Franchise in Futility is going to be a weekly series where I explore the reasons why a specific team in the sports world has been struggling. I could not find a better team to be the first edition of this series than the New York Yankees. The Yankees have not been able to get past the ALCS despite fielding some decent albeit flawed teams. The Aaron Judge era Yankees have had solid teams but have consistently failed. Their lack of winning in the playoffs comes down to a few key aspects that the Yankees have refused to acknowledge.

Aaron Boone

I do not think Boone is the biggest reason for their troubles, however he is definitely not helping things. Boone is more comparable to a robot than a human being. Just watch any press conference after a big loss and you will get the same three cliché responses out of him, he is devoid of all emotion. He does not spark any sense of passion in the team and has the same responses to both losing and winning. His game management is atrocious, relying way too much on the analytics department to make his lineups.

While I do believe in analytics, I think it is important as a manager to balance traditional baseball logic and analytics. Boone’s reliance on analytics leads to things such as Giancarlo Stanton getting a day off after being the DH the entire week when they are playing the Chris Sale led Red Sox in a battle for first place. Gerrit Cole could be throwing an immaculate perfect game and Aaron Boone will take him out in the 7th because his binder says to do so. Boone has no sense of human emotion or morale boosts/drops and only thinks in what the numbers say.

One Dimension offense

While Boonebot is a big issue, the front office has not done him any favors either. The Yankees are a three outcome team, they either hit a homerun, walk or strikeout. I am a fan of having Judge, Stanton and Gallo being the middle of the order, however the other six players need to bring something more than just power to the lineup. D.J LeMahieu is really the only other player that works in this lineup due to his ability to hit for high average with some pop and average speed

. Gary Sanchez, Gleyber Torres, Luke Voit do not help support the middle of the lineup by getting on base or creating runs. No one on the team can hit for average, bunt, steal, or even put the ball in play if it does not go over the fence. It has gotten so bad that Joey Gallo has even suggested to ban the shift because the Yankees struggle to put the ball in play. The team begs for some speed and guys that can create runs in other ways besides the longball. Championship teams like the Dodgers and Rays have lineups that can create runs in all different sorts of ways, they hit for power, average and can even sac bunt when they need too. If the Yankees want a championship soon they need to start getting more athletic on the offense end.

Team Defense

To put it simply, the defense is terrible. Outside of LeMahieu, Gallo, Hicks, Urshela and Judge the Yankees have several below average defenders. Gary Sanchez has consistently been one of the worst defending catchers in the league. Glyber Torres is more of a natural second baseman playing shortstop. I will admit Luke Voit has improved on the defensive end, however he still struggles with snagging line drives and grounders that come his way. In the outfield, Hicks being injured has made centerfield a nightmare. The Yankees depth in the outfield last season was Brett Gardner and Clint Frazier. Gardner has lost a lot of his range and Frazier is a terrible defender and he was released by the team this offseason.

Poor Youth Development

I think my biggest critique of the past couple Yankee seasons is their lack of ability to develop their young talent. Honestly the front office has done a solid job in the free agent department, such as signing Gerrit Cole and DJ LeMahieu they have signed a decent amount of quality players, The problem is the have failed to supplement the free agent signings with any homegrown talent aside from Aaron Judge and one good season of Glyber Torres. Gary Sanchez, Glyeber Torres, Clint Frazier and Tyler Wade and Miguel Andujar have all not had the impact that the Yankees were banking on. Sanchez and Torres have been starters but have not shown improvement and have arguably regressed. Torres notably went from hitting 38 homers two seasons ago to hitting 9 last season. Sanchez has kept his power but his average hovers below the Mendoza line.

With Frazier and Wade, the Yankees kept them in the prospect phase of their careers for way too long, stagnating their development as they were sitting on the bench. I love Brett Gardner but there is no reason as to why he should have been starting over Frazier. Boone did not even opt to platoon them, instead making Gardner the everyday left fielder. As a result the former number 1 prospect was relegated to the bench, struggling to catch up to major league hitting. Andujar suffered some major injuries, however I think he can still contribute to the team when healthy.

