The New York Yankees posted their 28th straight winning season in 2020, but their exit from the MLB playoffs means an 11th straight season without a trip to the World Series.
It doesn't help that they lost in the ALDS to their division rival Tampa Bay Rays, either. So what's next for the Bronx Bombers?
Bradford Doolittle takes a look at where the Yankees stand and answers three key questions for the club moving forward to 2021 and beyond.
New York Yankees
Notable free agents: DJ LeMahieu, James Paxton, Giancarlo Stanton (can opt out of remaining seven years of his contract, but almost certainly will not), Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, Brett Gardner (club option with $2.5 million buyout)
Trade candidates: Gary Sanchez
Extension candidates: Aaron Judge, Sanchez, Gleyber Torres
1. Has Gary become too scary for the Yankees to hang on to?
Gary Sanchez has two more years of arbitration eligibility, though his argument for a big raise in 2021 isn't a strong one. Sanchez hit .147, one of the 20 worst averages ever for a non-pitcher, minimum of 170 plate appearances. Over the past three seasons together, he's at an even .200. He hits the ball hard, just not often enough. The Yankees' catchers were collectively below replacement for the season according to Baseball-Reference.com.
Meanwhile, one of baseball's best catchers is headed into free agency in the Phillies' J.T. Realmuto. The Yankees might want to target a free-agent starter or two, and they can't spend indiscriminately without getting into the most punitive areas of the luxury tax. Still, a roster this deep doesn't have many spots at which more than marginal improvement can be made. Catcher is one of them, and Sanchez might benefit from the change in scenery that a trade would provide.
2. Cole, and ...
With Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ and James Paxton headed for free agency, the Yankees are looking at the possible departure of three veteran rotation members whom, together, they would have paid about $52.5 million if 2020 salaries had not been prorated.
Gerrit Cole is the ace for the foreseeable future. Jordan Montgomery and Deivi Cruz figure to be in the mix, and the Yankees can hope for a return to full strength by injured righty Luis Severino, though patience may need to employed. Others -- Michael King, Jonathan Loaisiga, possibly Clarke Schmidt -- will be options in some starter/opener/swing capacity.
So how hard do the Yankees hit free agency when it comes to filling out a title-worthy rotation? Pursuing reunions with both Paxton and Tanaka, and possibly Happ as well, have to be considered possibilities, and there are a number of veteran, midrotation options who will be out there.
But with the Yankees, you always have to consider the top of the market. There you see Trevor Bauer. Would Bauer want to go to New York? Would he want to play with college teammate and rival Cole? Would the Yankees want Bauer facing all those New York microphones and digital recorders?
Well, Bauer has said he'd sign with the Yankees. He has also said his priority is to sign with a team that will let him go every fourth day, which actually might work well in New York, given their depth of multi-inning swing types and the multipronged strength at the back of the bullpen.
Likely? Maybe not. Would it be interesting? For sure. And if Bauer did get to make 40 starts for a team this good ... perhaps baseball has not seen its last 30-game winner.
3. What if DJ LeMahieu leaves?
Doesn't it seem like LeMahieu has been a Yankee for longer than two years? All he's done is hit .336 since joining New York. In 2020, he won the batting title while leading the AL in on-base percentage and OPS. Still, the Yankees need to get stronger up the middle defensively. LeMahieu isn't a problem there, but it's possible that Gleyber Torres is out of his element as an everyday shortstop, as the Yanks' minus-9 defensive runs saved figure at that position was the worst in the majors.
Torres could move over to second, leaving the Yankees to pursue a free agent for the shortstop position, such as all-world defender Andrelton Simmons. Simmons, at 31, will have plenty of suitors but probably could be had on a shorter-term deal for a high annual value, allowing him to serve as a stopgap and a mentor for shortstop prospect Oswald Peraza.