With
the 2015 baseball season almost at
the halfway point (with 79 games played), the Yankees’ forecasted winnings
(they have currently won 42) still project to be in the mid 80s. The problem is that 4 of the 5 teams in the
American League (AL) East have won the same exact amount of games! The only AL East team with a record under the
.500 mark is the Red Sox (thankfully).
In fact, the AL East is currently the tightest race in all of baseball,
though none of the teams are overly dominant.
Just as
I wrote back in May, the Yankees have been overachieving. They’ve done it without Andrew Miller and
Jacoby Ellsbury for a while - both have proven to be their best bullpen pitcher
and hitter respectively. The good news
is that both are due back very soon (in about a week).
Another
key positive for the Yankees is the fact that we’re in July, when half the teams
typically make trades before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. The Yankees' farm system is finally getting
recognized by the experts! That said,
the general managers and scouts should not only be influenced by the critics,
but hopefully feel the same way in their own assessments. In all, this means that the Yankees have the necessary
assets to attain quality returns. Of
course, if money is an obstacle for the unloading teams, it won’t be an obstacle
for the Yankees’ acquisition - unless the players’ contracts are too lengthy!
Looking
at the NYY’s performance, they definitively need hitting. While CC is struggling and Tanaka is still sporadically
performing, Adam Warren has proven he can be a very decent starter and Ivan
Nova has (in a short span since his return from Tommy John surgery) shown he is still a viable starter. The offense of hitters like Didi Gregorius
and Stephen Drew has proven to be the biggest disappointment thus far, while A-Rod
has shocked the baseball world with his above-average hitting. Carlos Beltran has had some decent offense,
but his right field defense has been pitiful.
Additionally, he’s currently had some rib issues. Technically, Beltran should be a DH; but
A-Rod is the “designated” designated hitter.
I would
love for the Yankees to trade Beltran to another AL team that is looking for a
DH. I don’t expect much in return for
him, but I do expect his subtraction to be the biggest opportunity for an addition. Then, they could either make another transaction to acquire a true right fielder
or they could utilize the speed of their own Mason Williams or Slade Heathcott
(if he can ever stay healthy) and make one of them the right fielder. Perhaps
they can even add one of their phenom studs, Aaron Judge, to the 25-man roster and make him their new right fielder! He’s
still smacking the ball like it’s twice its size. The other Major League player they could
trade would be Stephen Drew. Again, I
wouldn’t expect much in return, but any team needing a shortstop (instead of
the 2nd base position he mostly provides us) would be very satisfied with Drew’s shortstop prowess.
If the
Yankees are looking for an above-average hitter, which I feel they definitely
need, then they would have to offer one of their farm system’s quality
players. I don’t think they will need to
include any of their top prospects (Luis Severino, Greg Bird, Rob Refsnyder, Jorge
Mateos or the aforementioned Judge) unless they try to attain an All-Star
player who has a reasonable contract.
For me, a reasonable contract is defined as a contract that: doesn’t have too much salary owed on it, has a
costing balance that is mostly paid by the trading team, or is long-termed for
a player under the age of 29.
Of
course, the Orioles, Rays, and Blue Jays will each have the same opportunity to
improve their teams. All 3 of them also
have quality assets in their farm systems; however, the Orioles and Rays don’t
like to spend money, while the Blue Jays have more spending restrictions than
the Yankees (as most teams do). I can’t
wait until August 1st to find out!
No comments:
Post a Comment