New York Yankees: The 2010s in review (2015-2019)

2016

Manager- Joe Girardi

Record: 84-78, 4th in the AL East

Key Acquisitions: Starlin Castro, Aaron Hicks, Aroldis Chapman, Adam Warren, Clint Frazier, Gleyber Torres

Key Departures: Alex Rodriguez, Adam Warren, Ivan Nova, Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman

Once again, nobody knew exactly what to make of the Yankees as the 2016 season got underway. They made a number of moves in the offseason, such as bringing in All-Star shortstop Starlin Castro from the Chicago Cubs, who’d end up moving to second base to allow Didi Gregorius to stay at shortstop. They also acquired outfielder Aaron Hicks in a trade with the Twins. Hicks had built up a reputation as being a tremendous outfielder with great range and a cannon for an arm. Yet,  the biggest move in the offseason was the acquisition of reliever Aroldis Chapman, who would begin the season serving a domestic violence suspension. The team would also be hit with some tough news before the season began when they learned that Greg Bird had a torn labrum and would be out indefinitely.

The Yankees got off to a terrible start, going 9-17 in their first 26 games and sitting in last place in the AL East. The offense was lethargic, scoring more than three runs just seven times. Third baseman Chase Headley was making headlines for not having an extra-base hit through the entire month of April and A-Rod, who was slumping miserably, would end up going on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring. All hope already seemed lost after the team completed a 2-7 road trip from late April to early May. However, things began to turn around after a controversial win against the Red Sox on May 6, when Andrew Miller struck out David Ortiz on what appeared to be ball four. Had Ortiz walked, Boston would’ve tied the game. Instead, the Yankees took the game 3-2 and took two out of three from the Red Sox. Slowly but surely, the Yankees began to dig themselves out of the hole and went 31-25 through May and June. However, they were only sitting at .500 with a 39-39 record.

When the season entered July, and when the trade deadline approached, general manager Brian Cashman decided it was time to shake the team up. He made a number of bold moves that sportswriters and analysts identified as him, “waving the white flag.” Cashman ended up trading both Miller and Chapman. Miller headed to the Cleveland Indians and in return, the Yankees got J.P. Feyereisen, Ben Heller, Justus Sheffield, and Clint Frazier. Chapman went to the Chicago Cubs and the Yankees got back Adam Warren in return. However, he wasn’t the prize they were aiming for. Cashman hit the jackpot when he brought in shortstop Gleyber Torres, who was one of the top prospects in all of baseball. It was a clever move by the Yankee GM because Chapman was going to be a free agent anyways at the end of the season.

Although their farm system was revamped, the team continued to play mediocre baseball entering August. However, a shocking announcement came on August 7. Alex Rodriguez held a press conference and announced that August 12, against the Rays at Yankee Stadium would be the final game of his career. A-Rod’s final hit would be an RBI-double against Chris Archer in the bottom of the first inning. The Yankees would go on to win 6-3 and A-Rod received a standing ovation from the stadium crowd when he came off the field after playing third base briefly in the top of the ninth inning. As Rodriguez departed, newcomers arrived the next day. On August 13, the Yankees brought up first baseman Tyler Austin and outfielder Aaron Judge. Both players made an immediate impact and history as they hit back-to-back home runs in their first at-bats. Austin’s home run hooked around the right field foul line while Judge’s was a bomb to dead center.

The debuts of Austin and Judge seemed to ignite a spark in the Yankees, as they played their best baseball of the year. From August 13 to September 10, the team went 16-9 to move 11 games over .500 (76-65). Not only were they back in the wild card hunt, but they made a threat for the division title as well. Another big reason for this surge was due to the emergence of catcher Gary Sanchez. Sanchez, who had come up on August 3, went on a tear, hitting .299 with 20 home runs and 42 runs batted in in just 53 games. He garnered AL Player and Rookie of the Month honors for August and he would end up being the runner-up in AL Rookie of the Year voting.

However, everything came crashing down for the Yankees when they embarked on a brutal 11-game road trip in late September. The team suffered a heartbreaking defeat to the Red Sox on September 15. They had a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning but Dellin Betances blew the save when he gave up a two-out, game-winning, three-run walk-off home run to Hanley Ramirez. The end result was a 7-5 Boston win and that was the final nail in the coffin for the 2016 Yankees season. They went 3-8 on the road trip and slumped to the finish line. In the end, they went 84-78 and finished in fourth place in the AL East, the lowest they had ever finished in the division since baseball realigned itself in 1994. Mark Teixeira called it a career after the season but he too provided one more memory on September 28, when he hit a game-winning walk-off grand slam against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Although the win was essentially meaningless, it did prevent the Red Sox from celebrating the division title on the field.

Analysis: 2016 was probably the second-wildest year for the Yankees in the 2010s. A lot of change occurred and it was for the betterment of the franchise. The team was old, it needed some youth, and Brian Cashman did a tremendous job of executing that strategy. He deserves a lot of credit for it. Although the season itself wasn’t great from a statistical standpoint, it did provide a lot of moments and it showed that the team was on the rise and returning to postseason contention very soon. Overall, a very bumpy year with highs and lows and a tough way to go out.