Yankees Lack a Face of the Franchise Type Player

Though the New York Yankees have plenty of highly paid former stars and a few youngsters to watch, they lack a true centralized figure; one who fans can get behind, and potential free agents wish to play with.

When Derek Jeter called it a career at the conclusion of the 2014 season, with him went much of the overwhelming mystique of the New York Yankees. I mean, how could it not; five World Series championships in 20 seasons is all but unheard of.

But it wasn’t like Jeter left the Yankees cupboard bare. Plenty of familiar faces lined the 25-man roster over the past season and a half. Even Alex Rodriguez and his blast from the past 2015 campaign, chock-full of 33 home runs and 86 RBI seemed to quell any lingering fears about the loss of ‘The Captain.’

The Yankees and their hit or miss offense even managed to squeak into the playoffs before losing to the upstart Houston Astros in that dreaded one-game Wild Card play-in.

Manager Joe Girardi did another fantastic job of squeezing every ounce of mental and physical fortitude out of his men, and a renewed vigor seemed to engulf the Yankees for the first time since their 2012 League Championship Series loss to the Detroit Tigers.

But then 2016 began, and so did the inconsistencies, the injuries, and the front office discourse. All of a sudden, that one glaring hole became uber apparent, who is the face of the franchise?

Most every MLB club has at least one, while some like the Toronto Blue Jays are lucky enough to have multiple (Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista). Nine times of ten he’s the guy who plays the field every day. Of course, there are exceptions to the rule; career DH David Ortiz in Boston. 

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Pitchers usually don’t fall into this category either because they only take the hill once every five days. Unless of course, your name is Clayton Kershaw, who when it’s all said and done, may be the greatest left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball history.

Closers are in the same boat; they’re essential to winning, but labeling your main attraction as a guy who might only appear anywhere between 40-60 innings per season, probably won’t help you sell out night after night.

Now having that upper echelon four or five tool player won’t guarantee your club a winning season (see Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels this year). But that has more to do more with poor transactions being made by the front office, and the mesh of players who surround that key piece, than anything else.

Brace yourselves for what I’m about to say: I’ll be the first in line to defend Derek Jeter until my dying day, but he was never blessed with the physical abilities of say, a Mike Trout or Bryce Harper. Instead, he was a leader, a motivator, and the brightest star surrounded by players in their athletic prime, ie. Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte, and Bernie Williams.

Look at some of the clubs that the Yankees have to compete with in the American League: The Baltimore Orioles have Adam Jones and Chris Davis. The Red Sox will still have Dustin Pedroia, Mookie Betts, and Xander Bogaerts after ‘Big Papi’ retires.

The Detroit Tigers have Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez. The Cleveland Indians have Francisco Lindor. The Kansas City Royals have Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez. And the Houston Astros have Carlos Correa, George Springer, and Jose Altuve.

Looking at the current makeup of the Yankees’ roster, you could make an argument that if Didi Gregorius continues to grow as a hitter (his .370 BA against left-handed pitching is tops in MLB), he could one day fall under the “franchise player” headline. With a .299 BA, 11 home runs, and 41 RBI, he’ll need to sustain this level of offensive play for at least another full season for a full-fledged designation.

Gone are any chances of Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, Starlin Castro, Brian McCann, or Chase Headley filling that aforementioned role. Instead, these guys need to become those consistent secondary parts that enable bright young stars the chance to fulfill their obligatory potential.

If or when they cannot do said job, the Yankees should hope that their minor league system can supply their demand, with the likes of Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Gary Sanchez and/or Jorge Mateo stepping into the spotlight.

If all else fails, should management and fans become weary of meaningless .500 win seasons, there is always old faithful, ya know, free agency; notably, the winter of the 2018-19 season. When the likes of Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw, Jose Fernandez, and Andrew McCutchen (though he’ll be 32-years-old), hit the open market.

Next: Are the Texas Rangers Serious?

As a fan, I’d rather not wait that long to once again have a Yankees player who is synonymous with winning baseball, but then again, I don’t call the shots.