After a hot start to the season, top-ranked shortstop Abiatal Avelino saw his numbers dip quite a bit from previous seasons.

Grade: C-

2014 Statistics: .247/.308/.351, 2 HR, 18 2B, 11 SB

2014 Level/Roster Status: Single-A/Non-40

Now that Derek Jeter has officially ended his twenty year stint at shortstop, the Yankees are finally in the market for another one. It would be great if they could replace him with someone from the farm system, but if you were hoping that it would be Abiatal Avelino in a few years, he certainly didn't make a case for himself this season.

He got off to a hot start in the Gulf Coast League, hitting .355/.394/.548 with 6 doubles through just 8 games. He was quickly promoted to Charleston where his performance dipped quite a bit. He ended up hitting just .232/.296/.323 through 220 at-bats in Low-A. Interestingly, the Yankees' former vice president of baseball operations, Mark Newman, picked Avelino as an early standout back in May. He had a .367 OBP and 11 stolen bases at that time. That means he didn't steal a single base after May 3rd. Granted, he went on the DL with a quad injury on May 10 after he pulled it running to first base and ended up missing a full two months before he returned on July 12th. While it's likely that the injury and missed time contributed to his down season, he still had a good six weeks before the season ended to try and rebound.

Although he's only 19-years-old, Avelino's 2014 season was his worst since becoming a minor leaguer back in 2012. In 2012 he hit .302/.398/.374, and he was able to match those numbers in 2013 by hitting .303/.381/.399. This season he experienced a noticeable drop in his stolen base numbers, which were previously in the 20s. He was also caught stealing five times. Again, he did miss two months with injury, but it's odd that he didn't even attempt to steal a single base after returning in July. Maybe they were cautious of testing his leg after missing so much time. Other signs that he struggled in Low-A include both his strikeouts and walks. In 2014, Avelino saw his strikeout percentage rise all the way to 18.2% in Charleston, while his walk percentage also dropped from prior years down to just 7%.

In August, Jim Callis of MLB.com ranked Avelino 22nd of the prospects in the Yankees system. He was described as having a strong arm at shortstop and showing the ability to play solid defense. Though he certainly doesn't show much power with the bat, he is able to line hits into the gaps. Avelino has been considered to be the Yankees top shortstop in the farm, and if he wants to retain that title, he's going to need to show the ability to bounce back to the numbers he put up in 2012 and 2013. He's still far from the majors, so he has plenty of time to show that this season was a fluke.

I was recently browsing Craigslist when I found an interesting listing advertising several Yankees autographs. The autographs appear on several pages of a note pad and the ad specifies exactly who signed where:

Page 1 - $220.00 - Silvera, Shea, Buxton, Bauer, Joe DiMaggio, Berra, Mize , Joe Page
Page 2 - $200.00 - Sanford, Marshall, Raschi, Johnson, Stengel, Keller, Bryne
Page 3 - $180.00 - Sanford, Reynolds, Dickey, Lindell, Buxton, Shea, Rizzuto, Bauer
Page 4 - $150.00 - Silvera, Mole, Coleman, Sanford, Reynolds, Mapes, Joe Page
Page 5 - $150.00 - Raschi, Lopat, Lindell, Bryne; and on cut-out Johnson, Sternweiss

It even states that the autographs were given at North Philadelphia Train Station "about 65 years ago," which sounds like it would have been an awesome experience. Trying to figure out exactly which team this was, I took the ad literally and originally believed this to be the 1948 team, but several of the players that are mentioned weren't on the '48 squad. Pitcher Ralph Buxton, second baseman Snuffy Stirnweiss, first baseman Johnny Mize, and second baseman Jerry Coleman were not on the 1948 squad. Catching legend Bill Dickey also being there proved this was a different team, considering he retired in 1946. After a two-year absence, Dickey returned to the Yankees in order to mentor a young Yogi Berra in the art of catching. That would make this the 1949 New York Yankees.

If you want to get into a more specific time this autograph signing might have taken place, there are a few hints that can narrow it down further. Ralph Buxton came to the Yankees at the end of July in his age-38 second season after a 10-year gap from his last time in the majors, Mize didn't join the team until the end of August, and Fenton Mole was a September addition, which proved to be his only time in the majors. Looking at the schedule for that year, the Yankees faced the Philadelphia Phillies for a doubleheader on September 5 and then again for a three-game set from 27-30. The North Philadelphia Train Station was also used as a mainline to St. Louis, where they might have been going to play a doubleheader against the St. Louis Browns on September 14. This could have been a reporter covering the team or maybe it was simply an excited fan who hastily found some paper to have them sign.

The 1949 team had six All-Stars that year and five future Hall of Famers in Yogi Berra, Joe DiMaggio, Phil Rizzuto, Johnny Mize, and Bill Dickey. Future Yankees manager Ralph Houk and a 24-year-old Coleman were also on that team. They went on to win the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers only a few weeks after this short moment in history. It's a pretty cool memento from a small moment in time.

Joba Chamberlain's ERA is comically high. We remember a time when Joba Chamberlain's ERA was comically low.

