For the New York Yankees, it seems like this offseason is a dead time with nothing happening to improve their chances of getting to a 28th World Championship. Yankees fans are sitting on their hands waiting for the Yankees to do something, anything to give them some hope that 2021 won’t end up like the last several seasons; a team with their pants down and an early exit from the postseason.
There are several storylines here to consider. The Yankees had spent $324 million to get the best pitcher in baseball but have yet to give him anything to work with to be successful. Another is the decision to keep Gary Sanchez as their starting catcher. Still, another is what to do with a shortstop that cant handle his position effectively.
All of these storylines are surrounded this offseason by owner Hal Steinbrenner’s decision not to go over the luxury tax threshold and cut salaries by at least $30 million while trying to improve the team. To this writer, that seems counterproductive.
Let’s take these storylines separately. The New York Yankees need pitching; there is no question about that. At the beginning of the offseason, they lost Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, and J.A. Happ. Now they need pitching but have no money after a money-losing season to obtain any premium arms to bolster a sorely lacking pitching rotation. It appears at this point that the Yankees will experiment with a bunch of young, mostly untested arms for half of the rotation. Gerrit Cole will surely lead off the rotation, and Domingo German, at least at the start of the season, will likely be next in the rotation.
Beyond German, there isn’t much that the Yankees can depend upon. Yes, there is Jordan Montgomery and Deivi Garcia, but neither of them has had what anyone could call a successful season. Montgomery has recovered from Tommy John surgery but has never pitched an entire season. Garcia just made his Major League debut for a few games, but the Yankees have no idea how he will hold up during a 162 game season. Without a veteran pitcher to follow Cole, it will truly be an experiment in hope.
Another storyline is the entire DJ LeMahieu situation. The New York Yankees seem to be basing their entire offseason strategy on one thing, the signing of DJ LeMahieu that rejected the Yankee’s only qualifying offer. The two sides years apart and dollars apart in their negotiations after two months of talks. Meanwhile, everything else seems to be on hold for the outcome of those negotiations.
The other storyline is terrifying in its experimental scope. Making Gary Sanchez the Yankees woefully deficient catcher their starting day catcher. There is no question that the Yankees will continue their support of Sanchez as they have given him a $5 million salary for the 2021 season. What makes this so terrifying is that several teams are trying to pry backup catcher Kyle Higashioka away from the Yankees. With Yadier Molina still in the conversation to be a mentor to Gary Sanchez, where does that leave Higashioka?
Considering the whole catching situation, the thought of breaking up the successful pitcher/catcher relationship of Cole and “Higgy” that dates back to their high school years seems unbelievable. Adding Molina to the mix would truly be an experiment if he could be a mentor to Sanchez and if the Yankees can’t afford both Molina and Higashioka. It appears to me that breaking up Higashioka and Cole would be a huge mistake.
The last storyline is the Gleyber Torres situation. To move him to second base, his natural position, and bring Didi Gregorious for a second stint with the Yankees to man the shortstop position. Much of this relates to the signing of DJ LeMahieu. If the Yankees can retain LeMahieu, Torres will likely stay at short. If they can’t, it opens up a whole can of worms and the likely signing of a shortstop to add to the lineup.
Any of these changes would likely be an experiment in how to build a team that can have a winning season with so many unknowns. On the pitching front, the Yankees most likely will get some relief when Luis Severino returns mid-season, but even then, they don’t know how he will perform. Catching wise Sanchez could be a changed catcher this year, but considering his past performance, that is a long shot.
The bottom line is that the New York Yankees must re-sign DJ LeMahieu. They must keep the relationship of Cole/Higashioka intact. They must find a solid veteran pitcher to backup Cole even if it breaks the bank to get to the postseason and beyond. The Yankees basically have a solid team that has some holes to fill. Taking a chance on the experimental could lead to disaster.