What’s on the New York Yankees post-MLB lockout to-do list?
The New York Yankees are in a weird place right now. They have been to the postseason for each of the last five seasons, but they have yet to reach the World Series, let alone win it. They haven’t b been to the World Series since they last won it in 2009.
Many people thought that GM Brian Cashman and/or manager Aaron Boone would be on the chopping block after they lost in the Wild Card game to their archrival, the Boston Red Sox, but the only casualties thus far have been most of their coaching staff.
The New York Yankees still have a lot that they have to address this offseason when the MLB lockout ends and, depending on how long it goes, they may not have much time to do it.
As it stands, the New York Yankees have made, essentially, one move this offseason. They re-signed reliever Joely Rodríguez to a one-year deal. That’s it.
Here’s what’s on their to-do list after the MLB lockout.
The New York Yankees have to extend Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge was healthy (with exception of a short stint on the COVID-IL) for the New York Yankees in 2021. He missed extended period of time in each season since 2018 but, since 2017, he has had an OPS+ of at least 143 in each season.
Given that he can hit and he is a great defender, the Yankees need to lock him up before he becomes a free agent next offseason. As of now, Judge would probably ask for an eight- or nine-year deal for somewhere between $25 and $30 million per season. Essentially, somewhere between $200 and $300 million is what he’ll ask for.
The Yankees can do it so now, they need to do it.
The New York Yankees have to sign or trade for multiple players that make more contact
The New York Yankees made a trade with the Texas Rangers for Joey Gallo at the trade deadline in 2021 and really, they shouldn’t have. Why? The Yankees already have a ton of players like him.
Sure, he draws his fair share of walks, but he doesn’t hit for average. When he gets a hit, it’s a homer. He’s the dictionary definition of a three true outcomes guy: strikeout, walk, homer. He did one of those three in 58.8 percent of his plate appearances in 2021, which was the highest percentage of any player in baseball.
Aaron Judge did it in 43 percent of his plate appearances. Gary Sanchez did it in 45 percent of his plate appearances. Giancarlo Stanton, Luke Voit, and Rougned Odor did it in 44 percent of their plate appearances.
For comparison, the league average on the three true outcomes is at an all-time high of about 35.5 percent.
They have to get some better contact players rather than Joey Gallo. Gallo is a Gold Glove winner, versatile, and gets on base so he is valuable. But like with anything, too much of something is not good and the Yankees lineup is littered with Joey Gallo or Joey Gallo-lite players.
The Yankees must find a solution to their shortstop problem
Gleyber Torres is not a shortstop and, realistically, Gio Urshela should not be a shortstop for the New York Yankees either. The Yankees shouldn’t be content with a stopgap shortstop to wait for a shortstop prospect in the low minor leagues but should go get one on the free agent market.
The Yankees don’t have to go spend $350 million on Carlos Correa (but that wouldn’t hurt) but they could still get a great shortstop for much less. Trevor Story is a perfect fit for the Yankees and he will get half or less than half of Correa on the market.
The New York Yankees need to find a solution at first base
Luke Voit led the American League in home runs in 2020 and came in ninth in AL MVP voting but, partially due to injury in 2021, he was nowhere near as good. His OPS+ dropped from 157 to 109 but it stands to reason that Voit is not the first baseman of the future.
Voit, who turns 31 in February, has played more than 100 games in the majors once (118 games). He’s also not great defensively, which is why the Yankees got Anthony Rizzo at the trade deadline.
Like we mentioned earlier, the Yankees need to find some bats that don’t fall into the “three true outcomes” area and Voit falls into it. DJ LeMahieu was someone that doesn’t fall into that but he regressed a lot in 2021.
Freddie Freeman is on the free agent market and Matt Olson is on the trade market so those could be two targets for the Yankees.
Perhaps Voit does return to his 2020-self but his September slash line of .171/.292/.415 is not going to cut it.
The New York Yankees need to find a center fielder
Brett Gardner did not have a great season in 2021 for the New York Yankees. He did improve as the season progressed (.261/.351/.441 slash line in his final 53 games) but he hit .222/.327/.362 on the season.
Gardner, 38, has also seen his defense slip in recent years so he shouldn’t be the center fielder but when you have tons of corner outfielders (Judge, Stanton, Gallo, formerly Clint Frazier, Miguel Andujar, etc.), Gardner plays center.
Gardner also played center a lot because Aaron Hicks was injured. He should be back for the start of the season but Hicks often falls into the “three true outcomes” area too.
In 2020, Hicks had three true outcomes 40.3 percent of the time and in 2019, it was 45 percent. Additionally, Hicks is never healthy. In the last four non-pandemic seasons, he has averaged just 79 games a year. He has played more than 88 games in a season in once since 2016 as he played in 137 games in 2018.
The Yankees already have enough injury prone players so they need to find a durable center fielder for the future.
The Yankees could go on the free agent market where Kevin Pillar is the best remaining center fielder but a trade would be more beneficial for them.
The New York Yankees have to address their starting pitching
The New York Yankees have Gerrit Cole as their ace but after that, there’s not much there. Jordan Montogmery is slated to their #2 starter. He pitched well in 2021 (3.83 ERA, 3.69 FIP in 30 starts) but he should be a middle- to back-end starter, not a #2.
Luis Severino is great but, like half of the Yankees roster, he hasn’t been healthy. He has appeared in nine MLB games (four starts) since 2019, and that’s including two postseason appearances.
If he pitched like he did in 2017 and 2018, they have a #2 starter to Cole.
Is Nestor Cortes, Jr. a starter or a reliever? He pitched well in 2021 but he made 14 starts and eight relief appearances. Which avenue are the Yankees going to take with him?
Domingo Germán has not been a great option either and Jameson Taillon is ALWAYS injured (he’s out with ankle surgery right now) but Luis Gil was good for the Yankees as a starter down the stretch.
At bare minimum, the Yankees need some starting rotation depth in case they decide to use Cortes in the bullpen or if Severino, Taillon, Germán, or others are injured. The way things have gone in recent years, there will be at least one of them injured at any given point during the season.
The New York Yankees need to build back trust with their fanbase
New York Yankees fans aren’t necessarily known for their patience. After all, they are the New York Yankees, not the Pittsburgh Pirates of the last 30 years. Fans are not happy with the team and their lack of urgency in recent years and so far, the Yankees have done nothing to disprove this. They have, largely, nickeled and dimed themselves on a lot of moves because they are giving Giancarlo Stanton and Gerrit Cole a combined $65 million. Cole laid an egg in the 2021 Wild Card Game and between 2019 and 2020, Stanton played 41 games.
The Yankees were able to re-set their luxury tax number so they can afford to spend some money this offseason and the Yankees will be able to build back trust with the fans by making a few big moves.
The Yankees have a lot to do once the lockout lifts and the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Rays will all be very competitive in 2022 so if the Yankees don’t do much, they could find themselves in 4th place but if they address their issues, they could be the top of the class in the American League.