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New Yankees’ nucleus bringing success to the Bronx

Gary Sanchez - Yankees

Something is brewing in the Bronx with the New York Yankees. It probably won’t manifest itself into a playoff spot in 2016. But in a couple of months, the Yankees have gone from a “win now” team that wasn’t winning a whole lot to a team with an incredibly bright future.

New York missed the playoffs in 2013 and 2014. In 2015, the Yankees made it back, but were quickly sent home after a 3-0 loss in the American League Wild Card Game. Finishing 2015 with an old nucleus, there wasn’t much long term hope for the Bronx Bombers.

So, what changed? After years of pessimism, why does the Yankees’ future all of a sudden look so bright?

Smart trades

Through the first part of 2016, New York seemed slow to embrace the fact that it was a selling team. Some of that might have been posturing. Some of it might have been Hal Steinbrenner and the ownership looking more at the illustrious Yankee history than what was being done on the field. Whatever it was, it changed.

Andrew Miller was shipped to the Cleveland Indians. In return, the Bronx Bombers landed four prospects. Two of those — outfielder Clint Frazier and lefty pitcher Justus Sheffield — earned a spot on Baseball America’s Midseason Top 100 list.

Aroldis Chapman was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Adam Warren and three prospects. One of those prospects, Gleyber Torres, was also on B.A.’s Midseason Prospect List. That trade also brought significantly more in for the Yankees than they gave up when trading for Chapman in December of 2015.

Lastly, outfielder Carlos Beltran was moved to the Texas Rangers. Beltran didn’t bring back any top 100 prospects. Still, one of the players he did bring back was Dillon Tate, who was taken fourth overall in the 2015 MLB Draft.

So, three veterans not helping the team win were moved. In return, New York landed three top 100 prospects and a man taken fourth overall just last year. Even if none of the other acquired players amount to much, that’s a great trade season for the Yanks.

What’s already there

Of course, landing young prospects is only part of the fight. Sometimes, even the hottest prospects fizzle out. So, that can’t be the only reason to feel good about a team’s future.

In the Bronx, it’s not.

A pair of youngsters — Aaron Judge (24) and Gary Sanchez (23) have made a large Major League impact in relatively short order.

On top of that, Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro, both 26, have combined to give the Yankees a formidable middle of the infield. Each has 17 home runs.

The starting pitching definitely needs some work, but it’s solid at the top with 27-year-old Masahiro Tanaka. The ace has a 3.24 ERA, 1.075 WHIP, and 137 strikeouts in 161 innings. Even better, Tanaka will remain in New York for the foreseeable future. He’s under contract with the Yankees through 2020.

Also, while Miller and Chapman are gone, Dellin Betances remains in the Bronx, anchoring the back end of the bullpen. In 58.1 innings, Betances has posted a 2.31 ERA, 1.011 WHIP, and 103 strikeouts, coming in with a stunning K/9 rate of 15.9. The reliever is only 28 and is entering his arbitration years, meaning the Yankees control him through the 2019 season.

Additionally, we can’t forget about Greg Bird. A torn labrum in his right shoulder ended Bird’s 2016 season before it began. But the slugging first baseman will only be 24 in 2017. In 2015, he certainly showed a lot of promise at the Major League level.

At the very least, Bird should be a reliable source of power for New York. Powerful left handed swings and Yankee Stadium go together like peanut butter and jelly.

So, at both the Major League and Minor League level the Yankees have a lot of young talent. If we stop right there, New York has plenty of reason for optimism.

Fortunately for the Pinstripes, we don’t need to stop there.

They’re the Yankees

This is a team that can always spend money. Granted, as some of their high priced veterans have slowed down, the Yanks have become a little more conservative in recent years with spending. Still, we can’t forget that this team has historically had a virtually unlimited budget.

Now, if New York does what’s it’s done in the past, it’s making a mistake. Trying to build a championship team through high priced players seldom works in baseball. If the Yankees hadn’t won the 2009 World Series, the decisions to add players like Mark Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia, and Alex Rodriguez would be looked at as catastrophes. As it is, they were pretty clear mistakes.

But adding a high priced piece or two to compliment an already existing core is an entirely different issue.

So, if the Yankees are contending in 2017 but need a pitcher, they can trade for a high priced arm. If they need a bat, that shouldn’t be a problem, either.

New York is really an ideal trade partner for any team looking to sell in the near future. It has a replenished farm system and an ample budget. That’s a tremendous combination.

All of these factors combine to give the Yankees something similar to what they had in the early-mid 1990’s. Then, the most recent performances of the team didn’t come close to matching its glorious history. But a group of young players including Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte was coming up through the organization.

Now, make no mistake, this isn’t to say that the current crop of youngsters will have that kind of success. From 1995-2012, New York missed the playoffs only once, won seven pennants and five World Series. To think that that will happen again is probably a little too optimistic.

Still, the Bronx Bombers are likely going to miss the postseason in 2016 and the Yankee haters shouldn’t miss the chance to revel in a postseason without New York.

Chances are that we won’t be seeing many others for a good long while.

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