What Are the Yankees Greatest Areas of Need this Offseason?

These three crucial items need to be at the top of New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman’s shopping list this winter.

While this late season playoff push has been a lot of fun, the New York Yankees remain a pretty flawed team in many ways. The core for a 2017 contender seems to be in place with some promising young hitters, a dominant ace, and the best reliever on the planet, but there are definitely some holes that need to be addressed.

New York seems pretty committed to their youth movement, but that doesn’t mean the front office can’t supplement the kids with a strong veteran supporting staff, especially if they feel guys like Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Tyler Austin, Greg Bird, and Luis Severino will be ready to go full-bore next season.

Ultimately, this team may need a season or two to really gel and emerge as the perennial contender everyone is hoping for, but the team has had enough success since the trade deadline that it might be worth trying to assemble a real contender this winter.

So where to start? Here are the New York Yankees three greatest areas of need going into the 2016-2017 offseason:

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A Veteran Power Bat

This is an area where the Yankees have the opportunity to find some nice value on the cheap in free agency. While the price of pitching continues to inflate, many quality veteran sluggers have been forced to settle for modest one-year contracts in recent offseasons.

With Greg Bird’s shoulder injury and the shaky performance of Tyler Austin since his big league debut, the team could use some certainty in the middle of the lineup, especially a guy who would be useful in a bench role if the kids get hot.

Steve Pearce, Brandon Moss, and Pedro Alvarez stand out as players who are all coming off excellent years at the plate, but are unlikely to require more than a two year commitment because of defensive limitations and platoon issues. Any of that group could handle a full-time role if needed, but also have experience off the bench in recent years.

As with the starting pitching market, New York seems likely to avoid the big fish they would have inevitably gone after in the Boss’s glory days. While that may frustrate some fans, just think about whether you want to watch 40-plus-year-old Jose Bautista limp around rightfield in a few years.

Next: Boosting the Bullpen

A Shutdown Reliever

The Yankees bullpen has done a remarkable job since the trade deadline considering the front office shipped out two elite relievers before August 1st. Tyler Clippard and Adam Warren were savvy pickups to patch up some of the holes, and there are some promising arms like Jonathan Holder and Ben Heller auditioning down the stretch.

Still, there is no such thing as having too many relievers. No Runs-DMC was an incredible success earlier in the season considering how terrible the offense and rotation were. They kept the team much closer to the playoff race than they had any right to be.

Having at least two elite relievers has been a hallmark of the Yankees dating all the way back to 1996 with Mariano Rivera and John Wetteland. Dellin Betances has done a fine job as closer, but he is so great in a multi-inning fireman role that New York should consider bringing in a “Proven Closer” type this winter so he can go back to doing what he does best.

The free agent market should be Cashman’s best bet for that, as three of the best closers in baseball will be available this winter in Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen, and Mark Melancon. Any of those three would be a nice fit for the team and go a long way towards solidifying the bullpen situation.

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Chapman seemed to enjoy his time in New York and has proven himself capable of dominating the tough AL East. Jansen is also superb and might come a little cheaper than the Cuban Missle. Melancon is the oldest and the shakiest of the group, but also should be the least expensive, which might prove appealing for ownership’s cost cutting.