Joba Chamberlain has appeared in two baseball games in the American League Division Series. His ERA is 108.00:

it seems bad? RT @DanHopp: @Adam_Jacobi Is that bad pic.twitter.com/V45uPWi4c8

— Adam Jacolantern (@Adam_Jacobi) October 4, 2014

Unlike the vast majority of stats in sports, ERA is asymptotic. Batting average, OBP, etc. all fall between zero and one. Points per game in any sport are dictated by how many points a player can physically score. ERA, however, spans the width between zero and infinity. Sure, most ERAs are contained in a bell curve -- we'd estimate 99 percent fall between 1.50 and 9.00 -- but the possibility exists for higher or lower.

To reach zero is easy in small sample sizes -- you merely have to never allow an earned run. What is difficult, however, is to reach numbers close to zero. You have to allow a small amount of runs and gradually record outs and watch the number trickle down. In 2007, I watched rookie Joba Chamberlain do this. He didn't allow a run in his first 13 appearances, and when he finally gave up a homer, his ERA went from zero to 0.50. From there it trickled down, out by out, until he reached a 0.38 ERA at the end of the year. 24 innings, one run. A prized commodity, the New York Yankees wouldn't allow him to pitch on back-to-back days, and the fire-baller became a fan sensation.

By comparison, it's easier to achieve preposterously high ERA totals. You just have to allow a few runs in a short amount of time. In the 2014 ALDS, I have watched Joba Chamberlain do this. In his first appearance, he allowed both runners he faced to reach base -- one via error, one via single -- and both scored, giving him an ERA of infinity:

In his second game, Chamberlain recorded an out, but then hit a batter with a pitch and allowed two singles. All three players scored. One out recorded, four runs allowed, and that's an ERA of 108.0.

It is not a surprise that the Tigers' bullpen is failing, nor is Chamberlain the only problem. But we're still going to sit here and gawk at his gaudy number, and think about the player that once was.

Will the Yankees sign J.J. Hardy and Max Scherzer, Rule 5 decisions, Derek Jeter social media home run?

New York Daily News | Andy Martino: Do we really believe that the Yankees won’t sign Max Scherzer?

Newsday | David Lennon: J.J. Hardy could be on the Yankees’ wish list.

LoHud Yankees Blog | Chad Jennings: The Yankees face some tricky Rule 5 Draft coverage decisions with Tyler Austin, Mason Williams, and Mark Montgomery.

Fox News | James Rogers: Has Derek Jeter hit a social media home run?

The Times-Tribune | Donnie Collins: The Yankees have tough choices on the horizon regarding their minor league system and top prospects.

Minorleagueball.com | John Sickels: 2014 Sleeper Alert List Review: Low-A Charleston righty starter Rookie Davis.

Despite suffering from his usual bad luck injuries, Francisco Cervelli had his best season to date.

Grade: A-

2014 Statistics: .301/.370/.432, 2 HR, 128 wRC+, 1.3 fWAR

2015 Contract Status: Arbitration eligible

This season started much like any other for Francisco Cervelli, who seems to have none of the luck when it comes to injuries. They aren't reoccurring injuries, either. Aside from the concussions, which are basically part of the job as catcher, most of Cervelli's injuries have been flukes. In 2011, he broke his foot. Last year it was a broken hand, then his PED suspension, before he ended the season on the DL with a sore elbow. This season he made it a whole two weeks into April before he strained his right hamstring and ended up spending over two months on the DL. However, when he finally got healthy he actually ended up having the best season of his career.

After returning towards the end of June, Cervelli went on to have a particularly impressive July where he hit .333/.382/.510 and put together a nine-game hitting streak. He even had three games this season in which he hit two doubles. Although he ended up missing time in September after suffering from a series of migraines that were determined to be unrelated to concussions, Cervelli ended the season strong, collecting seven hits through his last 19 at-bats. Granted that he only played in 49 games total, but the closest he had ever come to his 2014 slash line before, when he played in 40 or more games, was back in 2011 when he hit .266/.324/.395. On a negative note, his strikeout percentage rose quite a bit this season, all the way up to 25.3%, with his career average being 17.2%.

Cervelli also had a decent year defensively. Behind the plate, his caught stealing percentage was 25, where the league average was 27. For the sake of comparison, Brian McCann's CS% was 37. Cervelli was charged with 2 passed balls through 348 innings, along with 18 stolen bases. Since the Yankees insisted on not having a real backup at first base for Mark Teixeira, Cervelli got to learn the position this year. He played forty innings at first base, where he didn't seem to have a problem (he wasn't charged with any errors, at least).

Considering the presence of five catchers on the forty-man roster, one (or more) of them seems destined to be moved during the offseason. Since he had a good season with the bat, the Yankees might want to see what they can get for Cervelli. He also might have proved that he is worth keeping around if he can stay healthy. The most games that he's ever played in the majors was 93 back in 2010, and it would be great to see him play a full season if he's going to stick around.

The lefty starter continues to try to make it back on track after missing significant time while undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Grade: C

2014 Statistics: 2.84 ERA/1.89 FIP/9.95 K/9 in 12.2 IP (High-A), 4.59 ERA/5.03 FIP/8.08 K/9 in 49 IP (Double-A), 3.60 ERA/5.56 FIP/7.80 K/9 in 15 IP (Triple-A)

2014 Level/Roster Status: Triple-A/40-man roster

Manny Banuelos continued his long track back from undergoing Tommy John surgery by traversing three levels in 2014. The Yankees limited his pitch counts at every stop along the way to keep him fresh in case they needed him out of the big league bullpen in September, which ultimately did not come to pass. Missing an entire year of play is a hard blow to any prospect's status, but fortunately Banuelos had previously been young for his level while coming up through the Yankees' system. At 23 years old, he's no longer ahead of schedule, but his prior advancement does mean that the year off for recovery did not put him too far out of the normal range of a pitching prospect knocking on the door of the majors.

