There is no shame in losing to the Houston Astros, a powerhouse team headed to its second World Series in three seasons. This six-game defeat, however, will hardly prevent New York Yankees fans from calling for heads and demanding change, even after a 103-win season that matched the franchise high in victories since the magical 1998 season. Their World Series drought now stretches to 10 seasons, and for the first time since the team acquired Babe Ruth ahead of the 1920 season, the Yankees went an entire decade without reaching the Fall Classic.
If anything, the exclamation point on the 2017-19 Yankees came not in Game 5 at Yankee Stadium on Friday night, but back on Aug. 31, 2017, when the Astros acquired Justin Verlander from the Tigers minutes -- or seconds -- before the trade deadline clock struck zero. Verlander defeated the Yankees twice in the American League Championship Series that year and started two of the five games in 2019. The story of the past three seasons for the Yankees might have been much different with Verlander in their rotation, not Houston's. Instead, they lost to the 101-win Astros in 2017, the 108-win Red Sox in the American League Division Series in 2018 and then the 107-win Astros in 2019.
What's next for the Yankees? Here are five offseason questions to ponder:
Will they go after Gerrit Cole?
The Astros had a lineup less reliant on home runs, they struck out less, they were the better defensive team, and the Yankees' edge in the bullpen was either very small or nonexistent. But the biggest difference between the clubs was obvious: starting pitching. Yes, the rainout meant the Astros had to use only three starters, but the Yankees would have been in the same position of going with a bullpen game later in the series.
Heading into 2020, the Yankees obviously don't have their Cole or Verlander. Maybe a healthy Luis Severino will be that guy, like he was for most of 2018. James Paxton certainly had his moments, but he didn't do anything in the postseason that made you view him as anything more than a No. 2 or No. 3 starter -- especially considering he's still never qualified for an ERA title in his career. Masahiro Tanaka will be back, Domingo German will return from suspension, J.A. Happ is under contract and the Yankees will hope Jordan Montgomery makes it back from Tommy John surgery.
So there isn't an overwhelming need here for a starter. There does, however, appear to be the need for the No. 1 guy to front a rotation. The Yankees have played 26 playoff games the past three seasons, and the starting pitcher went seven innings just three times, six innings just seven times (including Paxton's Game 5 start), and fewer than five innings 15 times. It's nice to have a great bullpen, but you need more from the rotation.
Cole is a free agent. He'll get the biggest contract ever for a pitcher. Will the Yankees be in the running to sign him? The other top free-agent starters include Madison Bumgarner, Zack Wheeler and -- if he opts out of his current contract -- Stephen Strasburg. Wheeler could be an interesting guy to look at. He has the big fastball and he knows about pitching in New York.
What will they do with Miguel Andujar?
After hitting .297 with 27 home runs as a rookie in 2018, Andujar managed just 12 games in 2019 before season-ending shoulder surgery in May. That injury led to Gio Urshela winning the job at third base, and he hit .314/.355/.534 with 21 home runs, his 133 OPS+ essentially matching Andujar's 130 from the season before. The big difference: Andujar was a lousy third baseman while Urshela has a very good defensive reputation. (Via the metrics, Andujar's fielding was worth minus-25 defensive runs saved while Urshela was at minus-4.)
So, three options here:
First, the Yankees could let the two battle it out at third base in spring training, hoping Andujar's defense improves -- he's a hard worker, so it's possible, although he's never going to be above average there -- and not banking on Urshela maintaining his offensive improvement.
Or they could move Andujar to first base, creating a three-person rotation for at-bats at third and first splitting time with Urshela and Luke Voit.
Or they could trade Andujar for pitching help or other needs.
Will they add a left-handed bat?
The Yankees led the AL with 5.82 runs per game and mashed 306 home runs -- even with Aaron Judge missing a chunk of time and Giancarlo Stanton missing most of the season -- so offense was hardly a problem. Then they faced the Astros, who didn't carry a single left-handed pitcher on their ALCS roster. From the left side, the Yankees had Brett Gardner (who will be 36 years old); Gregorius (a free agent coming off a .276 OBP); and switch-hitter Aaron Hicks (who was coming off an injury and was only league average with the bat in 2019). Mike Tauchman was injured for the postseason, but also had a surprising 87-game run.
Anyway, the Astros clearly exploited the lack of any feared lefties in this Yankees lineup. That's the problem with an Urshela/Andujar/Voit timeshare -- all three bat right-handed (as does DJ LeMahieu). The Yankees might want to bring Gregorius back if only to give them an additional left-handed hitter, but with Sir Didi's range measurably down a tick at short, they might prefer to slide Gleyber Torres over to short full time and use LeMahieu full time to second base. If they do that, maybe they consider trading Andujar or Voit for a left-handed first baseman (no, don't count on Greg Bird). The best available free agents are all right-handed batters: Anthony Rendon, Josh Donaldson, J.D. Martinez (if he opts out).
Thinking way outside the box: What about signing Rendon, moving Torres to shortstop, Andujar to first base and Urshela to second base, with LeMahieu in that super-utility role?
There is another lineup option, however ...
Is it time to move on from Gary Sanchez?
This falls under the category of "be careful what you wish for." Sanchez has his flaws and he was terrible in the postseason. The catcher also hits a lot of balls over the fence. For all the whining about his defense, there isn't a lot of evidence that his defensive shortcomings hurt the team's pitching on the scoreboard:
Runs per 9 in 2019
Sanchez: 4.74
Austin Romine: 4.51
Kyle Higashioka: 4.34
Runs per 9 in 2018
Sanchez: 3.89
Romine: 4.43
Higashioka: 4.03
Still, there is a certain frustration with Sanchez's low batting averages and pitch blocking. He would have trade value, however, and the Yankees could sign free-agent catcher Yasmani Grandal -- a switch-hitter who would give them another lefty bat in the lineup (and a receiver regarded as a good framer).
What about Giancarlo Stanton?
Look, he's not going anywhere -- not with eight years left on his contract and coming off his knee injury. He's also entering his age-30 season, so there's no reason he can't come back and hit 40 home runs. I'd just stick him at designated hitter and leave him alone. The Yankees will likely re-sign Gardner to another one-year contract, so they'd have Judge, Hicks, Gardner, Tauchman and Clint Frazier as outfield options. Help minimize Stanton's injury risk and let him DH 130 games a year.
Can the 2020 Yankees be better than the 2019 Yankees? With better health, sure, but the offseason plans will be all about building a better playoff team. That means signing Gerrit Cole. It might be worth noting here: The Yankees drafted Cole in the first round out of high school. He elected to attend UCLA.