The demise of the Yankees

The New York Yankees earned another trip to the postseason after finishing with the best record in the American League.  After squeezing by a scrappy Baltimore team, the Yankees went on to be swept by the Tigers in the ALCS.  Not only that, but they looked dreadful in doing so, crumbling before our eyes.

The Yankees hit a meager .188 as a team in the postseason.  The team with the second most runs scored in the AL, scoring just shy of 5 runs per game in the regular season, averaged less than half of that in their 9 postseason games.

Having by far the league's highest payroll amounted to nothing as their slumping stars faded away in October.  Robinson Cano may find himself in the MVP race for the regular season, but he had a postseason to forget.  His hit-less streak set a new MLB postseason record and he finished with only 3 hits in 40 at-bats.  He was hardly the only one that failed at the plate this month.

Robinson Cano: .075/.098/.125, 6 K's
Curtis Granderson: .100/.182/.200, 16 K's
Nick Swisher: .161/.235/.233, 10 K's
Russell Martin: .161/.235/.290, 5 K's

Then there's A-Rod.  It was another frustrating postseason for Alex Rodriguez (.120/.185/.120), who failed not only to hit for extra bases but was also useless against right handed pitching.  Despite being the league's highest paid player, he was actually benched in a couple games this series.  This after the heroics of Raul Ibanez rescued the Yankees in the ALDS against Baltimore after he pinch hit for A-Rod.  Rodriguez looks lost at the plate and his bat speed has slowed drastically.  This isn't just picking on a small sample size either, as he has been in sharp decline for years, with his OPS dropping each season since his monster MVP year in 2007.  This was his worst season as a Yankee and it all came to a head during an embarrassing postseason.  It was enough to leave you wondering if we've seen the last of A-Rod in a Yankees uniform, except for the small issue that he's owed $114 million over the next 5 seasons.  Good luck dumping that contract.  There have been recent rumors that his hometown Miami Marlins may have interest - as long as New York is willing to swallow most of the money, as well as take back a bad contract or two.  It's a tough pill to swallow from a financial standpoint, but with what we've just seen, the Yankees will have to take money out of the equation.  Assuming they will be forced to pay at least most of it either way, they need to determine if Rodriguez still has a place on this team.  He'd make for a very expensive bench warmer and his prima dona attitude would not suite him well for the role anyway.  There is too great a risk that he'll become a distraction if he's asked to platoon next season or be dropped in the order on a regular basis, but they also can't afford to use him everyday in the middle of the order.  He's not that type of hitter anymore.  Sadly, he'll be the last one to realize that.

Derek Jeter was one of the lone bright spots in the Yankees batting order, until a fractured ankle ended his postseason.  He's expected to take 4-5 months to recover from the surgery, which may put his availability for Spring Training next season in jeopardy.  Jeter enjoyed a revival season this year, leading the league in hits (216) and posting his all around best numbers since 2009, but he'll turn 39 next June and could be slowed as he returns from this injury.  The time off could get his bat off to a slow start next season and will also impact his already plummeting defensive range.

The Yankees pitching actually held up pretty well through the postseason (2.76 ERA), but that doesn't remove the questions their rotation faces heading into next season.  CC Sabathia is coming off a good season, but one that falls short of the expectations for their ace and his 28 starts tied a career low.  Hiroki Kuroda's one year deal has expired.  While he seemed to enjoy his time in New York, which could lead to a multi-year deal to stay with the team, he's also likely to explore the market and may prefer a move back to the pitcher friendly NL.  Andy Pettitte hasn't decided if he'll come back for one more year (again) or stay home to spend time with his family.  Phil Hughes is a decent back of the rotation innings eater, but hardly what they expected him to become when he was a young prospect.  Who knows how Michael Pineda will perform as he works his way back from shoulder surgery that wiped out his season this year.

Looking at the bullpen, at least they'll get Mariano Riveria back, but he'll be 43 and coming off a lost season.  He may not be able to be counted on as the immortal lock he once was.  Rafael Soriano filled in admirably, but his performance means he'll likely opt out of his contract and look for a multi-year deal.  If Mo is healthy then it's unlikely they will pay a steep price to have him be a set-up man again and his services will be in high demand with plenty of teams needing to fill a hole in the closer role.

Despite his postseason struggles, Curtis Granderson's affordable $13 million option will likely be picked up, but they need to be careful about investing too much (in years or salary) to an aging Ichiro if they intend to bring him back. They may be better off giving Brett Gardner his starting job back. Nick Swisher looked due for a big pay day, but another year of postseason struggles may have dropped his price tag and will make the Yankees think twice about bringing him back.


So where do the Yankees go from here?  They can do what they usually do and throw some money around to fix their issues.  Handing out fat contracts to Josh Hamilton and Zack Grienke is the kind of headline stealing panic move the Yankees typically make after their season ends with disappointment.  While they may be the top hitter and pitcher respectively on the market, they each come with personal baggage that would make them a poor fit for New York, so don't count on it happening.  They could be players in the market for the next tier of players - like Michael Bourn or Jake Peavy.  Maybe they'll even take the risk that Melky Cabrera can keep up his hot hitting without the aid of PEDs by bringing him back to NY. 

Filling those holes in the outfield and rotation aren't as easy as just looking up the list of top available players on the market.  The Yankees have learned in recent years that there is no bottomless pit of money they can splurge with.  Increasing tax penalties against the larger payrolls will make even the Yankees hesitate before handing out big long term deals.  They've already stated that they intend to get below the luxury tax line within the next couple of years.  Brian Cashman is too smart to blow up those plans by overreacting to a postseason sweep.  Their off-season plans will likely be similar to last year.  Nothing too flashy, but they'll find some reasonably priced talent to help bolster their existing core.  It's not like the Yankees to be shopping for bargains, but that's the reality of the league today thanks to the new tax rules.

So if they aren't going to splurge on the star free agents to fill those holes then that means they'll likely come back next season with a roster not all that different from what they had this year - which was good enough for the top seed in the AL and a trip to the ALCS - but their stars will be another year older and likely to continue their decline phases.  With Baltimore proving themselves to be a legit threat and Tampa always capable of getting a boost from another wave of prospects, the Yankees face some stiff competition in the AL East.  Dare I say, even the Red Sox could be a threat if they manage to reload properly in the wake of their payroll clearing deadline deals this past season.  You certainly can't count them out.

Likewise, after the disaster we just saw this week, you can't count the Yankees in.