As we pass the halfway point of the season, it is time for all 32 teams to determine their position as buyers or sellers for the trade deadline. The Yankees approach unfamiliar territory heading into the 2nd half of the season in just 4th place in the AL East and 5.5 games back in the AL wildcard race. We'll explore 4 reasons as to why the Yankees should deviate from their usual position as buyers.
1. The AL East
Once again, for what seems like an annual occurrence over the past two decades, the AL East is appearing to reclaim its position as the best division in baseball. The arch-rival Red Sox are looking like they might have the best young core in baseball and the Orioles are arguably the biggest surprise in baseball this year finishing the first half of the season as the toughest team to beat when they’re home at the Camden Gardens. Not to mention legendary manager Buck Showalter is still at the helm and determined to lead the O’s to their third playoff birth in the past 5 years. As if these two weren’t difficult enough to beat out, the Blue Jays offense is beginning to click on all cylinders as it did in the 2nd half last year and has propelled them 5.5 games ahead of the Yanks. With at least two of these teams surefire bets to make the playoffs that leaves the .500 Yankees looking from the outside in.
2. They’re Only Getting Older
The problem with signing big name free agents year after year is the inevitable fact that you get stuck with a few past-their-primers. Aside from Beltran, the Yankees have a whole lot of players that have lost their steam to say the least. CC got off to a surprisingly strong start, but his lack of velocity coupled with the exit velocity players are hitting his pitches with, spells for a breakdown. More importantly, A-Rod and Texeira don’t even look like they’ll even combine for half of their production from last season as the tires clearly have too much tread at this point in their careers. Without these two providing a scary one-two punch in the middle of the lineup, the Yankees just don’t have enough firepower to be considered a threat.
3. The Injury Bug Seems Destined To Hit
With age comes injury, and you would be foolish to assume this Yankees roster can all stay healthy for the remainder of the season. Texeira already narrowly escaped season ending surgery on his knee and is clearly showing signs of playing through it, A-Rod already had his first stint on the DL, and CC had to have a start pushed back due to a worry of running the bases on his injured ankle. Once again, these are three players the Yankees need throwback seasons from in order to be contenders. On top of this, prospect Greg Bird and double backup first baseman Dustin Ackley are both out for the year, and credit to Refsnyder for trying, but he’s clearly not a viable fielding option at first base. The scary part here is we haven’t even mentioned the outfield. Beltran is fighting through a lingering hamstring injury which you never know when it will go away and all Ellsbury needs is a small little bruise to keep him off the field. This all coupled with an older catcher in Brian McCann who will need his fair share of rest days provides a bleak outlook.
4. Farm System Needs A Boost
The fact that the Yankees are so torn on whether to contend or rebuild in a year as up and down as this one goes to show they are not used to being sellers at the trade deadline. In other words, they are used to being buyers at the deadline. In turn, they have given up a lot of their farm system over the years in order to acquire more MLB ready talent that they think might boost them to be favorites. The problem with this is their farm system is running low on talent for the future. According to minorleagueball.com, the Yankees have the 14th ranked farm system in the MLB, which puts them in the middle of the pack. The biggest problem is they lack is real A grade prospects. Their top prospect, the behemoth RF Aaron Judge, has an alarmingly high strikeout percentage in Triple-A which ensures he wont be called up until he at least fixes that. On top of that, Jorge Mateo was recently sent down to Double-A due to character issues. Furthermore, although Mateo has the top end speed and range to be a great shortstop prospect, the Yankees already look to have a better option in Didi Gregorious. If the Yankees could get a couple outfield prospects, such as Kyle Schwarber from the Cubs, or top end starting pitching prospects to pair with the lethal Dellin Betances in the closer role, they could quickly be back to their normal position as title contenders.