In the games that Banuelos pitched, the results were not always pretty. He expectedly cruised through inferior A-ball hitters in Tampa before an extended stay in Trenton saw far less favorable results. It's difficult to determine whether the Banuelos that took the mound was what we can expect from him going forward or not, considering the lengthy time away from the game and strict pitch count from the team. Banuelos wasn't exactly going out there fresh without his training wheels. The struggles are obviously concerning, but it may not be time to press the panic button just yet. Recovery from Tommy John surgery is not set to a watch that every pitcher is able to follow. The Yankees were obviously cautious with ManBan's return, which could very well have skewed the results.

Time away from the game has cost Banuelos his spot as the team's best pitching prospect, but seeing what he is able to do with his surgery farther in the rearview mirror will dictate whether or not his status has truly fallen off. Results had become a bit mixed before the surgery, which may have just been a signaling of trouble within the anatomy of Banuelos' arm but who knows. The diminutive left-hander is far from a prototypical starting pitching prospect at 5'10" anyway. Still, he was able to defy the odds of a shorter stature and make it all the way to the top of prospect lists before running into a bit of a wall with Tommy John surgery on the other side. He remains the last Killer B prospect still in the role that was set out for him. Having him succeed as a starter is the last real hope of that hype train, despite the fact that Dellin Betances has certainly found his niche as a tremendous reliever.

It's hard to read too much into Banuelos' 2014 season as it pertains to his future. Maybe his struggles in his return are a bigger sign of struggles to come. ManBan still has time on his side, and sustained success at the beginning of 2015 could very well have him in the majors before the trade deadline. Hopefully his disappointing 2014 was nothing more than the rust that comes with returning to the mound from a very serious surgery and he'll be right back to reminding people what made him a top prospect just a few short seasons ago in no time.

A silly thought experiment.

The Seattle Mariners expect to be in the 2015 playoffs. Management and ownership have said as much, the players seem to feel poised to continue another year of success, and many of us who remember the bitter taste in our mouths after Oakland defeated Texas to secure a playoff spot on the final day of the season feel the same way. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals are in the playoffs for the first time in 29 years, playing in the most exciting division series since perhaps 2004, illustrating that unexpected success can translate into something meaningful, luck be damned.

Now the problem with all this is that none of it was supposed to happen. That doesn't undo anything, or make the Mariners or Royals undeserving of what they accomplished this season. But while the Mariners try to add a few pieces to the ship this fall, we are probably going to be hearing a lot about this year's near-unprecedented and outright bizarre collapse of the Texas Rangers, which seemed to leave a gaping crater unattended on the battlefield of the American League ripe for the taking. Or, at least, that's what my gut was telling me on the afternoon of Monday, September 29th.

Now the collapse in Arlington was, by all means, brutal and unrelenting. Even by conservative estimates, the Rangers were projected to be an 80+ win team. Fangraphs WAR projections had them estimated at 89. That's a full 22 wins redistributed throughout the league in a playoff hunt that, with the second Wild Card, goes even deeper than it has ever gone before. So what does this mean for the Mariners? To some, it means this year was a lucky break. That they had their once chance to strike while the Rangers were sleeping, that a team as flawed as they were only gets to sneak into the playoffs with luck and chance. I really don't want this to be the case.

So I thought I'd try a little mental exercise in light of all this. What would happen if we tried to vacuum up those 22 wins back up into the Rangers' bag? This is by no means scientific (if that is even possible), good math, or probably worth anything beyond a scribble on the back of a coaster after one too many consolatory beers following your favorite team's playoff elimination. But by plopping the Rangers back into their expected playoff position, I feel we should get at least a glimmer of an idea of what kind of position the M's would be in without an historic collapse from everyone's favorite division rival.

First, a brief methodological explanation. The Rangers' skid started pretty early, but it didn't get out of hand until a brutal eight-game (ha) losing streak in the middle of June. They were under-performing by the end of May following Prince Fielder's exit on the 22nd, so I started the win additions with June 1st as a clean cutoff date, and tried to end before their encouraging 13-3 end to the season (though I had to add two losses into that). I averaged out over the 106 post-June games to add a win around every five or so days, so the additions were both random and set to the schedule, favoring no one. I also avoided any interleague games because there is no way I'm doing all that math for a goofy thought experiment.

So here it is:

At first glance, it should be obvious that changes favored the AL West, and that few teams were dramatically impacted by redistributing wins. And this turns the AL West into that old familiar order of LAA/Texas/Oakland/SEA/Houston that we unfortunately have mapped out like it's carved into the back of the Rosetta stone. But it starts to get a little more interesting when you take the broader Wild Card picture into consideration. Here is what we would be looking at in this scenario, even though only a few teams were impacted beyond an absolute minor change in record:

Well this is interesting. All the Division winners remain the same, Oakland and Kansas City still hold Wild Card spots, and somehow, the Mariners still finished right next to the Wild Card just like they did in real life. Now, there are many reasons for ending up at this result: the impossibility of retroactively retooling a season, this being a stupid experiment, that wins should have been added up somehow differently, and perhaps most importantly, that the inter-division battles aren't nearly as important as they used to seem.

