Welcome to hot stove baseball. The time of year when a big time trade or signing can hold you over through a harsh winter. It is also when the chic thing to do is remark on how the recently crown World Series champion, is the model for how to build a winning team. Fans of the New York Yankees are quite familiar with brilliance of Brian Sabean, who before building a winner out in San Francisco, was a scout for the Yankees organization. Yet for every Giants type team, there’s a Boston Red Sox squad which goes goes from the top of the heap to the bottom of the barrel.
So where does that leave the Yankees blueprint for 2015? Clearly changes need to be made, following missing the postseason in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1992-93. While they aren’t going to be limited by a luxury tax threshold, they do get hit absurdly hard. Of course if you’re a fan who pays out the nose for tickets, you should demand better than what you’ve gotten in the past two years.
Hence, that makes it hard to sift through that the Yankees can, should and ultimately will do going into 2015. Below is that blueprint.
Catcher:
One has to hope that Brian McCann is more comfortable in act two of his New York tenure and maybe a new hitting coach can help him to that end. McCann did work well with the patchwork pitching staff but he has to justify being more than an expensive version of 2012 Russell Martin.
At backup, I’ll take John Ryan Murphy. Murphy is younger, cheaper, has paid his dues and is more than ready for the role.
First Baseman:
Like it or not, Mark Teixeira will be back at first base in 2014. You’d like to think a full year after wrist surgery that he’d rebound but if it isn’t the wrist, it’s always some nagging injury lately. He’s still Don Mattingly with the glove but even though he swatted 22 home runs in 2014, needs to be a little less like Kevin Maas at the plate.
Second Baseman:
Unless you envision him as the ultimate utility player, Martin Prado deserves the first crack at second. In 37 games, Prado hit seven home runs and batted .316. Whether or not Prado is shifted to third, Rob Refsnyder should also be on this club and maybe even as the starter at second base. Refsnyder has paid his dues and hit over .300 at AA and AAA in 2014.
Shortstop:
Anyone but Brendan Ryan please. Short term, Hanley Ramirez would be the best answer. Although barring a trade, if you’re just looking short term, perhaps a Stephen Drew with a full spring training would be an adequate stopgap. Good luck getting him on a one-year deal with Scott Boras as his agent.
Third Baseman:
Again, Ramirez is an option here. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Yanks re-sign Chase Headley here. He’s a pretty hard nosed, clutch ball player. Solid glove, lefty stroke at Yankee Stadium. Even if a soon to be 40-year-old Alex Rodriguez hadn’t missed an entire season, would you count on him as your every day third baseman at this point? As mentioned above, Prado at the hot corner is also an option.
Outfield:
The strength of the squad. In a surprising twist, Jacoby Ellsbury (149) and Brett Gardner (148) were the most durable of any Yankees regulars in 2014. Although they gave the Yanks a combined 33 home runs, given the lack of pop at other positions, it would be nice for a corner outfielder with 30 home run pop. Perhaps a healthy Carlos Beltran is that guy but he’s probably better served as a DH at this juncture. The club also re-upped with Chris Young, in a low risk, high reward deal.
Starting Rotation:
Even if you were to pencil in Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda and CC Sabathia in for 30 starts (and that is a tenuous proposition) they still need to compensate for the potential departure/retirement of Hiroki Kuroda. Assuming Kuroda doesn’t return, I wouldn’t have any problem with the club inking either Max Scherzer or Jon Lester to anchor the staff. If they don’t dip into the deep end, I’d love to see them bring back Brandon McCarthy. Ivan Nova will return from Tommy John surgery and they’ll have to decide what to make of Shane Greene, David Phelps and maybe even Adam Warren as starting options. Again, contrary to the casual outside observer, pitching was not the problem for the 2014 Yankees, even with a plethora of injuries.
Bullpen:
One could make the argument that Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Warren, were essentially what kept the Yanks remotely in the playoff hunt in 2013 and 2014. If your starter can avoid the big inning and you can shorten the game, it dramatically increases your chances of winning. Hello 1996 Yankees! Yes relievers can be a fickle, year-to-year bunch but I’d love to see Robertson brought back. If not, Betances likely slots in but then you’ve got to find guys to slot in to high leverage situations. Whether those options are starters that don’t crack the rotation like Warren or external like Andrew Miller, Brandon Morrow, Burke Badenhop, Neal Cotts, etc., a deep bullpen can compensate for a lot.
Conclusion:
If you’re a glass half full kind of person, you say hey the Yanks only won four less games than the Giants and San Francisco won the World Series. Plus, if the Yanks stay healthy and shore up a few spots, they’ll be right in contention. However, the glass half empty side says the club has a lot of health issues, age concerns and a lack of depth. In any event, they’ll need to improve on their performance of the past two campaigns and forge a new “core” identity in the post-Derek Jeter era.
