Yankees: This offseason may have been the best in franchise history

Have the Yankees ever had a better offseason in franchise history? It would be hard to argue no as they get set for the start of Spring Training on Wednesday.

The Yankees had a terrific offseason for a multitude of reasons. First, they made the biggest splash of the winter by signing free agent ace Gerrit Cole to lead their starting rotation for the next nine years. Cole is one of the top two pitchers in all of baseball and was the best possible addition the Yanks could’ve made to their roster to help them finally get over the hump this October.

By signing Cole he’s now no longer on the Houston Astros who are arguably still the Yankees biggest threat to win the AL pennant this season. Now only did Houston lose Cole to New York but they were also punished by Major League Baseball for using electronics to steal signs throughout the entire 2017 season when they beat the Yankees in the ALCS and then won the World Series.

The punishment should have been a lot harsher but at least it led to the firing of manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow directly after they were suspended for the entire 2020 season. Members from the 2017 Yankees have every right to feel cheated out of the World Series but at least they can take solace knowing that they weren’t beaten fair and square and Houston’s championship will forever be tainted.

The Yankees biggest rivals the Boston Red Sox are still under investigation for their own cheating scandal during their championship season in 2018 and last month they fired manager Alex Cora. Cora was the supposed ringleader behind the sign-stealing system when he was the Astros bench coach in ’17 before apparently bringing some of those tactics over to Boston in 2018. We’re still waiting for the Red Sox punishment to be handed down but a lot of the damage has already been done after dismissing Cora.

The final casualty to come from the cheating was Carlos Beltran who was fired as manager of the Mets for his role as a player with the Astros during his final big league season in 2017. So all three of the Yankees biggest rivals were affected by the disgraceful sign-stealing scandal in some form.

Then to cap things off for the Yanks the Red Sox just traded away Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers on Monday in order to get under the luxury tax threshold. Betts is arguably the second-best position player in all of baseball and now the Yankees won’t have to worry about facing him 19 times a season.

Seeing Betts leave the division is great but I’m sure the Yankee hitters are very sad to gee Price go with him, especially Gary Sanchez. That above everything else might have been the worst thing that happened to New York all offseason which speaks volumes about how great this offseason has played out.

More from Yanks Go Yard

• MLB Network Radio host thinks Yankees should shell out for Dansby Swanson
• Guy who caught Aaron Judge record HR ball cost himself tons of money in auction
• Did Yankees fans bully Hal Steinbrenner into signing Aaron Judge, Carlos Rodón?
• Andrew Benintendi-White Sox deal proves Yankees were right to prioritize Carlos Rodón
• Twins already bailing on Gary Sánchez emphasizes Yankees’ trade failure

Losing Didi Gregorius, Austin Romine, and Dellin Betances in free agency also stung but more so for the fan base than the actual roster. The Yanks are still as deep as any team in the game from top to bottom and have the depth to replace them and continue to thrive. In addition to signing Cole, the Yankees made two extremely necessary moves by extending closer Aroldis Chapman and re-signing OF Brett Gardner.

They’ll also welcome back a healthy Miguel Andujar, Luis Severino and Giancarlo Stanton who all missed the majority of last season due to injury. Miggy should make a big impact offensively regardless of what position he plays in the field this season, as should Stanton. The former NL MVP has gotten off to a rocky start in the Bronx, but he should be more motivated than ever to play like a superstar and quiet his critics by leading the Yanks to a championship.

The return of Sevy could be the biggest difference-maker because when he’s healthy he has the potential to be a legitimate second ace behind Cole in the rotation. With James Paxton expected to be out until May or June after back surgery last week the Yanks need Sevy to step up and be a force at the front end of the rotation.

Overall this offseason couldn’t have possibly gone any better for the Yankees but now it’s time to really get to work and that starts with Spring Training. All eyes are going to be on this team from the moment camp starts in Tampa until they play their last game of the season and the pressure is never going to dwindle throughout.

Expectations are going to be higher than ever before but this team should be ready for the challenge because they have all the pieces in place to accomplish their goals and bring home #28.