New York Yankees Editorial: The Three Biggest Questions For Yankees Path To Division Title
The New York Yankees will host the Tampa Bay Rays in an important three game set beginning Friday. They are hoping they can win the series versus their division rivals who are also in the thick of the hunt for the AL East crown. Entering Friday, the top four teams in the AL East are separated by just one game, and even the Boston Red Sox are only six games back. The Yankees are currently tied with the Baltimore Orioles for first place.
Even with the division lead, the Yankees have been one of the more inconsistent teams in baseball this season, following up stretches of great play, that leads many to think they can run away with the division, with terrible stretches, that makes you wonder if they are a postseason team.
The Yankees surely will be trade deadline buyers, looking to shore up a rotation that has struggled, as well as a dismal middle infield, which has seen the two regulars combine to hit a horrendous .212 through the first 79 games. GM Brian Cashman is no stranger to deadline deals, and this season should be no different.
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According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the team must ask themselves three difficult questions: How long can CC Sabathia remain in the rotation, how long should Carlos Beltran remain in right field, and can they acquire Ben Zobrist?
Sabathia, who hasn’t been the same pitcher for some years now, can no longer mask his mistakes, even when he pitches well, such as Monday night in Anaheim. While the Yankees might feel the need to cap Adam Warren‘s innings, he had arguably been the best starter on the staff, and such a move could have been made later in the season.
Even if moving Warren to the bullpen was justified, the Yankees surely need to take a chance on their young talented top prospect, Luis Severino, who has been dominant since being promoted to Triple-A Scranton. In seven starts, the 21-year-old has posted a 1.96 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP as hitters have only hit .190 against him. As the MLB has seen an influx of young players thriving in 2015, the Yankees have refused to trust their farm system, sticking with veterans who are well past their glory days.
The ideal move for the Yankees would be to call-up Severino, outright Chris Capuano to Scranton, and move Sabathia to the bullpen in a long-relief role. While many fans want Sabathia gone altogether, he hasn’t been nearly as bad the first time through the lineup, which usually bodes well in the bullpen.
As for Beltran, he has performed quite well at the plate lately, but his defense has been abysmal. Sherman suggests eating salary to trade the right fielder:
"The Angels need another bat, have an opening at DH (where Beltran belongs) and cleared some salary by moving Josh Hamilton. I wonder if the Yankees could eat some of the $15 million owed to Beltran in 2016 and make that work to create a more flexible, defensively sound roster."
Sherman’s thinking here is actually quite flawed. Yes, trading Beltran could help the defense, but it would definitely hurt the offense. Simply put, there is no better option than Beltran. His back-up, Garrett Jones, isn’t exactly a great defender, and, even after sorting out his initial struggles following his promotion to Triple-A Scranton, top prospect Aaron Judge likely won’t be ready until 2016.
With Alex Rodriguez proving to be one of the better DH’s in baseball, and no better alternative in right field than Beltran, it is likely that the Yankees will continue to play the 38-year-old in right field for the remainder of 2015. Sherman’s speculation could be something to watch following the season if Beltran continues to hit, as Judge will likely be ready for the big leagues.
Lastly, regarding Zobrist, the Oakland Athletics are only 6 1/2 games out of a wild card spot, and have yet to throw in the towel. Zobrist, who is a free agent after this season, will likely have a big market, as he is a switch-hitter capable of playing almost anywhere on the diamond and gets on base at an excellent rate. While he hasn’t been great this season, the Yankees could certainly use him, as he would be a major upgrade over Stephen Drew.
The problem here is that Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner doesn’t want to give up big prospects, and Sherman speculates that any talk begins with Bryan Mitchell and Rob Refsnyder, and could get significantly higher. While Zobrist would be an upgrade over Drew, the Yankees would likely be better off promoting Refsnyder and moving Drew into a utility role, rather than trading away two guys who could help the team for a long time for a 34-year-old, soon-to-be free agent.
The Yankees could be better off targeting Martin Prado, as they did last season. Prado would cost far less in terms of prospects than Zobrist even though he has an extra year under contract, can play all across the diamond, and the Yankees are already paying him $3 million to play for the Marlins in both 2015 and 2016. Zobrist could prove too costly, but Prado would be a great fall-back option.
Next: New York Yankees Editorial: Mike Leake Could Be Most Realistic Target For Yankees
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