But still, this should be encouraging, and hopefully enlightening. There may be a strain of people warning about the Rangers coming back next year, and chalking this year's Mariners team up to the embodiment of luck and good timing. But even with the Rangers at their projected competency, in at least one possible scenario, the M's are still only three wins out of the playoffs. Three wins that can easily be added in this offseason, with ownership apparently ready to spend more money. Three wins that easily fall within the realm of statistical aberration that could end up putting the Mariners only one win out of the playoffs.

The above exercise ignores a lot of other contextual events that made 2014 what it was: an equally surprising Red Sox collapse, mediocre seasons from Tampa Bay and the Yankees, and so on. But good teams should be built to withstand a number of different outcomes rather than lucking into success: and it seems at least possible here that the Mariners are just that.

The Seattle Mariners expect to be in the 2015 playoffs. I think they may actually be closer than many people realize.

The Humbler is a Jerk.

Last week, Yankees third base prospect and 2013 first round draft pick Eric Jagielo took an 87 mile per hour fastball to the face, and he has been diagnosed with a broken bone. Per Josh Norris, Jagielo underwent surgery to help repair the fractures and is expected to miss between four to six weeks. He suffered the injury during the Yankees' fall instructs down in Tampa. Recently rated as the #3 prospect in the Yankees system by MLB.com, Jagielo was expected to play for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League. With the opening games starting October 7^th, and continuing on until November 15^th, Jagielo will likely miss most if not the entirety of the games played.

The news of Jagielo’s injury is not the best case scenario, but it is far from the worst possible outcome.  Reds closer Aroldis Chapman was struck by a comebacker in spring training, and the All-Star closer sustained serious facial fractures that forced him to undergo surgery and the insertion of a titanium plate around his left eye.  More recently, MVP candidate Giancarlo Stanton saw his season end when he was struck in the face by an 88 mile per hour fastball in a game against the Brewers. Like Jagielo, Stanton suffered facial fractures as well as a few lost teeth but unlike the Yankee prospect, he was able to avoid surgery. We also cannot forget the luckiest member of this group, Chase Headley. If some may recall, not fifteen minutes after Stanton was hit, Headley was also hit in the face by a pitch. Unlike everyone else mentioned, the third baseman only sustained a few stitches.

Since baseball is not considered a contact sport, many fans--myself included--tend to underestimate the danger involved in this game. We tend to forget that these men are tossing extremely dense balls at high velocities and when these things make contact with a bat, as much as we might pretend to guess where the ball will go, we truly do not know how it will ricochet off a bat or the ground. The old saying is that baseball is a game of inches. Usually when that is said, we think about the difference between a homer or a strikeout, but we should also think about the fact that it could mean the difference between everyone going home healthy, someone ending up in an ambulance, or worse.

How Rob Refsnyder could make the team; Jose Pirela could be useful off the bench; CC Sabathia healthy

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Rob Refsnyder's chances of making the team in 2015 could increase if 1) he improves defensively, 2) the Yankees rotate the DH spot, 3) they don't sign Victor Martinez.

New York Post | Dan Martin: Former Yankee pitching coach Dave Eiland thinks James Shields would thrive in New York.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Derek Jeter discusses his desire to own a team one day, and Bud Selig weighs in on that.

LoHud Yankees Blog | Chad Jennings: Jose Pirela could be useful off the bench next season as a "second [Martin] Prado."

New York Post | George A. King III: After the shortest season of his career, CC Sabathia says that his knee feels good and he's excited to compete again.

New York Mets right-hander Jacob deGrom was one of the best rookie pitchers in baseball in 2014.

Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets was one of the best rookies in baseball in 2014. He posted a 2.69 ERA, 2.67 FIP with a 144/43 K/BB in 140 innings. He racked up 3.0 fWAR, which made him the fifth-most valuable rookie pitcher in baseball behind Collin McHugh of the Astros (we'll look at him tomorrow), Marcus Stroman of the Blue Jays, Dellin Betances of the Yankees, and Masahiro Tanaka of the Yankees.

Jacob deGrom? Mets fans were familiar with him pre-season, but he was not a hot prospect on any national lists. Here's his background.

DeGrom was a ninth round pick in 2010 from Stetson University in Florida. He began his college career as an infielder and didn't pitch full time until the spring of his draft season, but his athleticism and arm strength stood out. He posted a 5.19 ERA with a 22/6 K/BB in 26 innings for Kingsport in the Appalachian League after signing, but gave up 35 hits. I didn't rank him in my 2011 book.

I didn't rank him in my 2012 book either, since he blew out his elbow and missed all of '11 with Tommy John surgery. However, he got back on the mound in 2012 and was very effective, posting a 2.51 ERA and a 78/14 K/BB in 90 innings in Low-A. Sally League sources were enthusiastic, prompting this report entering 2013:

SLEEPER ALERT!! DeGrom was drafted in the ninth round in 2010, out of Stetson University in Florida. He was mainly a shortstop in college and has the lanky athleticism that goes with that background. He missed 2011 recovering from Tommy John surgery, but came back healthy and effective in 2012, pitching very well at both levels of A-ball. DeGrom threw 89-94 in college but was up to 93-95 last year, at times reportedly hitting 97. His slider and changeup were also said to be better than he showed in college, and his control is sharp. He needs innings and experience, and it is unclear if he starts or relieves in the long run, but given his background I think deGrom made a lot of progress last year and bears close watching in 2013. Grade C+.

