Yankees: Recapping The Ups And Downs Of The Past Offseason

This offseason for the New York Yankees has started off with some major moves and hopefully, the correct ones.

There is no prediction of the future, especially with sports and players — particularly those who suit up for the Yankees. One year someone could be a standout with the following season the person will fall off completely.

Did The Yankees Make A Mistake Keeping Headley?

Since Chase Headley‘s big year with the San Diego Padres in 2012, producing 31 home runs and 115 runs batted in, he has not been producing with as much efficiency or power, not surpassing 70 RBIs or batting over .270. For a switch hitter in a smaller ballpark, Headley’s numbers should have been able to amass his best season with the Padres by a long shot. He did put up good numbers, however, when he first put on the pinstripes after being traded in the second half of the 2014 season; the problem is since he has been sluggish at best.

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So, why keep Headley and trade away a left-handed bat who put up power numbers as a catcher in Brian McCann? Maybe just look for a better third baseman? McCann may be getting replaced by Gary Sanchez, but McCann would have been a much better player as a backup than Austine Romine. McCann could have been a great designated hitter and been able to save his stamina since he would not have to catch every day. Is this the first mistake? This is where the unpredictability comes into play

Did The Yankees Have Replacements For Chapman?

Next up,

Aroldis Chapman

. Was it worth taking him back? When

Billy Martin

did something similar, no one questioned it. They seemed to challenge the player asking ‘Was he good enough?’ When

Joe Maddon

releases someone, the media asks the sam question. It did not work that well the first time with Chapman, but

Dellin Betances

pitched more effectively in the set-up role, appearing poised and in control. So, was this the right move? If

Chasen Shreve

can put together an entire season, not just a first half, along with

Tyler Clippard

being able to do his share as well as he did toward the end of last season, this will be a terrific move.

As far as the acquisitions of young players, both pitchers and position players, the Yankees are just racking them up. With six of the top 100 prospects according to ESPN’s Keith Law, the Yankees are the only team with that many except for the Houston Astros. This is a sign that the moves the Yankees are making for the future are the right ones.

Did The Yankees Make A Mistake With Matt Holliday?

He is one of the acquisitions that has me scratching my head. The Yankees should have learned their lesson from all the other over-the-hill players. It’s time for the Yanks to wake up. Holliday’s numbers have been decreasing over the years and this was before he was injured for a majority of last season.

Baseball is a tricky game when it comes to figuring out who is going to be able to put together the numbers that will help the team to win, so the offseason is one of the most stressful jobs to succeed at. Continuously being questioned and ridiculed, the answers can only come once the season starts.

As far as releasing players, Nathan Eovaldi pitched some great games two years ago and showed he had the potential to be a fantastic pitcher moving forward. Granted, he often struggled to get out of the sixth inning in 2016, it would have been nice to see what he could have done in pinstripes one more year sans Tommy John surgery.

How Will The Yankees Sophomores Fair?

As far as sophomore players go,

Aaron Judge

had a disappointing start to his career, to say the least. But not everyone can start off as hot as Sanchez did. Judge is in line for some crucial playing time, with his size, (second tallest at 6-foot-7 behind Betances), speed, and power, he can put up the statistics that everyone thou

ght he could have at the end of last season.

As for Sanchez, he is the centerpiece that pitchers and coaches will be gunning for; especially, if he is batting clean-up going into the season. The wear and tear of being an everyday catcher in the MLB is a different animal, so he has to prove he can put together a career and not just a hot start. Hopefully, he is here to stay, and the Yankees were right in trading McCann.

Some of the players that are could make this team out of Spring Training played for Double-A affiliate Trenton Thunder last season. Jorge Mateo could very well be one of the backup infielders like Ronald Torreyes.

This is about bringing the talent that the Yankees have held in their farm system up and continuing to put it to good use — not just trading it away for the already developed players or older talent, like the way the three 90s and 2000 World Series championship teams were won.

Next: Yankees Need A Starter - What's The Holdup

There are definite signs of promise this season for the Yankees. With all the young talent the Yankees have acquired over the course of this past season, it appears as though the team will be taking strides and then leaps once again. This is similar to what the Astros have done and proven is a work in progress, but a successful one so far.

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Yankees: Recapping the Ups and Downs of the Offseason