No, it’s not a dream. The Yankees actually sold at the trade deadline. Brian Cashman decided 2016 is not the Yankees’ year and retooling is in the best interest of the franchise moving forward. I know, I know… you can’t believe it either. It’s a rare occurrence, like seeing Halley’s Comet or a Chase Headley extra base hit.
A lot has happened in the 24 seasons that have come and gone since the Yankees punted on a season. The year was 1992 and dial-up internet was mind-blowing technology. You had to go to your local pharmacy to have film developed. Blockbuster Video was operating in 8 countries and worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $8 billion. That year the Olympics were in Barcelona and poop water was not an issue, to my knowledge. A Clinton was also running for president… well I guess not everything has changed.
Twenty four years is a long time to be consistently good. In my cognitive baseball watching lifetime, the Yankees have finished above .500 every year, won 5 championships, 7 pennants, and had 18 playoff appearances. It’s truly remarkable the sustained success the franchise has had. As fans we are spoiled; so a couple months of bad baseball is a small price to pay for another shot at long-term success.
The @Yankees can “absolutely” compete for the Wild Card this year, says Hal Steinbrenner.https://t.co/SMfGoMtMmV
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 2, 2016
Despite the fact that the Hal Steinbrenner publicly stated he thinks the team can still compete, I do not feel the Yankees will be playing any meaningful games in September as far as the standings go. But you know what? That’s not such a bad thing.
The next two months of baseball are a chance for the Yankees to experiment. Even though fans won’t have an eye on the standings, here are three things to look forward to in the coming months and beyond.
Youth Movement
The added bonus of trading away vets at the deadline is that it opens the door for young players, who would ordinarily be September call-ups, to get regular playing time now.
Gary Sanchez got the call from Scranton on Wednesday, recorded his first major league hit, and is hopefully here to stay. Even though Austin Romine and Brian McCann aren’t going anywhere, unless Mac gets moved at the waiver deadline, it should not impact Sanchez’ at-bats at DH and catcher. Release The Kraken!
Aaron Judge recently returned from the minor league DL, and if the reports are true, will find his way to the Bronx soon. Get ready for some long home runs and golden sombreros, because Judgement Day is right around the corner!
Can the Chad Green experiment in the staring rotation please be over? Unless an injury happens, Green should not start another game this year. How much more does Girardi and staff need to see in order to realize he’s a 4-A pitcher who’s ceiling is mop-up duty in the pen? Severino, on the other hand, still has his sights on the 2017 starting staff. The depth on his slider looks to be improved so it’s time to see if he has learned from his April-woes.
Those three players — Sanchez, Judge, and Severino — should be given every opportunity over the next two months to succeed (or fail) at the major league level. Get the growing pains out of the way now and be ready to hit the ground running in 2017.
Rob Refsnyder should also get regular at-bats at multiple positions. So far he’s appeared in games at 1B, 2B, 3B, LF, and RF. His positions listed on baseball reference look like an old-school phone number (39/457). Refsnyder has the ability to be a super utility player for the Yankees in ’17 and now is the time to test that potential.
And finally, enough with Aaron Hicks.
BTW, Girardi said today that Hicksie is going to keep playing. #DontKillTheMessenger
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) August 3, 2016
Hicks has over 240 plate appearances this season and is hitting .187/.250/.285. Those are pitchers’ numbers! The Yankees are not in a playoff race so any defense he adds is moot. I’d much rather see Ben Gamel, Mason Williams, Jake Cave or anybody else Cashman can pluck from the minors get a crack at it.
The only lingering question is: what former first round draft pick will Cashman trade for this offseason?
The ARod Dilemma
One year ago today, Alex Rodriguez was the Yankees most dangerous offensive player and clubhouse leader. Fast forward 365 days and he’s relegated to pinch-hit appearances in 6-run deficits and answering questions about his potential release.
The most surprising aspect of this whole dilemma is that ARod seems to be fine with whatever the Yankees decide. He is a peace with it — whatever it is. While I do not think the Yankees will release him before the season is over, they are certainly not going to play him much over the next two months, which means they’ll essentially be playing with a 24-man roster.
Alex consuming a roster spot creates problems for a team that should be focusing on their young talent. We know ARod can’t play the field. If they are not going to DH him, what is he there for? Sure he can provide clubhouse leadership and counseling to the young players that come in, but is that really worth a roster spot? It will be fascinating to see how the Yankees navigate these waters for the next month until rosters expand in September.
I would like to propose a wild scenario to this predicament: there is 1 percent of me that thinks ARod will shock the world and retire after the season, thus bailing the Yankees out of $21M, more potential HR bonus controversy, and a PR shitstorm. It would make ARod an instant legend in New York sports. For a guy who possessed all the talent in the world, put up Hall of Fame numbers throughout his career, and led his team to a World Series championship, it would actually do his legacy wonders.
Death (free agents) and Taxes
Do you remember in college when you’d wake up on Monday morning and feel regret? The weight of four straight days of binge drinking and eating was taking its toll and you knew you had to take a few days off to reset the engines before Thursday night rolled around again.
I imagine that is the feeling the Yankees woke up with on August 2. In two short months, Mark Teixeira will be purged from the Yankees body. Beltran is already off the books and CC Sabathia and Alex Rodriguez’s contracts are bubbling to the surface and will soon be extracted as well. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
A year ago, Hal Steinbrenner hinted that the Yankees were trying to get under the luxury tax threshold of $189M. The way the system is set up, teams pay a tax penalty of x-% based on the number of years said team has exceeded the payroll soft cap. The Yankees have been over the limit for some time, so they pay the maximum penalty of 50% annually, which amounted to $26.1M in 2015 and will be in the neighborhood of $19M for this season. Luckily, teams only have to be under the threshold for one season and their tax resets, almost like a get out of jail free card.
Even though the Yankees sat-out the 2016 free agent class, much to the distaste of many fans, they still added quality players and payroll through the trades for Starlin Castro and Aroldis Chapman. Despite those additions, Steinbrenner’s goal seems to be more of a reality now. Next year’s estimated payroll is $191.3M, per baseball reference, which means the Yankees would only pay about $1M in taxes if the number remains around 189 (which will be determined when the new CBA is negotiated in December).
Since they’re so close to the threshold number, it would not surprise me if they shed some more unwanted payroll this offseason. For example, Aaron Hicks and Dustin Ackley are both arbitration-eligible and would receive raises in 2017. Would anybody be upset if one or both of those players were replaced with league-minimum players, say Ben Gamel or Mason Williams?
Of course there is the chance the Yankees do dip their toes in the free agent waters this winter. While the FA list is underwhelming, both Beltran and Chapman have expressed their interest in returning to New York, and the Yankees would seemingly have a fit for Chapman or another relief pitcher now that Andrew Miller is in Cleveland.
Whether or not they achieve their tax goals in ’17, they are primed to be under in 2018 when ARod and CC’s contracts are finished. Maneuvering the next two off seasons will probably depend on the progress of the vast talent the Yankees have in their system. If everything goes according to plan, the Yankees should not ink any big name players to free agent contracts until the 2019 class.
