New York Yankees:
Somehow, after managing to sell off the most significant pieces of the Yankees roster, they remained as competitive as any team in the American League, finishing 84-78 thanks to roster structuring by their GM Brian Cashman. Letting key cogs like Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller head huge trades at the July Non-Waiver trade deadline was one of Cashman's new, brilliant ideas. For years on end, dragged down by aging veterans like Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, and C.C. Sabathia, much has been made of an aging Yankees roster. Cashman stepped up to the plate and was able make quick work of this, getting rid of aging veterans that weren't performing (i.e. Alex Rodriguez) and selling off at the right time good trade chips (Chapman, Miller, Beltran). One could say the Yankees made out like bandits with the blue-chip prospects they received in return, as the group is deep as any in the majors, headlined by shortstop Gleyber Torres, outfielder Clint Frazier, pitcher Dillon Tate, and homegrown talent outfielder Aaron Judge and Jorge Mateo. It is no question the Yankees have collected a tantalizing group of impressive young talent, and whether Cashman uses some of these prospects as trade bait this winter for a key starting pitcher such as Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale, or for a bat, in maybe the most bizarre case, a pipe dream for Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout. Below, we'll hit off on the Yankees projected 25-man roster for the 2017 season, and some of the moves Cashman has made and the effects it has had thus far.
Arbitration Eligible:
Michael Pineda
Adam Worren
Tommy Layne
Didi Gregorius
Dellin Betandes
Dustin Ackely - likely non-tendered contract
Aaron Hicks
Nathan Eovaldi - likely non-tendered contract (Tommy John Surgery)
Austin Romine
Free Agents:
Mark Teixeira - retiring
Billy Butler
Nick Swisher
Ike Davis
Kyle Davies
Projected 25-Man Roster 2017:
Catcher: Gary Sanchez, Austin Romine, Brian McCann
Infield: Greg Bird, Starlin Castro, Chase Headley, Didi Gregorius, Rob Refsnyder, Ronald Torreyes
Outfield: Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge, Tyler Austin
Starting Pitcher: Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, C.C. Sabathia, Luis Cessa, Chad Green
Bullpen: Adam Worren, Dellin Betances, Tommy Layne, Tyler Clippard, Luis Severino, Chasen Shreve
Bronx Bombers:
Coming into the year, one could say that New York was confident with their catching situation to an extent, having Brian McCann deployed behind the plate. As McCann ages, and the amount of miles he has on his knees, he will begin to split his time behind the plate with playing some first-base and taking at bats in the DH spot. This in turn opens up an opportunity for Yankee farmhand Gary Sanchez, who got and succeed exceptionally in the limited opportunity. The rookie receiver played in only 53 games, but hit a historic 20 homeruns in those first 53 games of his career, paired with a .299 average, a .376 OBP and 10.1 at-bats per homerun. The pace that he was on was simply unsustainable in the long-run, but it is just a glimpse into what Sanchez can do to opposing pitching as a very capable backstop. Austin Romine provides solid depth behind Sanchez, but one area of concern for Cashman and the front office maybe the horrid 16.7% caught stealing Romine had this year, which falls well below the 29% league average for backstops. Romine can certainly hold up his own behind the plate, proving to be a decent backup over the past couple years.
This is probably one of the most interesting position dilemmas for the Yankees coming into 2016, as former top prospect first-basemen Greg Bird is recovering from shoulder surgery. Bird will be given every opportunity to seize at-bats, and the first-base job for himself out of spring training. Bird is the definition of a "Bronx Bomber", as his lefty-swing is tailored perfectly for the short left field porch in Yankee stadium. He has prodigious power, and showed it in limited action during the 2015 campaign. Bird hit 11 homeruns in 46 games that year, and maybe a real deep sleeper in fantasy leagues, and a steal for those who know what a monster Bird could become overtime with the power potential he possesses. Brian McCann, as mentioned above will also log at-bats here, and fits the position well as his offense has taken a hit since coming to New York, potentially due to the demands of catcher creeping up on him. Switching from behind the plate to first base may prove to unlock the offensive outbreak the Yankees are still waiting for from the $85 MM catcher.
Former top prospect and budding star shortstop turned second-baseman Starlin Castro currently controls the reigns at second for the Yankees. Coming over in his first year in the American League last year from the Chicago Cubs, Castro had a bittersweet campaign this year. He registered a respectable .270 average, but suffered from an abysmal .300 OBP, which has always been Castro's area of weakness, but he did offer unprecedented power for someone of such small stature, as he went on to club 21 homeruns over 151 games. Still only 26, many can dream upon the potential Castro still has that he hasn't yet tapped into, Castro represents a sturdy presence in a rebuilding Yankees lineup filled with potential at just about every position on the diamond. Rob Refsnyder may spell a day here-or-there for Castro, and Refsynder offers something reminiscent of a swiss-army knife related to Boston's Brock Holt. Ideally at this point in time, Refsnyder is the closest thing the Yankees have to a super utility player that can pretty much handle himself anywhere out on the field, except for pitcher and catcher. Having this type of player has proved to be a game changer for some clubs, and extending the length of a season for some starting players.
