For the New York Yankees, and all of baseball the regular, or shall I say irregular 2020 baseball season, is nearly over, with just two weeks of games left. It’s been a disappointing season for the Yankees, that started with so much hope. The Yankees during the offseason signed arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Gerrit Cole, setting up a 2020 season that those in know said, would be the Yankees year to gain their 28th World Championship.
Fast forward to mid-September. The Yankees are in third place in the East and have shown in many weeks, that they were not postseason bound. Yes, the Yankees have shown some life in the last week, but with the season almost over is it too late? Obviously, the Yankee injuries, have again taken their toll on the team. But there are systemic problems that are bothering the Yankee brass. Inconsistent pitching from all Yankee pitchers, and a great lack of Yankees hitting all year. This is my guess, but if they aren’t concerned about these two areas, they should be.
Let’s pretend for a few minutes that the New York Yankees get to the postseason, they meet up in a five-game series with the Oakland Athletics, and go 2-3 and have another failed postseason. The Yankees lost to the Astros in 2017, the Red Sox in 2018, and again to the Astros in 2019. The question is, how long are the Yankees willing to fail? Hal Steinbrenner has spent too much much on Gerrit Cole to waste his future with the Yankees.
As a life long Yankee fan, I don’t want any of this to happen. I want to see the reintroduction of James Paxton, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gio Urshela to lift the Yankees to new heights, reach the postseason, and finally, win that World Championship that they have missed out on since 2009. But at the same time, I can not ignore the problems the Yankees have.
Here is where the opinions come in. Should the Yankees fail to get to the postseason, or win a championship, this upcoming offseason will see one of the biggest team shakeups in decades. First of all, Brett Gardner, DJ LeMahieu, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, and Adam Warren will all become free agents after this season. The only guaranteed return here that I see, is DJ LeMahieu, although even he may not be offered a long term deal, due to his age.
Looking at Brett Gardner, the heart and soul of the New York Yankees, his performance this year proves that his 2019 season was true, a fluke. Although his defense and running have mostly remained intact, his hitting is near nonexistent. However, even his defense has shown some holes in the last few weeks. Last night he was caught stealing twice in the same game, something a Gardner in his prime would never allow. Gardner’s time with the Yankees is over. The Yankees will buy out his 2.5 million option.
The return of James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka is questionable. Paxton with his injuries and Tanaka who is aging and has not pitched particularly well in the past two years. It just may be time for the Yankees to face reality, and with the returning Luis Severino, and the Yankees best pitcher in 2019, Domingo German returning for the 2021 season, it may be time to clean house, rely on them, maybe an offseason pickup, and the group of emerging Yankee prospects to carry the team forward.
Looking at the Yankees offensive situation, the Yankees are not likely to give up on slugger Aaron Judge, even though he seems to be constantly injured. Giancarlo Stanton who can opt-out of his contract this year is unlikely to do that unless he completely loses his mind. Mike Ford, despite his above-average performance last year, is probably gone after this season, along with long time Tyler Wade, who just can’t hit. The future of Gleyber Torres who has the highest number of errors of any shortstop in baseball, his days may be numbered as well. Miguel Andujar has not found a place on the Yankees this year. He also hasn’t hit well and may be used as a trade piece.
The glaring problem with the 2020 Yankee hitting failures, is Gary Sanchez, who is either injured or trying to get his swing back and has the lowest batting average of any baseball catcher. He is a considerable contributor to several Yankees losses. For several years now the Yankee brass has exhibited strong support for their catcher of the future, but in private are they asking themselves, how many more years of this can we endure?
Maybe it’s time to accept reality and get a real catcher like J.T. Realmuto, who is a free agent after this season. Getting Realmuto would cost double what Sanchez is making, but he too only has a one year contract. Realmuto has been good for years, he was an All-Star and Silver Slugger for the last two years and earned a Gold Glove award last season. This season his batting average is .267 compared to Sanchez’s .124. He has 11 home runs in the short season. That’s the equivalent of nearly 30 in a normal season.
One thing is for sure, if the New York Yankees don’t win it this year, there will be big changes, maybe not the ones that I have outlined, but next year’s Yankee team will not look like this season. The Yankee’s purchase of Gerrit Cole, regardless of the public demeanor, says that the Yankee front office is tired of coming up short.