Playing in the nation’s largest market and with an unmatched history of success, the New York Yankees face perennial championship expectations.
Those expectations bring out the best in many players and help the team rank at the top for revenue generation year after year, but they can also drive some harsh reactions to seasons in which the team comes up short.
After reaching the World Series last year, the Yankees were one of the best teams in the American League this season and reached the division series before ultimately falling to the Toronto Blue Jays. For many Yankees fans, that marks a disappointment worthy of a complete roster overhaul.
“The tension has become particularly pointed as superstar Aaron Judge continues his prime years without a World Series ring,” according to NJ Advance Media. “The concerns center around a team construction that appears flawed despite regular-season success.”
It might seem that the Yankees as constructed are overly reliant on home runs when merely putting the ball in play served the Blue Jays so well in the playoffs, but the Yankees don’t believe their roster is in need of a significant overhaul.
General manager Brian Cashman dismissed the idea outright when he addressed the idea of a rebuild after another disappointing year.
“I would recommend one if it was warranted,” Cashman said, per Ian O’Connor of The Athletic. “There is no indication that is something that should be considered.”
For Cashman, an organizational rebuild would include cutting ties with virtually every veteran member of the roster except for Judge. Instead, he seems adamant that the long-term contracts for Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and others are producing results.
“We have quality major leaguers winning MVPs and potentially getting Cy Young Award votes, and we have the best record in the American League, and we have Gerrit Cole coming back, along with other guys,” Cashman added, according to O’Connor. “I don’t understand how a rebuild could even be considered.”
Given the team’s existing financial commitments, a dramatic roster reconstruction around better defense, baserunning or on-base hitters would be difficult to achieve. Instead, the Yankees will be left to retool where they can.
However, some key players from last season, like Paul Goldschmidt, Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams, will be entering free agency. That gives the Yankees some opportunity to replace them with the kinds of skillsets the team has lacked in recent years.
But no matter what changes the Yankees make before next season begins, fans can dismiss the possibility of seeing a full rebuild.