DeGrom's 2013 season brought mixed results: 4.80 ERA with 44/20 K/BB in 60 innings with 69 hits for Double-A Binghamton, along with a 4.52 ERA with a 63/24 K/BB in 76 innings for Triple-A Las Vegas, with 87 hits. He was hittable but note how his strikeout rate actually increased at the higher level, perhaps a sign that he was getting ready to break through for '14. Here's the report from the 2014 book:

A ninth round pick in 2010 from Stetson University, DeGrom reached Triple-A last year and should appear in the majors sometime in ’14. The former shortstop has a 92-97 MPH fastball which he locates well. He’s developed a fine changeup, but his breaking ball remains so-so and is reflected in a non-outstanding strikeout rate. It could use more work and additional Triple-A innings would be useful. DeGrom looks like a future number three or four starter to me, with bullpen work a backup option to keep in mind if his breaking ball doesn’t sharpen up. Grade C+ (note below)

The Grade C+ in the book was too low; I increased that to a B- in mid-January after more detailed review of the stats, scouting reports and video but forgot to change the book comment to match up with the final Mets Top 20 list.

As you know, deGrom opened up with seven starts this spring with Las Vegas, getting those "additional Triple-A innings." He was excellent, was promoted to the majors, and remained excellent.

So what happened? Simple: the breaking stuff came around.

The fastball and change-up were already there in the low minors, but he's polished up his curveball and slider to go with it. Eno Sarris at Fangraphs broke this down in August, noting the addition of power to the slider and a more defined curve. As Sarris wrote, deGrom now has five effective pitches, the arsenal  ". . .development has given him five pitches with different movement and different velocities: two 93 mph fastballs, an 87 mph slider, an 84 mph change and a 79 mph curve."

What happens now? DeGrom looks real to me; there's no question about his stuff and the statistics are sharp. Heck, he was getting better as the season progressed: he posted a 34/4 K/BB over 21 innings (four runs) in his last three starts; the league was not catching up with him, not yet anyway.

DeGrom is a sleeper who woke up, a textbook example of an organization taking a rather raw but athletic player and turning him into a pitcher. That takes good scouting and good coaching, but it is the player who ultimately makes it happen.

The Yankees have a few glaring needs this offseason. But for whomever they acquire, they need to complement each other's skills.

The basis of sabermetric analysis is the ability to isolate one player's performance and drown out the noise. FIP removes defense from pitcher analysis, wRC+ eliminates park factors and adjusts for the league, and WAR works very similarly, depending on which formula you subscribe to. But when it comes to roster construction, the surrounding team and park are active participants. This thinking is exactly why the Yankees focus on left-handed batters with power and left-handed pitchers with fly ball tendencies. The Yankees focus on players that fit their ball park, and also those who fit their existing team. Such is the same with this offseason.

There are quite a few holes in the Yankees roster. There's the obvious black hole at shortstop, and there is the obvious concern of replacing (or reproducing) the production of Hiroki Kuroda and Brandon McCarthy. I think that both of these moves--for shortstop and starting pitcher--are wholly related.

Brandon McCarthy and Hiroki Kuroda are ground ball pitchers, as we know. And the infield defense in 2014, as we know, was pretty horrible for much of the season. So it would be logical that if the Yankees are going to sign ground ball pitchers, then they should sign a good defensive shortstop; and if they choose to sign a fly ball pitcher, then they can focus on an offensive shortstop.

The following are defensive ratings (through UZR/150) for the four shortstops on the free agent market:

Well, it's pretty obvious what a proper matching would look like. If the Yankees sign Hardy--who is already the most attractive shortstop on the market--then Brandon McCarthy would be the perfect pairing. This year he had a career-high 52.6% GB% and still did incredibly well despite a poor defensive infield. With someone like Hardy (or even Lowrie, if they want to save money), the number of runs saved would only be amplified. The same can be said about Hiroki Kuroda (48.6% career GB%), but there's a slim chance that he returns.

If you take a look at Brandon McCarthy's spray chart, this would echo that sentiment:

Source: FanGraphs

That's a whole lot of batted balls in the infield area. To be fair, a lot of those batted balls can also be found in other areas around the horn, but shortstop is an area that they can choose who to put there, more or less. I can absolutely imagine some of the hits to the left side being converted to outs with a stellar defensive shortstop.

Someone like Max Scherzer, on the other hand, tells a vastly different story with his batted balls:

Source: FanGraphs

Clearly, there are fewer ground balls overall by a significant margin. If the Yankees wanted to pursue someone on the left side with more offensive upside like Hanley Ramirez (even with the warts, that would be understandable given their offensive woes), they could more so put up with defensive incompetency knowing that they would make poor plays at a lesser rate. I don't think they would go after both Scherzer and Ramirez, but you get the idea in regards to any fly ball pitcher. The same would apply to both Cabrera and, to a lesser extent, Lowrie.

It's pretty unclear as to who the Yankees will pursue this offseason given the obvious financial constraints. The organization is committed to nearly $170 million without even taking into account arbitration eligible players and bonuses, so they may only have $20-30 million to play with anyway. But whoever they do decide on acquiring, they need to make sure that they complement each other in a way that is logical; this will assure that they will minimize their faults, and maximize their strengths.

After a rough start in Boston, the Yankees bought low on Stephen Drew at the trade deadline. Unfortunately, he performed worse rather than better.

