New York Yankees
2015 Win/Loss Record:
87-75, 2nd in American League East
Last Postseason
Appearance: 2015
Last World Series
Championship: 2009
Key Arrivals: Aroldis
Chapman (P), Starlin Castro (INF), Aaron Hicks (OF)
Key Departures: Stephen
Drew (INF), Justin Wilson (P), Chris Young (OF)
Manager: Joe
Girardi, 9th Year W/L 735-561
(813-645 in 9 years with Marlins and Yankees)
Overall Review: The last time the New
York Yankees finished with a losing record was 1992. That means 23 years of
playing better than .500 ball, including 18 postseason appearances, 14
division titles, seven American League Pennants and five World Series
Championships. But all that history meant nothing when they couldn’t score a
run off Houston in the Wild Card game. And it meant even little when they held
as much as an eight-game lead in the division in July, but struggled home to
finish six games back of Toronto.
The days are gone when the
Yankees made the postseason another episode of “How much can we spend this year to
buy a championship.” The dangers of falling into bad habits of overpaying
players (Jason Giambi, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Johnny Damon) who were
past their prime is gone. There are still a few mistake contracts to come off
the books (A-Rod, Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia and Jacoby Ellsbury) and then
the Yankees will be taking the step in the right direction to build a contender the
proper way: from within and by adding a few pieces along the way.
Offense: The only current youth
movement going on in the Bronx right now is up the middle. Shortstop Didi
Gregorious didn’t exactly replace Derek Jeter (but how can you replace one of
the greatest players in team history) but he held his own. His average was
.265, he hit nine home runs and added 56 RBIs. At 25, he was the only member of
the starting nine from 2015 that was under the age of 30. Enter another 25-year
old, Starlin Castro at second base. Last year with the Cubs, Castro hit .265,
11 home runs and 69 RBIs.
Everyone after that is getting a
bit long in the tooth. While Teixeira had a decent season (.255, 31, 79) his
proneness to injury is rendering him ineffective. He missed most of the final
two months with a fractured shin. And then there’s Alex Rodriguez. Despite his
off-field problems, A-Rod can still hit the long ball. He hit 33 last year and
is only 13 dingers away from being the fourth player in history to reach the
700 mark. He still sits 75 behind Barry Bonds for the all-time lead, but at 40
years of age, how much longer he can play effectively remains to be seen. He
tailed off towards the end of the season.
Pitching: Let’s forget about the
rotation for a second and focus on the bullpen. The Yankees made perhaps one of
their best deals in many years when they acquired closer Aroldis Chapman from
the Cincinnati Reds. In 2015, he saved 33 games for a last-place club (bringing
his career total to 146) had a 1.63 ERA and brings the Yankees the closer
they’ve been looking for since Mariano Rivera retired in 2013.
Back to the rotation, Masahiro
Tanaka will be the ace and in 2015, he posted a 12-7 record, with a 3.51 ERA
and 139 strike outs. Two young starters, Michael Pineda (12-10, 4.37, 121) and
Nathan Eovaldi (14-3, 4.20, 156) had impressive years last season and will have
to continue to improve if the Yankees are to duplicate or improve upon their
Wild Card spot from last year. Former ace, Sabathia, is merely a shadow of his
former self. Injuries have taken a toll on the hefty left-hander and it will be
an accomplishment if he can get through the season healthy.
 |
| Yankees' catcher Brian McCann |
Prediction: The Yankees are heading in
the right direction, trying to bring in some younger players, specifically in
the starting rotation and the bullpen. However, their aging lineup is what will
keep them out of the playoffs in 2016. A third-place finish will be the likely
result this year, but if the Red Sox don’t improve like everyone thinks they
will, the Yankees will finish a distant second to Toronto.
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