Most Yankee fans look at third-base and ponder over how it can be such a black-hole, especially after how Yankee great Alex Rodriguez routinely year-in and year-out put up MVP type numbers here. It's fair to expect such results after seeing them constantly for the past decade, but the Yankees are not going to get the Chase Headley of 2012, who demolished national league pitching, in a pitcher friendly PETCO Park, to the tune of a .286 average, 31 homeruns, and 115 RBI's. The more realistic expectation should be one where Headley hits around .260 with 12 homeruns, 60 RBI's, and above-average defense at the hot corner. For the price the Yankees are paying for Headley, which is roughly $13 MM a year, they actually got $20.8 MM worth of production out of him last year, as he hit .251 and continued his trend of solid defense. The on paper statistics may not look good, often in these cases they don't, but the on-field results speak louder than the statistics, and he's doing a decent enough job at this point in time to merit a starting position at third base for the Yankees.
The most likely surprising Yankee performer of the 2016 season, shortstop Didi Gregorius had himself a year at the plate. Having never totaled double-digit homerun totals in his career, Gregorius cleared that plateau by 11, ending the year with 20 homeruns, right behind the likes of Marcus Semien, Brad Miller, and Xander Bogaerts. Gregorius credited most of his production this year with the work of his bat, which hit .276 with a .447 slugging, to go along with 70 RBI's. There's no question that he has big shoes to fill, as Derek Jeter locked down the position for 20 years, but the Yankees have to pleased with the progression of Didi since coming over in a trade with the Diamondbacks. A work in progress at the time, Gregorius has certainly made positive strides in the right direction, both on offense and defense, as he has always been a gifted defender and duly credited for his performance at shortstop. He did regress at shortstop this year according to ESPN, having been with 1.5 WAR last year at the position, and falling down to 0.0 WAR this year. In the eyes of the Yankees top decision callers, this is probably the least of their worries, as Didi's bat has at last come to life, and especially in such a flourishing environment like Yankee stadium. Similar to Greg Bird, Gregorius has a swing that is fit just perfectly for Yankee stadium as well, which is exactly what he was able to do this year, taking full advantage of the 81 games the Yankees played at home by using the short right field porch. Much will be made of the strides Gregorius does, or does not make next year in his age-27 campaign.
Unless traded in the off-season, left field should be home of longtime Yankee Brett Gardner. Long known ideally just for his wheels, which at his peak, he used to steal a league high 49 bags in 2011, Gardner has learned to equally develop other parts of his game to make him into one of the more steady performers in baseball. Gardners 2014 and 2015 campaigns saw him doing something unprecedented, which was add the power department to his game, collecting 17 and 16 homeruns respectively in each campaign. Gardner took a step back this year, hitting at about his career norm of .261, but having only slashed 7 homeruns with 16 stolen bases. Whether it be Yankees manager Joe Girardi not utilizing Gardners speed anymore, or the fact that Brett himself may not run as much, his offensive game has slowed considerably. Gardner was an above-average bat for the past four straight years before 2016 roles around, where his cumulative stats put him at roughly 8% below league-average. Luckily for the Yankees and Gardner, he was still able to maintain his well-respected plate discipline at the plate, logging his sixth season with an OBP above .340, which in regard to a league average OBP of .320 is quite good to say the least. Gardner will be 33 at the start of the 2017 campaign, and if reality is that Gardner is starting to slow down, we may very well see some adjustments in his game to make up for his lack of speed on the base-paths.
Yankee fans must have been screaming at the top of their lungs in joy when they stole Jacoby Ellsbury away from the divisional rival Boston Red Sox in the 2013 offseason, just like they did with Johnny Damon back in 2005. Looking back at the enormous $153 MM contract Ellsbury secured from the Yankees, many front office executives and Yankee fans must be shaking their head at this move. What initially seemed like a brilliant move by Brian Cashman quickly turned into fire storm as Ellsbury has never gotten going from the start. Word around the sport spread of the Ellsbury-Gardner-McCann tandem atop the Yankees lineup, but neither McCann or Ellsbury really ever delivered the results they did for their first teams (McCann formerly was an Atlanta Brave). Everyone could dream upon what Ellsbury could do in New York after hitting a mind-boggling .321 with 32 homeruns and 105 RBI's for the Red Sox during the 2011 season. Similar to Gardner, Ellsbury's best trait was and is his speed, which when mixed with his defense in center field, presented the Yankees with a more than capable defensive outfield. Ellsbury's best season in pinstripes thus far has been his first, where he was 11% better than league average, and used all facets of his game to terrorize opposing teams on the base-paths, and to steal away runs in the outfield. At this point, Ellsbury his a huge financial burden, and represents one of the most undesirable and untradable assets in the sport of baseball. The Yankees will look for Ellsbury to finally deliver in his fourth season in the Bronx, and would certainly welcome much needed top-of-the-order production from him.
