Yankees columnist pitches trading two core players this offseason

The Yankees are going to have to make some changes this offseason. But are Gleyber Torres and Luke Voit really on the hot seat?!

From the man responsible for “Bench Giancarlo Stanton in the Playoffs and Start Tyler Wade,” we give you “Trade the Franchise”!

The New York Yankees have numerous problems entering the 2020-21 offseason, once again facing massive expectations with the implicit understanding that payroll will be cut below a certain luxury tax threshold.

Money is coming off the books in buckets, though fans hope that some of that money is immediately reallocated to DJ LeMahieu, who the team can’t really hope to contend without in 2021.

So, what to do? Despite a dominant first three playoff games of ’20, the next four contests were almost unilaterally sad. The pitching depth wasn’t there. The creeping doubt of recent offensive playoff failures permeated Games 2, 3 and 5. In order to fight the stagnation, at least a few bat-on-ball artists probably have to be imported, too.

Luckily, Joel Sherman has an idea. Fix the offense by…trading Gleyber Torres, one of the few people who usually performs in the playoffs, as well as Luke Voit, their dirt-cheap diamond in the rough?

Yeah, not sure about this one.

First base is as plug-and-play a position as you’ll find in today’s game, and the Yankees could probably find a solid contributor if they decided to jettison Voit…but who’s overpaying for the slugger if they themselves know they can probably pluck a solid option out of their own system?

And, as for Torres, we all want him to look better on defense. It’d be a dream. But with a bat of that quality, you can’t make hash value judgments on an abrupt 60-game season. And even if you’d like to do that, the solution probably involves adding a defense-first shortstop to allow Torres and Co. to float around the infield. Andrelton Simmons/Torres/Voit. Simmons/Torres/LeMahieu, Stanton in LF, Voit at DH. There are things that can be done.

We know it may feel as if the Yankees are irrevocably stuck in neutral once they reach October, eternally the second-best team in their own league, and never lucky enough to get the hops when series against the Rays, Red Sox and Astros are on the line.

But if Torres leaves (especially if LeMahieu departs, too), you’re losing two of the very few bastions of reliability, even against the best pitchers in the game. Wouldn’t bank on it.

Yankees: These 3 CB Bucknor ball-strike calls should have him banned from MLB

Home plate umpire CB Bucknor did his best to screw the New York Yankees during Game 2 of the ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays.