What I Think the Yankees Should do This Offseason

THE YANKEES HAVE HOLES THAT MUST BE ADDRESSED

T. Ingals @StickyClickSM

Cashman during Yankees batting practice. Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images.

The Yankees have a bevy of holes that need to be addressed this offseason. The lineup that the Yankees trotted out for the Wild Card game against Boston at Fenway Park wasn't even a professional lineup. The bottom seven guys in the lineup were automatic outs. It's clear that changes need to be made. 

Shortstop

The Yankees are going to be in the market for a young hot-shot shortstop. Fortunately, the market is going to be flooded with them this offseason. Javy Baez, Trevor Story, Carlos Correa, and Corey Seager will all be available. My personal preference is Seager or Correa. I want nothing to do with Baez or Story, both are strikeout machines and Baez is arguably the most undisciplined hitter in all of baseball. He's in the bottom percentile in league walk rate and in the top percentile in league strikeout rate. He's also a bit of a head case, as seen by his lashing out at Mets fans for booing the team. Baez was also an error machine this past season. I don't want him anywhere near a Yankee uniform. I'm not overly interested in Story either. He can be really hot or cold and is already 28 years old. 

Correa and Seager are who the Yankees should be eyeing. Both are great defenders and are absolute hit machines in the postseason. Corey Seager won last year's NLCS and World Series MVPs. Correa is also a clutch hitter in his own right, and has terrorized the Yankees in the postseason. To nab him away from our most hated foe at the moment would be huge. 

You couldn't go wrong with Seager or Correa, but I'd prefer to see Seager in pinstripes next season. He's a lefty bat, which the Yankees are in need of, and he's a lifetime .297 hitter and batted .306 this season. That's what the Yankees need, someone who can flat out hit. Judge led the team in batting average this season at .287, which is great except no one else batted over .280 for the season on the Yankees. Hopefully DJ LeMahieu will have a bounce back season next year, considering we didn't know he was dealing with a sports hernia for much of the season. I'll give him a pass. But Seager would be a great addition to the Yankees infield, as would Correa. You really couldn't go wrong with either one. I do worry, though, how Correa would handle being booed at Yankee Stadium. Stanton has handled it better than anyone. I'd like to think Correa would do the same and not get defensive like he has the few times he's been asked about the Astros' cheating scandal, but I'm not sure and I don't have those same worries about Seager. 

First baseman Anthony Rizzo with the Yankees.

First Base 

At first base, there are things I would like the Yankees to do and then there are things I think the Yankees will do. What I think they do is have DJ play first base and keep Gio Urshela at third base. I'm very much against this plan. I would like to see DJ play third, either Rizzo or Matt Olsen playing first, and Gio Urshela playing for another team. What Anthony Rizzo showed us the second half of the season is the value of having a really good defensive first baseman. So I would really like to see the Yankees re-sign him. If not, I'd be fine with sending some pieces to Oakland for Matt Olsen. They could have Voit, Gio, and some prospects. The Yankees need more changes than just adding a shortstop. And I want no part of seeing Luke Voit in a Yankee uniform next season. I thought we should have traded him following the 2018, 2019, and 2020 seasons because he had value and I knew that he was a fake hitter. By fake hitter, I mean that he only hits bad pitching. He's been terrible every year once we get to the playoffs and is abysmal defensively at first base. We could have gotten a lot for guys like him, Gio, and Gary Sanchez. Now Sanchez is worth almost nothing and Voit's and Gio's worth has certainly declined. Bottom line: Re-sign Rizzo or trade for Matt Olsen. 

Outfield

If I'm the Yankees, I'm doing everything in my power to trade Joey Gallo the heck out of New York. He batted under .170 in over 2 months worth of games with the Yankees. His entire career is defined by every at-bat being either a walk, a home run, or a strikeout. The Yankees can't have a career .206 hitter sitting in the middle of their lineup. The Yankees should go out and sign Chris Taylor. The dude is as clutch as they come and it a great situational hitter. He's also a player who can bring a lot of life and excitement into a big game. And he's be a surefire upgrade from "Joey Swing and Miss". Who knows whether or not Hicks will be healthy. We need to plan as though he won't be and get some depth in our outfield. Gardner can't be thrusted into the starting lineup if one guy goes down, no matter how much Cashman and Boone love him. 

Sanchez dropping a pop fly against the Indians. Photo from the AP. 

Catcher

I honestly have no idea what the Yankees are going to do nor what they should do with Gary Sanchez. What I do know is Kyle Higashioka isn't good enough offensively to be an every day catcher. Do the Yankees give Sanchez one more chance? Probably. Would I like to see them bring in someone new? Yes. And this is tough for me since I have been a major Gary Sanchez defender over the past few years. I think his hitting collapse is more due to the Yankees obsession with making him a better defensive catcher, the same way Gleyber Torres couldn't hit at shortstop, then suddenly turned back into his old self once he was moved back to second base. Gary Sanchez should have been a DH in 2016 and stayed there for the next 15 years. But what do I know? Now the Yankees are stuck with a valueless catcher who is a liability in the field and a .200 hitter. 

Bullpen

The Bullpen is fine overall, but I would try to move Aroldis Chapman. I don't want another year of the rollercoaster ride that is every single time Aroldis Chapman takes the mound in a save situation. Not one, but two of the Yankees seasons have ended due to a Chapman home run in an elimination game. Our bullpen is strong enough that we don't need him. Jonathan Loaisiga should be our closer next year and Chapman should be pitching for another team. 

Overall

Overall, the Yankees need to get more athletic. Our bench should be full of guys like Tyler Wade, who is someone I think should be an every day player, even though it will never happen. The Yankees could always use some more starting pitching. They need to not be afraid to spend money this year. The AL East has four teams who all think they could win the World Series next year, and that's including the Yankees. They need to be aggressive in free agency and simply get better players. Can't be running it back with this same old sorry crew unless the Yankees want to have another disappointing finish.