Most likely to start for the Yankees in right field come opening day 2017 will be Yankees top prospect and Giancarlo Stanton comparison Aaron Judge. If any prospect in the game is going to have a monster homerun campaign one day, besides Texas Rangers first basemen Joey Gallo, Judge is the most likely fearsome hitter to achieve this feat. The average may never be there for Judge, as strikeouts are going to be a common part of his game, but the power potential is so real that the Yankees couldn't resist when they drafted him in the Amateur draft 32nd overall in 2013. Judge was certainly overmatched this year when exposed to major league pitching, but its fair to take into effect that Judge is 4.7 years younger than the average player in the MLB. Judge hasn't yet learned to put it altogether yet, and at the ripe age of 24, many would expect that he still has a lot of room for growth to go. If the Yankees feel comfortable with him manning left field, the results in the long-run could certainly be accelerated with a campaign centered around learning and adjustment for Judge, whom the Yankees anticipate to anchor their lineup for many years to come once he locks onto major league pitchers.
The designated hitter spot will most likely belong to Brian McCann, but will most likely also be used to cycle aging veterans Ellsbury, Gardner and Headley into to improve on-field offensive performances. McCann fits the mold of eventual full-time DH perfectly, as he like many others in the Yankee lineup, is a lefty swinger and centers most of his game around the impressive power he has displayed throughout his career. The Yankees could also look into signing former Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion, who will be one of the lone top free agents on the free agent market this winter. This will most likely be a position of creativity for Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who should have an interesting time with deploying different Yankee lineups this coming 2017 year that will look to build off finishing 20th in the league in team average, 22nd in runs scored, and 19th in homeruns.
Starting Rotation/Bull-Pen concerns:
Masahiro Tanaka, former Japanese star-hurler for the Nippon Baseball League, will look to front a questionable New York Yankees rotation heading into 2017. Tanaka, best known for his fall-off-the-table split finger fastball and wipe out slider, regularly grades out as one of the top starting pitchers in the league, amongst a group the includes Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Justin Verlander and Aaron Sanchez. Tanaka posted another dominant campaign, having recorded a 3.07 ERA over 199.2 innings pitched, will being able to maintain an average fastball velocity of 92 mph amidst a partially-torn ulnar collateral ligament. Tanaka will continue to be the workhorse for a Yankees rotation that thrives off Tanaka, but there will be consistent worry about Tanaka's elbow, which may have an expiration date on it that may expire very soon. One of the more interesting New York starters, Michael Pineda, struck out and eye-opening 207 batters over 175.2 innings pitched. Acquired in the infamous Jesus Montero trade, Pineda hasn't lived up to the billing yet, but his potential is undeniable. Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild will look to work alongside Pineda to help him improve upon a 4.82 ERA and 6-12 record. C.C. Sabathia rounds out the last bit of the sure-fire Yankees starters heading into 2017. Sabathia is coming off a year that saw him produce his best results in 3 years, pitching to a 3.91 ERA over 179.2 innings, with a 9-12 record. Sabathia is no longer the rotation ace or annual cy young candidate that he used to be back in the day when he ramped his fastball up to the mid nineties, but Sabathia has reworked how he pitches these days. Having settled into the high eighties range on the radar gun, Sabathia uses better pinpoint accuracy to his advantage rather than trying to blow fastballs by hitters. His slider and curveball still represent above average offerings that he can utilize to his advantage when keeping hitters off balance. Most likely, hard-throwers Chad Green and Luis Cessa will make up the final two spots in the back end of the New York rotation. Both were acquired in the trade with Detroit that sent lefty relieve Justin Wilson out of the Bronx in return for Green and Cessa. Luis Cessa was originally signed as a shortstop and transferred over to the rubber back in 2011, while Green was selected in the eleventh round in the 2013 Amateur draft. Both profile as starters in the long run, but Girardi and Rothschild will attempt to get results out of the two as early as this coming year.
