For the first time in my years following baseball, the Yankees were sellers rather than buyers at the trade deadline. They gave their best hitter, their best relievers and their best pitcher to other, stronger teams.
And yet here I am...not especially worried about the future of my team.
Oh, yeah, they're gonna finish in 3rd or 4th this year and not especially make a huge impact on the playoffs. I came to terms with that weeks ago. But the fact that they were able to land a number of high-caliber prospects from teams with noticeably well-groomed farm systems...that's the real victory.
Dylan Judge is probably going to come up to the majors sometime this year, now that there's an extra outfield spot that Aaron Hicks isn't capable of filling every day. Next year Greg Bird is going to be back. Luis Severino is back up now trying to regain his 2015 momentum. Brian McCann's probably leaving after this season, so Gary Sanchez will get some time behind the plate. The kids that are in the system, the ones that are ready, will probably be up next season. Add the guys that have been landed in the deals...and then add the guys in the farm system that we don't even know about...and oh my god we might have a new youth movement on our hands.
Of course, there are people here now that will probably stick around- Didi Gregorius, Starlin Castro, Masahiro Tanaka and Dellin Betances are all probably going to stay put in the shuffle. Tex, A-Rod and all the other big contracts won't last. The team is shifting toward the youth, which is a shift they have NEEDED for years now.
I do think Didi Gregorius will be one of the few stragglers, because he's young, he's quick, and he's been solid in pinstripes. The guy could definitely help the youth movement evolve. But he's just a piece of it- this team is going to grow with time.
Coming Tonight- It took some time, but this guy is working towards 'best pitcher in the NL' status, in a surging, powerful NL East squad.
No comments:
Post a Comment