The New York Yankees are not operating like they have in the past. The change in thinking, however, has not come overnight.
New York has scaled back its spending the past couple of seasons, something ownership and general manager Brian Cashman publicly stated was being done to help the organization avoid paying the massive luxury tax figures they have had in years past. While this was certainly part of the design, there has also been a realization within New York that there is an actual incentive to return to a model that brought the franchise its last string of multiple World Series: farm-raised stars.
For the first time since the 1990s, when prospects like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Bernie Williams graced the team’s minor league system, the Yankees actually have a handful of future starters worth keeping onto for the beginning of their MLB careers. While there have certainly been others in between that were shipped away — such as Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy — or held onto — including Brett Gardner, Robinson Cano and Dellin Betances — this is arguably the first time since the ’90s that New York has a collection of future starters all advancing up its system at the same time.
This group’s upside is so tantalizing that it has actually potentially cost the current Yankees team from capturing an A.L. East crown.
Despite the impending threat of the Toronto Blue Jays, who loaded up with two All-Star talents in ace David Price and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and a few other contributors, New York stayed put at the trade deadline, turning down offers that clearly would have boosted their playoff push. While the immediate result has been a resurgence from Toronto and slump from New York that pushed the Blue Jays into a half-game lead Wednesday night, the Yankees still haven’t changed course. In fact, it appears that we’re witnessing what was their plan all along — call up the kids to spark the major league team.
That’s right, instead of trading its prospects away for game-ready playoff contributors, New York is putting all of its support behind its future stars, calling them up to join the major league squad for a playoff run. When ace Michael Pineda went down with an injury right before the trade deadline, Cashman could have went out and added another veteran starter. Instead, he called up 21-year-old Luis Severino, arguably the team’s top prospect, to join the rotation. With New York’s starting second baseman Stephen Drew struggling at the plate, Cashman left potential trade partners waiting by their phones and called up prospect Rob Refsnyder to fill instead. While many speculated that the move was done to display Refsnyder to other clubs for trades, Cashman once again held his ground and held onto him, opting to only make a minor trade for backup infielder Dustin Ackley.
Now, with New York in the midst of a stretch of 16 games in 16 days, Cashman has decided to dip into the farm system again, calling up highly-touted power hitting first baseman Greg Bird to help recharge a stagnant Yankees offense and give Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez some rest. In the next couple of weeks, it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising to see massive outfielder Aaron Judge or catcher Gary Sanchez join the major league club, too.
With the Yankees free-falling and their rival ascending past them in the standings, there’s no way the Cashman of the past would have called up three minor leaguers instead of making trades for valuable veterans. That’s as un-Yankee as allowing players to take the field with beards.
It’s very possible that these decisions won’t pay off for New York in 2015. While it seemed highly unlikely that te team was going to make a World Series run anyway, the organization’s decision to avoid major trades has almost certainly taken them out of the running. It’s even possible the team could miss out on the playoffs now.
For the first time in a long time, New York did not make any wild moves to aid whatever small odds they had at making a World Series just to appease the fans. Instead, New York is hoping it has the firepower to still make the playoffs, giving its young stars an opportunity to prove the organization right and earn valuable experience in the meantime.
The future starts now for New York, but we’ll see if that prevents them from any present joy.