As for pitching prospects only Luis Severino and Jonathan Losiaga have panned out, with Severino being injured almost all the time. Losiaga has been solid but he came up as a starter and was converted to a middle reliever. Besides those two the rest of the pitching has not even gotten a chance. Guys like Devi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt have been “major league ready” for a few seasons and have either been relegated to long relief or spot starts. I haven’t even mentioned the whole mess of the Domingo German situation which could get an article of it’s own.

Missed Opportunities

The Yankees have missed out on a lot of opportunities to add elite talent. Part of the problem is Hal Steinbrenner’s back and fourth on if his is willing to go over luxury tax or not. The front office was hesitant to make some big acquisitions because they were banking on Sanchez and Torre’s development requiring large contract extensions to keep them. The biggest mistake of all was making Sanchez and Torres untouchable in trade talks. Because of their hesitation to make big moves the Yankees have missed out on guys like Nolan Arenado, Shohei Ohtani, Anthony Rendon, Bryce Harper and many more.

What’s the Fix? Offense:

I think the Yankees could have a true shot at the World Series this year if they are willing to tweak the roster. The Yankees need to sign Carlos Correa or Trevor Story as both are elite 5 tool shortstops that the Yankees are desperately missing. A big rumor that has floated around this off-season is Luke Voit being traded for Matt Olson. Trading Voit for a mid level starter or athletic outfielder and then re-signing Anthony Rizzo to play first would be a much better plan of action.

Making Hicks a bench option would help his availability and the teams overall depth as well. Moving Glyeber Torres to second is not a terrible idea as he is better there defensively and has the potential to be a Brian Dozier type second baseman if he can overcome the offensive struggles. Moving DJ to third and Urshela to the bench as the utility man also makes the most sense to me. I’d move Sanchez for a mid level reliever/back end starter. To replace Sanchez Kyle Higashioka is not a terrible starting level catcher however I would give prospect Austin wells a real shot at at least the backup spot. I would sign speedy Tim Locastro to be the 4th outfielder on the roster.

This is the point where everyone yells at me and tells me Joey Gallo needs to be traded because of his batting average. Besides his low average, Gallo is everything the Yankees need, elite power, good speed, great defense and a fantastic arm and he gets a lot of walks. If the Yankees cannot get a top level shortstop Andrelton Simmons would be a very solid option as well. If the Yankees handle their offseason correctly their lineup could like the following;

SS- Carlos Correa

3B- DJ leMehieu

RF- Aaron Judge

LF – Joey Gallo

DH- Giancarlo Stanton

1B- Anthony Rizzo

2B- Glyber Torres

C- Austin Wells

CF- Aaron Hicks/ Tim Locastro

Bench : Hicks/Locastro, Urshela, Andujar, Higashioka

What’s the Fix? : Pitching

On the Pitching side of things I think the Yankees are a little better off. Their starting depth is pretty decent. They have about eight or nine starting quality pitchers on the roster. For bullpen arms I think Kenley Jansen and Andrew Miller would be solid adds. I think the best Yankee pitching staff would be

1. Gerrit Cole

2. Luis Severino

3. Jordan Montgomery

4. Domingo German

5. Nestor Cortes

Bullpen:

Jameson Talion

Devi Garcia

Chad Green

Jonathan Losiaga

Zack Britton

Kenly Jansen

Andrew Miller

Aroldis Chapman

Closing Statements

The Yankees just need to tweak the roster so that they are not a one trick pony on offense. While I just slammed Aaron Boone, I would like to see what he can do with a roster like the one one above before firing him. Offensive versatility and athleticism is integral, otherwise more 90 win seasons will go to waste. The spotlight is on you Brian Cashman.

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