Yankees: Perfect Missing Puzzle Piece for Failed 2017 World Series Run

If the Yankees had made one prudent move two offseasons prior, 2017 could have been theirs.

Before the Los Angeles Dodgers were cheated out of a World Series back in 2017, it was the New York Yankees who got screwed by the Houston Astros. The Bombers took the eventual champs to seven games in the ALCS, but fell 4-0 on the road and were eliminated despite their magical run.

What were the Yanks missing most that year? Starting pitching. While general manager Brian Cashman did his best to fortify that unit by acquiring Sonny Gray at the MLB trade deadline, the former Oakland A’s All-Star was a bust in the Bronx. He had a solid regular season that year, pitching to a 3.72 ERA in 11 starts, but he wasn’t exactly impactful in the postseason. They did win his start against the Astros at Yankee Stadium, but he only lasted five innings in that outing and actually left the game when they were down 3-0. Gray also got shelled in the ALDS against the Indians.

To be fair, nobody expected that, but it’s hard to convince a knowledgeable baseball fan that Gray, an aging CC Sabathia, an inconsistent Masahiro Tanaka and an inexperienced Luis Severino were enough to get the job done — though the latter three did surprise fans in many ways. And why didn’t they try and trade for Justin Verlander?!

The missing piece for this failed 2017 World Series run, plain and simple, was Max Scherzer, who the Yankees for some reason opted to pass on before the 2015 season. Instead, they blew their free-agent money on Brian McCann and Jacoby Ellsbury the offseason prior.

Obviously they didn’t “pass” on Cole — they drafted him and attempted to trade for him — and managed to sign him this offseason, but to be honest, it feels a little too late. If the 2017, 2018 and 2019 teams had more star power in the rotation, we could be talking two rings here. Scherzer signed with the famously cheap Nationals, who are known for deferring salaries because the richest owners in baseball can’t seem to fathom coming up with cash in real time, and has enjoyed a truly legendary stretch in the nation’s capital. Shall we take a look?

• 79-39 with a 2.74 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 1,371 strikeouts in 158  starts (1,050.2 IP)
• Two-time NL Cy Young winner (2016 and 2017)
• Five-time All-Star
• World Series champion

The worst part? The Yankees could have had him for $114 million cheaper than Gerrit Cole. We’re not knocking that signing, but Scherzer’s seven-year, $210 million deal would have fallen PERFECTLY in line with this stacked Yankees team (he still has two years left) and then Cashman could have figured things out for post-2021 life.

One of the few times the Yankees were cheap…