily throughout their pitching programs.

Cressey, who runs Cressey Sports Performance, works closely with Max Scherzer and Corey Kluber. His approach to player performance reflects a rapidly changing philosophy throughout the sport that emphasizes kinesiology and biomechanics.

He will be given latitude to advise on the direction of the strength-and-conditioning program, along with taking a lead on personnel decisions. However, Cressey will still be permitted to run Cressey Sports Performance and work with other MLB athletes. He hosts the “Elite Baseball Development” podcast, on which he interviews major-league players. Yankees-related guests have included Adam Ottavino and Mike King, along with team doctor Chris Ahmad.

Similar to the deal the Yankees have made with Cressey, the Reds hired Driveline Baseball founder Kyle Boddy as a director of pitching initiatives and pitching coordinator in October 2019. As part of his agreement with Cincinnati, Boddy was allowed to remain with Driveline.

In November, the Yankees hired Matt Blake to replace Larry Rothschild as pitching coach. Blake, who joined the organization from the Indians, was a pitching coordinator for Cressey Sports Performance.

In December, the Yankees fired head strength coach Matt Krause. He had been with the organization since 2014. Krause’s dismissal was first reported by the New York Post.

Donohue has been with the Yankees organization since 1979, starting in the minor leagues. He was promoted to the major-league training staff in 1986. He succeeded Gene Monahan as head athletic trainer in 2012 and was named the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer by the National Athletic Trainers Association in 2018.

The Yankees will promote assistant athletic trainer Michael Schuk to head trainer, sources told The Athletic. Schuk is a trained physical therapist, and 2020 will be his seventh season with the club. Tim Lentych, another assistant trainer under Donohue, also remains with the club.

Krause is currently the only member of the strength-and-conditioning and training staffs to be let go from the organization, sources told The Athletic. Assistant coach Drew Weisberg remains with the club.

Cressey will plan to spend the year evaluating the current staff and building out the training and strength-and-conditioning departments. The Yankees carried only two strength-and-conditioning coaches in 2019, a small roster by most major-league standards.