2017 Brings Uncertainty and Excitement for the Yankees

2017 will be a year of transition for the New York Yankees. They will again be fringe contenders and it will be OK if they miss the playoffs.

The baseball world, along with most Yankees fans, expect the team to earn a postseason berth year in, year out. That hasn’t been the case for the last four seasons, where the team has only seen one October appearance which was paired with a quick exit after a Wild Card game loss.

With rosters that have been mixes of youth and underperforming veterans, the team has failed to live up to the lofty expectations that have been put on them for so long. New York has been a .500 team for the last few seasons, so it’s fair to give the team criticism.

But now, the team is on the brink of a new era. 2017 will be the start of what is shaping up to be a new dynasty. With minimal star power on the roster, the team shouldn’t be gunning for a postseason spot. They need to realize what they are.

Let’s take a look at the Chicago Cubs for a moment. From 2009 to 2014, the team played to a combined record of 429-542. The team finished in last place for five of those six seasons and could never even dream of the postseason. This was due to the fact that they had no superstars, a suspect rotation, and a weak farm system.

Well, during all those years of churning out terrible records, a fantastic farm system came to be. Those bad seasons gained the Cubs high draft picks who have come to be superstars and big time contributors. The list goes on from Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Kyle Schwarber, Wilson Contreras, and more.

The front office went out and grabbed some high profile free agents like Jon Lester, Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, and more. When paired with the uber-talented youth, good things came. The uber-talented young guys, paired with capable veterans have formed one of baseball’s next great dynasties.

The Yankees are very much in the same situation as the cubs once were, if not a better one. While the Cubs were a truly horrid team for 5+ years, the Yankees haven’t been a truly “bad” team in that same time span. While they certainly haven’t been great, or even good, they have always been fringe contenders, never truly in it, but never totally out of it.

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New York has the chance to complete one of baseball’s fastest turnarounds very soon. Fans need to realize that for 2017, the postseason can not be the main goal. 2017 is a crucial year for the Yankees present and future. The year will be exciting regardless of whether or not playoffs are within reach. The youth movement will play inspired ball and for each other.

The young guys, spearheaded by Greg Bird, Aaron Judge, and Gary Sanchez, will be leading the way. Behind them exists a wealth of future contributors such as Gleyber Torres, Clint Frazier, James Kaprielian.

Fans want to trade for guys like Jose Quintana, or sign a big bat like Jose Bautista. What would that do, though, for this Yankees team in the midst of transition? It’d cost prospects (the future) and money that the Yankees can’t afford to give to aging superstars. Those are the days of the old Yankees regimes.

Next: Eovaldi back in Pinstripes?

Normally fans want to be excited about making the playoffs. The real cause for excitement for baseball in the Bronx this coming season should be about something else, though. The youngsters’ development and success should bring a lot of smiles to fans. They’ll be the future of the next Yankees dynasty.