Yankees no better off than Sox
Pinstripes KO’d from playoffs once again
Some say the Red SoxYankees rivalry is dead.
Some say it’s the RaysYankees that’s now the biggest rivalry in the American League East.
Fat chance.
It’s still the Red Sox-Yankees, not because they’re the best two teams in the division, but because when the Yankees’ season ended at the hands of the Rays on Friday night, the liveliest discussion topic wasn’t whether it’s the Rays or Yankees who are better set up for the future.
The Red Sox-Yankees discussion is a much more interesting one to dive into. And as surprising as this might be after the Red Sox posted their worst winning percentage since 1965, it’s actually a close call.
How demoralizing it must’ve been for the Bronx Bombers, who checked in with a $265 million payroll for luxury-tax purposes and were sent home by a Rays team that checked in at $93 million.
And to lose with their ace, Gerrit Cole, who was due $36 million this year, against the Rays’ Tyler Glasnow, who was owed just $2 million, must’ve felt like a punch in the gut.
The cherry on top was Aroldis Chapman blowing it in the late innings by allowing a solo homer to Mike Brosseau on a 10pitch at-bat in which Chapman couldn’t put him away. It’s the second consecutive year that Chapman took the loss in the Yankees’ final game. They’ve gone just 2-4 in playoff series longer than one game since Chapman won a World Series with the Cubs and landed in New York. He’s now got three playoff losses to his name since joining the Yanks.
To take all that, chew on it over the long winter and try to figure out where to direct the Yankees next is a job that longtime general manager Brian Cashman can’t be thrilled about doing.
This won’t be an easy
winter for the Red Sox, but it could be even more stressful for the Yankees.
Three of the Yanks’ eight most valuable players in 2020, including their most valuable, D.J. LeMahieu, are headed for free agency.
Three of their starting pitchers, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and James Paxton, are hitting the market.
Their starting catcher, Gary Sanchez, was one of the worst players in baseball this year by some metrics, and the team needs to figure out what to do behind the plate after Kyle Higashioka looked like the better option in the postseason.
Simply put, the Yankees are a mess.
So are the Red Sox, but their path toward competitiveness looks ever-soslightly more clear than that of the Yanks.
The Red Sox know they have Chris Sale coming back from Tommy John surgery sometime in 2021, perhaps the early part of the year if their ace rehabs as fast as his work ethic would suggest. Everybody has a different timetable coming back from Tommy John, but assuming Sale’s shoulder is healed from the inflammation that caused him trouble in 2018, he should have no trouble putting the foot on the gas and getting himself back into shape.
The big question is Eduardo Rodriguez and whether or not the heart condition caused by the coronavirus will affect his ability to get back on the field and train this winter. That’s no small concern with just Nathan Eovaldi and a bunch of unknowns behind him in the rotation.
But the Red Sox have their core. They have Sale, they have some young pitching approaching the major league level and they have a lineup that includes Alex Verdugo, Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez, provided he doesn’t opt out of his contract and test the free-agent market.
The Yankees have Giancarlo Stanton, who is seemingly always hurt and could also opt out, Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, Luke Voit and Gleyber Torres. They have Cole at the top. And they have Chapman and Zack Britton in the back of the bullpen.
Compare both teams on paper for 2021 and it’s a tossup which is in better shape.
Both teams will have money to spend, with each of them checking in around $130 million to $140 million in commitments for luxury tax purposes.
It could all come down to LeMahieu and where he decides to sign in free agency.
He just won a batting title with a ridiculous .364 average and looked like the most important hitter in the Yankees’ lineup in the postseason, too. He plays a good second base. He’s projectable over the next few years because he doesn’t rely on his power. And both the Red Sox and Yankees have a clear need at second base.
Which team is better set up for the future, the Red Sox or Yankees?
They’re both chasing the Rays. But don’t put the Red Sox in the back of the bus in the AL East. The Yankees aren’t any better off.