The bullpen will be led by late inning dominant force Dellin Betances, who is the newly installed closer after seeing both Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman depart via trades. Betances features a triple-digit fastball that is complemented by a wipeout cut fastball. Betances continued his ability to strikeout hitters, registering a 15.53 K/9 rate that keeps climbing higher and higher each season. Also in the backend of the pen is sturdy reliever and former National Tyler Clippard, who was lights out after being acquired from the Diamondbacks. Luis Severino and Adam Warren will be looked upon as potential spot-starters/long relievers, as Warren is a crafty right-handed reliever that has success starting and relieving, while Severino has an electric fastball, and fantastic stuff the plays out of the rotation in the long run. Chasen Shreve and Tommy Layne will present Girardi with two respectable LOOGY options, and the Yankees may even look to reacquire Aroldis Chapman this winter in free agency to pair up with Betances again at the back of a fierce Yankees bullpen.
Cashman's 2016 Moves:
- Gleyber Torres: one of the top shortstop prospects in minor league baseball, Torres was the real prize of the Aroldis Chapman trade with the Chicago Cubs. Billy McKinney, Rashad Crawford and Adam Warren, along with Torres represented the package Cashman got back for relief ace Aroldish Chapman, which should prove to be one of the very best moves of the GM's career. Torres has superstar written all over him, while McKinney can develop into a solid starting outfield option. To say the Yankees did well in this trade would be putting it lightly.
- Clint Frazier: a big, big bat the Yankees received in the Andrew Miller trade that could be roaming centerfield for the Yankees for years to come. A right-handed power bat, Frazier should be an absolute monster once physically mature in a small Yankee stadium. Justus Sheffield, a prized left-handed starting pitching prospect was also acquired alongside Ben Heller, J.P. Feyereisen, and Frazier. The Yankees are collecting quite the impressive group of prospects for a couple of late inning relievers, and while the sell off right now may speak to the unlikeliness of New York contending for the playoff picture currently, the future looks quite bright with a bevy of blue-chip boppers in the minors.
- Dillon Tate: acquired from the Texas Rangers in exchange for ageless outfielder Carlos Beltran, Tate holds high upside as a right-handed starter. He struggled in the lower minors during this past year, but his potential remains as high as any pitching prospect the Yankees acquired in the previous two trades. Beltran was a piece the Yankees were sure to sell off, and the Rangers paid a steep price for a potential half-year rental of Beltran, but Jon Daniels and the Rangers are certainly in a win-now mindset after acquiring Beltran and Lucroy.
- PTBNL: the Ivan Nova traded that paid dividends for the Pirates, as they discovered the key to unlocking a half-years worth of results from Nova. The Yankees received a Player To Be Named Later which turned out to be very insignificant, but the fact that the Yankees trade Nova spoke to the organizations confidence in Severino at the time.
Yankees Pipeline Top Prospects:
Prospect ratings on a 20-80 scale, 50 being average.
OF Clint Frazier: This guy stands 6'1" at 190 lbs, and certainly still has room to grow and add strength. He hit 16 homeruns during the past minor league season while facing Double-A and Triple-A pitching at 22 years old. Major power potential, could really rip the cover off the ball once he arrives in Yankee stadium. He excels in pretty much every major aspect of the game, representing a very close 5-tool product, but he may lose some speed as he adds more muscle, which no one should really lose sleep over.
Potential - Hit tool: 50 Power tool: 65 Speed: 45 Arm: 55 Defense: 50
SS Gleyber Torres: only 19 years old and playing probably the most important position on the diamond, Torres doesn't necessarily have one area of weakness. The guy flat out knows how to rake as a hitter, and the bat-to-ball contact skills are very advanced for a 19 year old phenom. Definitely has the potential to be a major player in the future of the sport.
Potential - Hit tool: 60 Power tool: 45 Speed: 55 Arm: 60 Defense: 50
SS/OF Jorge Mateo: 21 years old and finally starting to come into his own as a top prospect. Known mostly for his game changing speed, he can fly both on the base-paths and in the field on defense. Bat should develop to be at least league average, and the defense should be good, regardless of whether he sticks at short or moves to centerfield.
Potential - Hit tool: 55 Power tool: 35 Speed: 80 Arm: 50 Defense: 55
OF Blake Rutherford: first pick of the Yankees in the 2016 Amateur draft, Rutherford is extremely raw but at the same time has a great amount of potential. An outfielder that swings from the left side, Rutherford excelled in his limited action down in the lower minors to the tune of a .351 average. Another big figure like Judge, Rutherford will most likely move to a corner outfield spot eventually.
Potential - Hit tool: 60 Power Tool: 55 Speed: 50 Arm: 50 Defense: 50
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