Advertisement

Yankees have golden excuse to take control of AL after Snell trade

Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Yanks Go Yard

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 18: Blake Snell #4 of the Tampa Bay Rays reacts after Clint Frazier #77 of the New York Yankees gets a hit during the second inning at Yankee Stadium on August 18, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

The Yankees have no excuse not to snag the American League reins after the Rays traded Blake Snell.

The San Diego Padres and the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers appear to be the only MLB teams currently deciding to “go for it,” adding to a playoff-caliber roster or sitting on the throne, stroking the trophy. Naturally, it’s time for us to argue in favor of the Yankees joining them.

With the Tampa Bay Rays’ self-neutering on Sunday night, trading Blake Snell across the country the second his tax hit became slightly elevated, that removes another American League rival for the Yanks in 2021.

And even though fans in the Bronx right now are so annoyed by stagnation that they’re currently inclined to accept a DJ LeMahieu extension as a successful offseason and move on, it’s never been clearer that the Yankees should parlay any LeMahieu addition into several more moves to shore up the corners of their roster.

Granted, a lot of the frustration with the Yankees’ current roster is, well, roster fatigue. If LeMahieu returns, there’s an All-Star-caliber bat at every position. The back three of the bullpen are stout. The top two in the rotation are strong, once Luis Severino returns, and there’s plenty of potential behind him.

But good teams rely on February projections. Great teams are proactive in insuring against disaster.

After the Rays dismantled their rotation chasing top prospect rankings and the almighty dollar, they’ve taken a significant step back. Can two plug-and-play pitchers and Michael Wacha really replicate Blake Snell and Charlie Morton, who were the reasons for the World Series season in the first place (plus, that Randy guy)? Unlikely.

The Blue Jays are going to charge hard, but their pitching is a year away from finding enough consistent answers for the rest of baseball behind Hyun-Jin Ryu and possibly Nate Pearson. The Red Sox are building for next year (or 2023), as are the soon-to-be Lindor-less Indians. The Astros proved they can compete in a short series without Justin Verlander, but what about without Michael Brantley and George Springer? And what about over the course of 100+ games? The Oakland A’s are set to lose 12 free agents. There’s massive turnover in the league…except for on the roster of the consensus favorite last spring.

Even though Yankees fans grow more aggravated by the day by a lack of flash and LeMahieu, there’s an opportunity here to fill out the rotation, by trade or low-dollar signing, flush out the bullpen, add platoon bats and bench pieces, and grab the American League by the reins.

Make additions. Maximize the window granted to you by controlling the prime years of Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole. Do it. Don’t go insane, but get better. Go. Go on! Go.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard for 6 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast thrice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for 10 years. He was also a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.