Grade: F

2014 Statistics: .150/.219/.271, 3 HR, 32 wRC+, -1.3 fWAR

2015 Contract Status: Free Agent

This time last year, Stephen Drew was coming off of a solid .253/.333/443 season with the Red Sox, which coupled with his strong defense at shortstop, made him roughly a three-win player. All in all, Drew looked like an above-average shortstop who was about to sign a semi-lucrative, multi-year contract. That never came to be, however, as the market for Drew's services completely dried up after the Red Sox extended him a qualifying offer, which he declined. Any team wishing to sign Drew would have needed to cough up their top unprotected draft pick to the Red Sox, which was enough to scare many teams away. Drew received some interest from a few teams -- including the Yankees -- last winter, but he ultimately opted to sit out the start of the year, hoping that a market would eventually develop for his services.

After originally deciding to role with rookie Xander Bogaerts as their shortstop, the Red Sox had a change of heart in late May, and resigned Drew to infuse some life into their struggling lineup. Drew didn't hit a lick in Boston, managing to hit just .176/.255/.328 in 39 games, and was dealt to the Yankees for the equally-useless Kelly Johnson at the July 31st deadline. Drew immediately replaced Brian Roberts at second base, and at the time, it seemed like he had a shot at being the future at shortstop for the Yankees. Although he'd struggled at the plate in 2013, he had a decent offensive track record and was still a solid defender at short.

Unfortunately, Drew never did turn things around, and actually hit even worse upon arriving in New York. He followed up his 57 wRC+ in Boston with a 32 clip in 46 games with the Bombers, and ended the year with a disgraceful -1.1 fWAR. Bad luck certainly played a role, as Drew's .175 BABIP with the Yankees was markedly lower than he (or nearly anyone else, really) has posted in the past.

But unlucky or not, Drew almost certainly played himself out of a starting gig in 2015. He'll latch on somewhere, but probably won't be returning to the Yankees, who already have Brendan Ryan and Jose Pirela under contract as viable utility infielders. A rebound's certainly not out of the question for Drew, but it's also easy to envision his dismal 2014 campaign being the beginning of the end.

A look at the trends in Yankee plate discipline rates throughout recent history reveals a major reason behind their steep decline in run production.

Compared to the Yankees' dominant offenses of the aughts, the past couple of years have been abysmal. When Derek Jeter was still in his prime and names like Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield were penciled into the lineup each day, the team had the deserved reputation of one that could methodically wear pitchers down by taking pitches until they threw a mistake. That must mean that the weak Yankee offenses in recent years are not seeing enough pitches to take advantage of the opposing pitcher, right? (Data courtesy of Fangraphs)

Wrong. In fact, this year the Yankees saw more pitches per plate appearance than all but two Yankee teams over the past 13 years. Even last year's rate was pretty much in line with the high-powered years before them, but run production has still dropped off precipitously. So if they're seeing just as many pitches, what are they doing differently with them that would cause such a change? A couple of key plate discipline metrics are pretty telling.

The first column here shows that in recent years the Yankees are swinging at pitches outside of the strike zone at a much higher rate than they did in their heyday. They might be patient, but when it comes to swing selection, they're making bad choices. The second column tells us that not only did those great offenses swing smarter, but they also had the decency to whiff when they chose poorly. Now, the Yankees are making lots of contact on balls that can't be hit well. Basically, they're doing a good job of turning balls into strikes and making weak contact with pitches they shouldn't be swinging at in the first place. Fewer walks plus weaker contact will always equal less runs.

From this we can infer that the Yankees are either really bad at seeing and recognizing pitches, or they're trying to do way too much at the plate and need to relax. How can they fix this problem? Well, it's clear that Alex Rodriguez loves to purchase illegal things from shady doctors, but steroids is kind of out of the question now. That doesn't mean he can't get creative though. If bad eyesight is a team-wide problem, he can hire an eye surgeon crazy enough to give everyone on the team a sweet Terminator-style vision upgrade. If relaxation is the key to success, he can use his connections to get his hands on some Wolf of Wall Street-strength quaaludes. Either way, it might be the only useful thing A-Rod does for the Yankees in 2015.

Just when we were about to write him off, DBJ gave us a reason to notice him again.

Grade: B

2014 Statistics: 127 G, .264/.345/.397, 10 HR, 30 2B

2014 Level/Roster Status: Double-A/Non-40

Coming into this season, the expectations for Dante Bichette Jr. were probably as low as they can get. After an incredible first season in Short Season and Rookie ball (combined .947 OPS), people expected Bichette to start to climb through the system starting in 2012. Unfortunately, that did not happen at all. He absolutely--to put it bluntly--tanked in 2012 and 2013 as he put up respective .653 and .623 OPS's with just 14 home runs in about 1,000 PA. Many thought at the time of the draft that he had been over-drafted for his slot, but no one thought he would fall that fast.

And then in 2014, he surprised us all. After those two dismal seasons, Bichette knew it was time for a change or else he would find himself out of affiliated ball rather quickly. Having a former Major League player as a father certainly helps, and he was able to simplify his approach at the plate in hopes that it would maximize his talent. Andrew wrote about this back in August, just as the results of this new approach at the plate started to pay off. Bichette was able to hit a very good 120 wRC+ in High-A Tampa while boosting his power numbers, cutting back on strikeouts, and increasing the amount of walks. All around, that's pretty good stuff.

