Though the rivalry isn’t what it used to be, a battle for first place between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees never fails to excite.
After last night’s 5-4 win over the Yankees, the Red Sox now move to within a game back of first, making this series even more important despite it only being the beginning of June.
The Red Sox and Yankees have always been looked at as perennial powerhouses around the league. In the 2000s, the teams engaged in arms races for the biggest players such as Curt Schilling and Alex Rodriguez. The players hated each other. The managers hated each other. The front offices hated each other. It was a bitter rivalry that may never be depicted again.
Nowadays, things are a bit different. The bitter hatred isn’t there. However, the desire to win is.
As the former stars faded away in the early 2010s, the Yankees went all-in on big-name free agent veterans who were far past their prime just to get rear-ends in seats. The Yankees tried combination after combination of wash ups. While this was going on, the Yankees farm system was a dumpster fire like no other. This meant that without drastic changes, the future of the Yankees was mediocre at best.
During this time, the Red Sox were a much different group. They made smart baseball deals, garnering up the number-one farm system in baseball. They won a World Series in 2013, a year during a bridge-period for the franchise, by signing good, affordable clubhouse guys who came up big. It appeared as if the Red Sox were the ones making the smart baseball moves.
Well, as it has turned out, that just isn’t the case anymore. In fact, the roles have completely reversed.
Since the winter of 2014, the Red Sox have been the team overpaying for free agents and players in trades. It all began with the contracts that the Red Sox handed out to Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval: two of the biggest names in the free agent market that winter. Ramirez got four years, $88 million and Sandoval got five years, $95 million. In the three years that each player has been in Boston, only Ramirez has had one good year, which was last year. Sandoval missed 95 percent of 2016 and until recently was in the minors because of his poor play.
The next offseason found the Red Sox in different hands, as Dave Dombrowski was at the helm. Dombrowski traded away four prospects to the San Diego Padres for highly coveted closer Craig Kimbrel. One of the prospects was outfielder Manuel Margot: a great talent with lots of potential who was at the top of Boston’s once premier farm system.
To give up four prospects for a closer is borderline insane. Kimbrel has been brilliant thus far, but no closer is worth that big of a chunk of a farm system. Margot wouldn’t have been able to find his place in the Red Sox outfield because it’s set for the next decade. However, Margot could have been used to get a more valuable piece such as a starting pitcher.
During that same offseason, the Red Sox broke the bank for David Price. They signed him to a contract worth $217 million over seven years, the largest contract ever for a pitcher. Price was reportedly on the verge of signing with the St. Louis Cardinals when the Red Sox offered him the lucrative deal.
Price has not been worth the $217 million yet. It’s only the second year of the deal, but Price’s ERA was an unimpressive 3.99 last season, and this season he’s only made two starts.
Last season, the Red Sox dealt away top pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to the Padres for LHP Drew Pomeranz. Pomeranz has been a disappointment ever since he went to Boston, as his ERA was a whopping 4.59 last year, and due to recent success is at 4.02 for this year.
The Red Sox didn’t just give up a top pitching prospect; they gave up the top pitching prospect for a number four or five starter.
This past offseason, the Red Sox gave up a big leaguer (Travis Shaw) and two prospects (shortstop Mauricio Dubon and RHP Josh Pennington) in exchange for RHP Tyler Thornburg. Three players for a relief pitcher: Talk about an overpay. To go along with that, Thornburg has yet to make an appearance for the Red Sox this year.
On that same day, the Red Sox completed a blockbuster by trading for star left-handed pitcher Chris Sale.
But Sale came at a very large price. In return, the Red Sox gave up top prospects Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech. To go along with that, they also sacrificed two other minor leaguers.
Sale has dazzled thus far, but trading away that much of the farm system seems like a ton when you factor in all of the other farm system-depleting moves that the Red Sox have made. Their farm system currently ranks number 21, according to Baseball Prospectus.
During this time period, the Red Sox have made trades in which they grossly overpaid. They have also substantially overpaid for free agents as well.
On the other hand, the Yankees have been much different and much smarter with their baseball decisions.
Last season, the Yankees realized that they might not have a set future with their low-ranking farm system. In reaction to that, the Yankees made a lot of important moves that have the franchise set for a very long time.
At the 2016 trade deadline, the Yankees sent away LHP Aroldis Chapman and LHP Andrew Miller to the Cubs and Indians, respectively. In return, they got back four players for Chapman and four players for Miller. Among the four players for Chapman was number-three prospect shortstop Gleyber Torres. In the package for Miller, the Yankees also got number-24 prospect outfielder Clint Frazier and number-79 prospect pitcher Justus Sheffield. Torres and Frazier are the number-one and two-ranked prospects in the Yankees’ farm system.
But the smart baseball decisions didn’t stop there.
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Also at that same trade deadline, the Yankees traded aging veteran Carlos Beltran to the Texas Rangers for RHP Dillon Tate. Tate was the Rangers’ first round pick in 2015 and has a lot of potential. During this past offseason, the Yankees traded another aging veteran, Brian McCann, to the Houston Astros for prospects Albert Abreu and Jorge Guzman.
The Yankees now own the number-two ranked farm system in all of baseball, per MLB Pipeline.
They have not owned a farm system as deep as this one since the days of Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera in the early 1990s.
To go along with that, the Yankees also have star outfielder Aaron Judge becoming the face of the franchise. Also, the Yankees have starting pitcher Luis Severino and catcher Gary Sanchez, both of whom have very bright futures.
The main difference between the Red Sox and the Yankees is in how they conduct their baseball operations.
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The Red Sox seem to make trades that your average Joe could make while the Yankees use actual talent evaluation. It’s easy to throw your top pitching prospect at a number four starter and it’s easy to throw four of your best prospects at a closer. But it takes true intelligence to trade rental piece relievers for two of the top prospects in all of baseball and trade washed up veterans for additional prospects.
Both teams are finding success, but the success enjoyed in the Bronx right now is much more sustainable for the future. The Yankees have depth while the Red Sox don’t. Nonetheless, this rivalry should be renewed very soon because of how good both teams should end up becoming.