Absurd Carlos Lagrange spring has brought back the narrative Yankees begged to die

Carlos Lagrange showed once again in Wednesday's spring training showcase that his ceiling is limitless. The Yankees have to find a way to make use of his unmatched skill set in their win-now window. It's undeniable now that they need him in 2026. But, in the process of figuring out when and where to deploy him, they also have to be very conscious not to artificially limit that wonderful ceiling.

Sometimes, the Ghosts of Yankees Past that show up around 161st and River Avenue this time of year aren't the ones you want floating around, the ones that have haunted your opponents for over a century. Sometimes, they're the Ghosts of Short-Sighted decisions. And, try as they might with their ghostly hands, they just can't seem to put the toothpaste back in the tube.

Now, Joba Chamberlain was an era and a half ago. And, despite the Yankees' malfeasance and refusal to commit, he did end up having a solid career, and contributed to a ring in 2009. But he arrived in 2007 like a house afire right when they needed him most, zipping through lineups with ease using his blink-and-you'll-miss-it-several-times slider and becoming a young team's bridge to Mariano Rivera.

Chamberlain had a deep arsenal and a gamer's mentality. He could give you whatever you needed — and what the Yankees needed late in the '07 season was an inning at a time. They swore their decision wouldn't impact his long-term future, and yet, when they attempted to move him back to the rotation the following year, the restrictions followed. He was excellent! He was worth 3.5 bWAR in a season that's oft-forgotten, given the Yankees' other drudgery and all the pomp and circumstance of closing the old stadium. But he started only 12 times in 42 appearances. The Joba Rules were born. The limits were in place. They couldn't quit the reliever.

When they tried to in 2009, that's where the difficulty started. Where the stuff ticked down a bit. Where the league lead in hit-by-pitches muddied the picture. He never started a game again in the big leagues after the confetti fell.

Yankees have to be 100% certain they can steer out of win-now Carlos Lagrange plan

Lagrange might be ticketed for the bullpen long-term. He's almost certainly destined for short relief in the short-term. But Wednesday's ridiculous spring training outing both showed the Yankees why they can't afford to bury him in the minors this year, and why they must be extra careful not to mentally abandon the idea of Lagrange the Starter when they elevate him.

He threw four innings on Wednesday to get back on the radar after a brief hiatus. Four innings that went by so quickly he had to get extra work in after the game to match his prescribed pitch count. Four innings where he touched 103, and paired it with a sweeper that had the Blue Jays digging for clams with their eyes closed. He might be Dellin Betances right now. But he might be anything next year.

Compared to Chamberlain, Lagrange has been flying under the radar (until now). He's never been one-two in the prospect rankings, battling Clay Buchholz for supremacy (check the tapes, this really happened). He hasn't "put it all together" in front of half this many eyes before.

On Wednesday, if it wasn't already, it became blindingly obvious that Lagrange will be used this year to get crucial outs in an MLB game. It's the correct decision. But the ghosts of the Yankees' past waffling will haunt fans until they prove they've got a better plan this time around to exhaust all rotation possibilities when the time comes.