For most teams in the Yankees’ situation, becoming a deadline seller would be a no-brainer. But New York has long suffered from ‘Yankee Pride,’ a mental block that prevented the front office to from making the right decisions for the franchise going forward. Trading Aroldis Chapman is the first true signal that they might have gotten past it.
Seemingly since the close of the World Series in 2009, the team’s last championship, the New York Yankees have been running out lineups of increasingly aging, immobile, progressively unwatchable former superstars, capable of winning 85 games– no more, no less.
Of course, that’s perception more than reality– the Yankees finished in second in 2010 and won the AL East in 2011 and 2012, making it to the ALCS in 2012– but for Yankee fans accustomed to winning, or at the very least, exciting baseball, a la the Core Four Era, it’s been a bit of a drag.
Since 2013, for instance, the Yankees have finished no closer than 6 games out in the division, making the playoffs for one measly day, while the Red Sox hoisted their third championship banner of the 2000’s. It’s been a pretty dramatic fall from grace.
But things seem to have come to a head this season. The team is in 4th place in the division, but without Alex Rodriguez inexplicably mashing homers every other night like last season, there really isn’t anybody in the lineup that you have to tune in for. Sure, Carlos Beltran has 20 homers, but compared to the exciting baseball teams in the MLB this season like the Cubs, Giants, Dodgers, Red Sox, Mets, Nationals, Rangers, Astros, and even the Rockies with Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story mashing in the middle of the order, the Yankees aren’t really that fun to root for or watch.
How did things get this bad? It goes back to the 85 wins.
The Yankees have stubbornly refused to rebuild at all during this recent fallow stretch. They have big names but meager production at most positions and just keep getting older and worse while teams like Boston keep getting younger and better. Instead of seeing the writing on the wall,the team has stuck to the George Steinbrenner mantra of ‘win now at all costs’ even when the on-field product isn’t capable of it.
Evidence of this can be seen everywhere. Besides the repeatedly mediocre records, the Yankees have seen fit to tinker around the edges, as a true contender would do, rather than address deep seeded issues. Coming into 2016, they upgraded at second base and at the back end of the bullpen. In getting closer Aroldis Chapman, the Yankees created a spectacular bullpen that would have been a key piece on a great team but was wasted watching Michael Pineda surrender 5 runs in the second inning every night.
Chapman, whom the Yankees traded to the Chicago Cubs Monday, was something more. Chapman, for all his domestic violence baggage, was a reason to tune in every night. His casual 102 mph fastballs drew oohs and ahhs from fans watching at home 100s of miles away from the Bronx. His record tying 105 mph fastball last week drew hushed astonishment:
Seriously, watch that video again. It’s incredible. The reaction from the crowd says everything you need to know about how big a deal Chapman was to the Yankees in this increasingly lost season.
The best part? Chapman isn’t nearly a side show, he is arguably the game’s best closer.
That’s why the Yankees were able to get so much from the Cubs for him. And why they had to trade him. New York got Chicago’s number 1 prospect, Gleyber Torres, pitcher Adam Warren, and minor league outfielders Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. It’s a great haul for a 1 inning pitcher who will be a free agent this winter.
It also shows that the Yankees are finally ready to face facts. By trading Chapman, an honest to goodness asset, the Yankees demonstrated an understanding that that their chances to win now are slim to none, and that they must start building for the future.
New York has pieces in place; doesn’t need a full teardown like the Atlanta Braves did, but it doesn’t make sense to keep trying with an already failed and increasingly feeble roster.
Perhaps now that the Yankees have taken the first step, they can continue scraping useful parts in exchange for future options. It’s okay to punt on the rest of 2016: frankly things are going to fall apart whether the team wants them to or not. The best move is to tackle the issue head on and turn it into a productive, potentially franchise altering moment.
-Max Frankel
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