4 Unforgivable mistakes the Yankees could make this offseason

The Yankees have a big offseason ahead of them, with a more unsettled roster than many think. They can’t afford to make these mistakes.

No, the Yankees’ championship window isn’t closing. New York will enter the 2021 season with one of the most complete rosters in the game, one which had them pegged as a consensus American League favorite prior to a nonsensical 60-game season that shouldn’t have affected our assessment of them, but definitely did.

But there’s a chance the Yankees could accentuate their own demise this offseason with a few short-sighted moves. And even though the 60-game season wasn’t gospel, there were pretty clearly some things that the Yanks wish would’ve gone differently.

If they enter the ’21 season with an identical roster, there’ll be some weak spots that should’ve been acted upon to shore up. But if they make a roster-shattering move just to do something, that’ll also be a catastrophic error.

Without further ado, these drastic moves or sloth-like follies would be huge swings and misses for a Yankees team that’s objectively close (even though it’s very annoying to hear Aaron Boone say that out loud). Blow up your roster and you’ll be doomed, but sit on your hands, and you’ll see some unnecessary regression, too.

Fun offseason! Got to be perfect, right? Right.

4. Entering 2021 Without a Gary Sanchez Backup Plan

The Yankees don’t need to cut Gary Sanchez, but they can’t wait forever for an alternative.

We’ve loved the idea of Yadier Molina to the Yankees for weeks now, but it’s generally treated as an either-or situation with Gary Sanchez. The late-20s regressive power bat or the likely Hall of Famer reaching the tail end of his career who absolutely isn’t the future?

And to that I ask: Why is Kyle Higashioka assured a role on this club simply because he caught Gerrit Cole and isn’t named Gary Sanchez?

We enjoyed Higgy’s 2020 as much as anyone, but he’s not a starter in this league. And as of right now, he’d be the beneficiary of a deemphasizing of Sanchez, which would also not be prudent in the long term. It might be fun for a week, and you’re listening to the person who’s been perhaps bothered the most by Sanchez’s unreliability since early 2018, but despite the playoff struggles, there’s a far better chance of Sanchez clicking at any given moment.

The Yankees can’t be callous with Sanchez, but they need to be careful. If they’re going to trade him, they need to have a major free agent signing lined up, like Molina, James McCann, or even JT Realmuto. But if they’re going to keep him, I’d advise they sign Molina anyway to split backup duties and caddy for Sanchez in his final years in the game. The backup plan for Gary Sanchez can’t be a 38-year-old doing 162 games worth of work all by himself. It has to be youth, or it has to be a wisened veteran taking Sanchez under his wing.

Then, we can start the Austin Wells clock in earnest.

2. Failing to Bring in Two Veteran Starters

The Yankees need two veteran starters. Whoever you like.

Admittedly, this one is easier said than done. The free agent market for veteran starters seems lighter than ever this year, and the Yankees can’t really afford a massive splurge. Trevor Bauer makes little to no sense, Marcus Stroman has returned to the Mets on a one-year deal, and that’s…well, those are the big names who haven’t already been here. Even Mike Minor’s already gone!

But if the Yanks enter 2021 attempting to “lean on the kids” to fill out the rotation, that would be a massive mistake. You’ve lived through a baseball season. Before you know it, you’ve got your eighth option starting a mid-April game, wondering how in the world so many people can get injured so quickly. So, who do you want your fill-in to be? Someone with the pedigree of Clarke Schmidt, or someone from Double-A who’s just excited to see the bright lights in person?

A rotation of Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Domingo German, Deivi Garcia, Jordan Montgomery, and Schmidt could be nice, in theory, if all those players have developed and hit their peak. But when you pair growing pains with potential actual pains, and these six are also the last line of defense, then it will become clear you’re not taking winning seriously.

Masahiro Tanaka could come back, theoretically. So could James Paxton on another “prove it” deal. The Yanks are showing interest in fellow Japanese veteran Tomoyuki Sugano, who’s also about to be posted. Garrett Richards has been an oft-discussed target. I could be convinced that any two options are the correct decision.

But I can’t be convinced that standing pat and banking on the kids, as Buck Showalter has suggested, would be prudent.

1. Letting DJ LeMahieu Walk — Without a Blockbuster in Place

The Yankees had better not let DJ LeMahieu go anywhere — at least, not without a king ready to take over shortstop.

It’s hard for Yankees fans not to be shortsighted about DJ LeMahieu, who is the platonic ideal of a leadoff hitter, and an utterly perfect fit in pinstripes.

I want to be right there with you on the rooftop, screaming, “Sign DJ!” into the dark night while my girlfriend corrals me with one arm and whispers, “I think maybe take it easy on the punch, my aunt is here.”

And the Yankees should sign DJ. It’ll be a mistake if they do not extend themselves slightly to do so. It’s that simple.

But retaining LeMahieu isn’t necessarily the be all, end all, and we have to take our blinders off and realize that there’s potentially more to it than committing long-term to both he and Gleyber Torres at shortstop.

Either a four- or five-year deal for LeMahieu, or a sly move to import the shortstop of the future, whether that’s Francisco Lindor, or one of Corey Seager, Carlos Correa, Trevor Story and Javier Baez next offseason. If LeMahieu leaves town and the next step of Brian Cashman’s plan is “Can Brian Roberts still fill in?” then that would be an unrepentant disaster.

I’m willing to theoretically accept LeMahieu’s departure if there’s something big waiting in the wings, and the Torres question does complicate things. The easiest solution, though, is simply signing the known quantity.

In that case, you don’t even open the door to disaster.

7 moves the Yankees must make after embarrassing playoff exit

The New York Yankees need to make a number of moves this offseason in order to end their playoff futility. Time to get to work, Brian Cashman.