There are a lot of rumors already flying around about what the New York Yankees will do with the upcoming offseason. This year, the bombers went another year without making it to the World Series. They haven’t tasted a World Series in over a decade.
I listened to the words of Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner over the last week. They made their state of the union addresses following another failed Yankees season. One thing that some have mentioned is a possibility is that the Yankees bring back the same team.
Well, virtually the same team. Meaning the Yankees would resign DJ LeMahieu and Masahiro Tanaka while doing nothing else. This strategy would fall in line with the belief that the Yankees have a WS caliber team right now.
I’m fully onboard and believe that the Yankees need to bring back DJ LeMahieu. It’s the talk about bringing back Tanaka where I draw the line. The bombers cannot simply bring back the same team they had in 2020. They need to shake things up if they want to win a World Series next year.
The Yankees’ Options
The most obvious option for me is that the Yankees need to upgrade the rotation. Tanaka is not going to come cheap especially considering the shallow free agent starting pitching market. That said, I would spend however much else is needed to sign Trevor Bauer.
The Yankees made a huge first step in signing Gerrit Cole last year. However, Cole can’t get it done by himself. That showed this year when Cole was the only starting pitcher who looked like he had a pulse for the Yankees in the playoffs.
If the Yankees are content with bringing back Tanaka and hoping the young guys fill out the rest of the rotation, they’ve already failed. They need to upgrade their pitching and there is a clear answer in Trevor Bauer.
If the bombers aren’t interested in making a free agent pitching splash, they need to look at JT Realmuto. Gary Sanchez was reportedly available at the trade deadline which shows that the Yankees are to the point of moving on.
If they do not want to invest into the rotation, they can upgrade the vital catching position. Realmuto is the best catcher in the game, and he would impact the Yankees on both sides of the ball.
No matter how you slice it, the Yankees need to shake things up. They have had a losing mentality for years and have failed to address problems when it forces the front office to be uncomfortable. Well, it’s time for the front office to get uncomfortable and it’s time to get the Yankees back to the World Series.