After showing that he was capable, he was promoted to Double-A Trenton. That didn't go as well, and that's to be expected (especially in a limited sample of 74 PA); he only had a 73 wRC+ with just four extra base hits. This is partially because Trenton is a pitcher's park, but also because Double-A is usually the biggest adjustment. It's pretty much the closest one is going to get to seeing big league pitching (the talent in Triple-A is often filled with journeyman), and that was really going to put his new approach to the test.

Bichette has plenty of time to make adjustments; at just 21 years old, he is almost four years younger than the average Double-A player. He will spend this fall in the Arizona Fall League and will start 2015 with Double-A once again, so we'll see how he performs in a larger sample. I'm a little skeptical, but he's already exceeded expectations from a year or two ago by making it to Double-A; that's a success in of itself. If he really hits well like he did in High-A, then we could see him in Triple-A by the end of next season and could have a chance to try out for the team in 2016 out of spring training. 2014 wasn't a monster year, but it was definitely a step in the right direction for a prospect who was on the cusp of irrelevance.

Potential 40-man roster cuts; A-Rod sorry he missed Jeter's last game; Jeter jokes last game felt like his funeral.

New York Post | Jonathan Lehman: Alex Rodriguez is sorry that he wasn't at Yankee Stadium for Derek Jeter's last game.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Looking ahead to who the Yankees might cut to make room on the 40-man roster.

MLB.com | Mark Newman: Brett Gardner is the Yankees' nominee for this year's Hank Aaron Award, which honors the top offensive performers in each league.

LoHud Yankees Blog | Chad Jennings: How the minor league system could help next year.

The New York Times | Cara Buckley: Actor Ben Affleck refused to wear a Yankees hat in his upcoming movie, compromised by wearing a Mets hat.

New York Daily News | Andy Clayton: In an interview with Jimmy Fallon on "The Tonight Show," Jeter jokes that his last game felt like his funeral, says he doesn't want his new website to put sportswriters out of business.

Eyebrows were raised when the Yankees gave Ellsbury a huge contract last off-season, but he lived up to his end of the bargain in his Bronx debut.

Grade: A-

2014 Statistics: .271/.328/.419, 27 2B, 16 HR, 39 SB, 107 wRC+, 3.6 fWAR

2015 Contract Status: Signed for $21.1 million. Six years and $131.9 million remaining.

The 2013 Yankees received appallingly poor production from their outfielders aside from Brett Gardner, as Curtis Granderson dealt multiple hit by pitch injuries and both Ichiro Suzuki and Vernon Wells proved that they were not regulars anymore. Writers expected the Yankees to sign an outfielder, but due to Gardner's success in center field, not many predicted that they would go after a rival: Jacoby Ellsbury. Nonetheless, that is exactly what the Yankees did, as they inked the former Red Sox center fielder to a big seven-year, $153 million deal. At first, there was an outcry, especially since the contract was signed right in the middle of the news that Robinson Cano was about to leave the Yankees for an even greater monster contract of his own in Seattle. How could the Yankees commit so much money to a defense-focused outfielder who often suffered through injuries and had only one standout power season on his ledger?

As long as fans weren't demanding Ellsbury to replicate his career year of 2011, then they should have been quite content with his 2014 campaign. He stayed healthy almost season, appearing in 149 games to help add credence to the theory that his label of "injury prone" is undeserved, as most of his games missed over the previous several seasons have been due to freak collision injuries. He did miss the final nine games of the season due to a thigh strain, but they also occurred with the Yankees all but eliminated from playoff contention with little incentive to risk further injury. No Yankee in 2014 appeared in more games than Ellsbury; keep that in mind the next time someone complains about his health history.

At the plate, Ellsbury produced just about as well as he did in his championship 2013 season (.298/.355/.426, 113 wRC+). His 2013 and 2014 wRC+ marks are almost the same, and a further league-wide dip in offensive numbers account for that. Additionally, the 27 lower points in batting average and OBP are pretty quickly explained by a dip in BABIP from .341 in 2013 to .296 in 2014; whereas in 2013 he experienced a little more fortune than usual (.321 career BABIP), this year, the game corrected itself. After struggling a bit against southpaws in 2013 (.246/.323/.318), he erased concerns about same-handed pitchers in 2014 by, in fact, hitting better against lefties (.300/.355/.472) than righties (.258/.316/.395). The overall numbers were just fine for a center fielder. Ellsbury's power was a little slow to develop, as he only had six dingers at the All-Star Break, but he bounced back with 10 homers in the second half.

Ellsbury also quickly made a great impression as one of the game's best baserunners. His 5.7 FanGraphs Baserunning mark ranked 10th in the league, and his 39 stolen bases were runner-up to only Jose Altuve in the American League. He was caught just five times on the season, an excellent 88.6% success rate. (For comparison, Tim Raines has one of the best career success rates of all time at 84.7%.) Additionally, he was likely safe on one of those caught stealings, and in another, it might have been part of a larger run-down play to score a run from third. After getting caught on July 8th, Ellsbury decided that he was tired of such nonsense and successfully stole 15 straight bases to end the season.  The man knows how to run the bases, and Gardner (just 21 SB) should be taking notes on Ellsbury's aggressiveness.

In the outfield, Ellsbury demonstrated why he was one of the fewer players in baseball who could push the slick-fielding Gardner to left field. He was remarkable with a +12.0 FRAA (Fielding Runs Above Average) and a +2.1 FanGraphs Defensive rating as well. Plays like the ones below were eventually so common that they were practically expected:

The Yankees' other big money position player signings Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran struggled in 2014, but at least Ellsbury excelled. He was one of the few bright spots consistently in the Yankees' lineup day in and day out, and his high caliber of play gave fans a lot to look forward to from him in the years to come.

