After the New York Yankees were knocked out in the Wild Card game, they were expected to make some changes. They needed another starting pitcher in a rotation full of question marks, a new second baseman to replace the .201 hitting Stephen Drew and some youth inserted into a lineup full of old veterans.
Many thought they would bring in a big-name starter like David Price or Zack Greinke to fix the rotation, but they did not. They were linked to the best hitting second basemen in Ben Zobrist and Daniel Murphy but didn’t sign either one. General manager Brian Cashman made it very clear that he was only going to make minor signings and trade for upgrades.
What he then did shocked the baseball world. He sent versatile pitcher Adam Warren and bench player Brendan Ryan to the Chicago Cubs for shortstop turned second baseman Starlin Castro. Castro is a three-time All-Star who led the National League with 207 hits in 2011 but has fallen off. He was benched midway through the 2015 season and was switched over to second base. The Cubs were done with Castro experiment and the Yankees jumped right in. They got the player they have wanted in Castro and filled the void left by Robinson Cano. And it all came relatively cheaply too, as the Cubs were actively shopping him around.
The next move was even crazier. Cashman got together some loose parts in the minor leagues and traded for All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman. He came that cheap because of the domestic violence allegations and the almost inevitable suspension. But once that is served, Chapman gives the Yankees the most lights-out bullpen possibly in MLB history. Chapman, along with Dellin Betances and incumbent closer Andrew Miller, were 1-3 in strikeouts per nine for relievers last year.
The Yankees didn’t really need to bring in Chapman, but after trading away Justin Wilson to the Detroit Tigers, they needed another arm. Wilson was solid in 2015, but the prospects coming back have more team-friendly contracts. It also allows them to shorten games the way the Kansas City Royals did en route to a title in 2015. Manager Joe Girardi can pull the starters earlier if they run into trouble and can choose amongst the three for the situation.
Cashman also made some smaller moves, such as trading for a young outfielder in Aaron Hicks for catcher John Ryan Murphy. Murphy was a solid backup, but he had no future in New York with Brian McCann and prospect Gary Sanchez breathing down his neck. Hicks gives them some youth off the bench and can provide Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner and Carlos Beltran some needed days off.
They also traded for relief pitcher Kirby Yates to provide some depth in the bullpen. He is a hard-throwing right-hander who will most likely end up being used in certain situations.
The rest of the team will remain intact, which is a good core to have. Adding Castro and Chapman should add to their 87-win total from last year. As long as they stay relatively healthy, the Yankees could be back in the playoffs again, this time for longer than one game.
