Yankees playoffs: The ALCS and making of the 2017 Baby Bombers

Prospective Trades

But the biggest debate by far was if the Yankees should trade any of their top-ten prospects. And for whom.

By mid-season, close readings of the tea leaves told any observer that the Yankees were going to use part of 2017 to position themselves for the future, and that always included trading some of their best minor leaguers.

Reporters always feel good when they are close enough to the team to feel their vibes. It’s what made it a calculated decision to write, at five o’clock on July eighteenth: Yankees Brian Cashman might trade away a blue chip prospect today.

"It is possible that the two teams are discussing a larger trade involving Sonny Gray; that would make Tyler very happy. But he might be the only one. Because to get Sonny Gray, the Yankees would have to give up a real, serious prospect. That probably means Blake Rutherford. The trade makes a lot of sense, although the Yankees would have to throw in a couple of mid-range pieces, including a pitcher."

Prediction Right, Opinion Wrong

Many Facebook commentators hoped otherwise; I was the predictor of at least the Yankees trade piece, but was not in favor of it then.

"So, no, the Yankees should not trade Rutherford, Florial, or any other top prospect. If that makes the 2017 World Series farther away, so be it. We might still get another Dodgers-Yankees World Series soon. Just not this year."

But at midnight, the Yankees announced they had traded Blake Rutherford.

That trade brought back Todd Frazier, David Robertson, and Tommy Kahnle; no one questions that trade today, least of all me. I don’t know where this team would be without those three, but I know Rutherford is still in the minors.