It’s Time for the Yankees to Commit to Rebuilding

All the signs point to the 2016 Yankees being a rebuilding team. New York currently sits in the basement of the AL East, six games out of the division lead. Their OPS+, ERA+, and Total Zone rating each rank near the bottom of all major league teams, suggesting that no aspect of their club is particularly promising at the moment. GM Brian Cashman didn’t sign a veteran free agent, give up a draft pick, or trade one of their premium prospects all winter. So why does this rebuilding team have the oldest group of position players in all of baseball?

The Yankees are trying to walk a fine line between restocking the organization with talent and remaining competitive. Cashman has done a solid job with the former, but the latter is appearing more and more a lost cause. While the pitching staff is composed almost entirely of promising young arms on the right side of 30, the lineup remains a collection of expensive dinosaurs.

39-year-old Carlos Beltran is batting third every night with an OBP of .273. 36-year-old Mark Teixeira is hitting cleanup with a SLG of .350. Their 32-year-old leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury has been one of the worst of offensive players in baseball since last year’s trade deadline and also happens to be making nine figures over the next five seasons. No one needs to tell you again just how bad Chase Headley has been.

Yes, it’s only been a month and there is certainly still a chance this group can turn things around to scratch out another Wild Card appearance. However, the Yankees are probably better served by beginning to build toward their next great team rather than trying to squeeze one more mediocre season out of this group.

They have a number of prospects in Triple-A Scranton who have earned a look at the big league level. The sooner New York brings them up, the sooner they know what they have in MLB-ready guys like Ben Gamel, Rob Refsnyder, Slade Heathcott, Aaron Judge, and Gary Sanchez.

Finding more playing time for promising bench pieces Aaron Hicks and Ronald Torreyes should also be a priority. Let everyone get their adjustment to the big leagues out of the way now when the team sits in last place.

Of course, there is literally zero chance that any of this happens before the July trade deadline. Even if New York’s decision makers want to rebuild, they aren’t just going to bench or cut ties with all their veterans. They will give every opportunity to players with any iota of trade value to increase their worth so they can be flipped for more prospects.

Beltran, Teixeira, and Aroldis Chapman are all on expiring contracts and could be attractive rentals if they turn things around. Brett Gardner and Andrew Miller were shopped all winter, so Cashman is certainly open to moving them. Dellin Betances is another valuable chip that the team may want to cash out given the volatility of relievers.

The Yankees could even consider eating some of Ellsbury’s and/or Headley’s deals just to open up space on the roster. They have a number of outfielders chomping at the bit in Scranton, and Torreyes could split time with Refsnyder at the hot corner. A few ground balls hitting Ref in the face would be preferable to watching this husk of Chase Headley all year.

Is this all an overreaction based on a bad month? Maybe. I was singing a much different tune about this club coming out of spring training. Giving the currently constructed roster another month or two of slack before hitting the panic button is rational and necessary. But if they are still looking this struggling this badly at the end of May, it will probably be time to begin planning a fire-sale.