Justin Turner gave the Dodgers a great partial season. Did he earn more playing time?

If you're a fan of a small market team, you might sometimes be inclined to hate the big market teams. They spend, spend, spend until they win more games. Then they'll probably spend some more. The Yankees have normally been the favorite punching bag of this hate, but the Dodgers now have a bag of their own. It's really easy to focus on the big contracts and how those players are leading the team to victory, but it's not like the Dodgers can't play on the margins, either. Before the 2014 season began, the Dodgers signed career utility guy Justin Turner to a minor league contract with a bonus if he made the major league team. It's worked out very well for the Dodgers, possibly to the point where the Dodgers can do the non-Dodger thing and not throw a massive contract at Hanley Ramirez.

Before making any statements about Turner vs. Ramirez, it's important to understand the context around Turner's season. Turner turned in quite the half-season. By wRC+, Turner (157) ranked squarely between Jose Bautista and Michael Brantley. He's not a minus baserunner. He's not a minus defender at third base, at least in a part time capacity. He's given the Dodgers everything they could have wanted and more. Unfortunately, there are mixed signals that he deserves a bigger chance.

The red flags are obvious. First, he had a .404 BABIP. Among the qualified players, the highest BABIP was Starling Marte's at .373. Among players with at least 300 plate appearances, only Danny Santana topped Turner's BABIP. Turner, regardless of how well he impacted the ball, got lucky this year. Second, he's never turned in this kind of performance before. His highest single season wRC+ previously was 99. Third, his HR/FB of 10.8% was more than double its previous high.

Those aren't great signs, but just because he's never performed on this level before doesn't mean he won't retain some of this improvement in the future. Turner has a solid baseline from which to work. The following table shows his 2014 frequency numbers against the league average.

Keep in mind the small sample sizes due to Turner's utility nature, but there are interesting trends. In general, Turner hits the ball at a lower angle. The higher GB% and LD% and lower FB% numbers are normal for him. He popped up far less than the league this year, but that's also a trend. Finally, he walked a bit more than league average and struck out less than league average. Despite the lack of power, Turner appears to make up for it with a solid baseline of frequency numbers. He attempts both to minimize negative outcomes and maximize positive outcomes.

Turner also can spread the ball around. It's not really going to be possible to exploit him with any shifts, nor is his increased power a product of pulling the ball more. His 2014 spray chart looks a lot like his career spray chart with far fewer dots.

It's hard to ignore the .404 BABIP, though. How did that BABIP break down?

In every single category here, Turner performed better than the league. That's just ridiculous. Not only can Turner spread the ball around, but he produced better than league average numbers to all fields while doing it.

Unfortunately, without more granular batted ball data, it's hard to say if Turner hitting the ball harder combined with luck increased his BABIP, or if it was 100% luck. What isn't in question is that there was some degree of luck involved; however, there are a lot of things to like. At the plate, Turner has good plate discipline (~27% career O-swing rate), doesn't give away too many free outs, hits line drives, and spreads the ball to all fields. In the field, Turner can hold his own. There are things not to like, including the extreme BABIP as well as a HR/FB% way above previous years. Turner will experience regression in 2015, but he has such a nice baseline with which to work that he should be able to retain some of the improvement.

What should the Dodgers do with Turner, then? The Dodgers have Uribe under contract for 2015, and Hanley Ramirez will be hitting free agency. Ramirez may be done at SS soon, but do the Dodgers think Turner can handle SS? The guy has spent only 274.2 innings at SS, but DRS, UZR, and Inside Edge didn't seem him as awful there. At 3B, Uribe has spent some time injured, and 2B Dee Gordon had a breakout season of his own partially driven by BABIP.

Does Turner's small sample performance deter the Dodgers from throwing gobs of cash at Ramirez? Does Turner's impending regression encourage the Dodgers to throw gobs of cash at Ramirez? Turner will command a larger salary in arbitration this year, but it will be an insignificant number to the Dodgers. I'm sure the Dodgers will keep him; he's at worst a solid utility player. At best, he's a good starter, and he gives the Dodgers options outside of Ramirez.

Is this one of those good problems to have?

. . .

All statistics courtesy of FanGraphs and Brooks Baseball.

Kevin Ruprecht is an Editor for Beyond the Box Score. He also writes at Royals Review. You can follow him on Twitter at @KevinRuprecht.

Can this slugging first base prospect play his way into the majors as Mark Teixeira's successor?

Grade: B

2014 Statistics: .271/.376/.472, 14 home runs, 30 doubles between High-A and Double-A

2014 Level/Roster Status: Double-A/Non-40

A back injury delayed the start of Greg Bird's 2014 season, but the first base prospect managed to hit well enough in 75 games at High-A Tampa to earn a promotion to Double-A for the end of the year. Bird didn't quite have the 100-walk season that he put up in 2013 with the Charleston RiverDogs, yet he still found his power stride by hitting as many homers (7) after his promotion (27 games) as he did in the 75 games before. It might have been his back injury sapping some of his power which should not be an issue in 2015.

Bird's excellent eye at the plate is impressive for a prospect, but his relegation to first base is always going to cause a hit in his value. The second instance of a back injury, in addition to the one that forced the Yankees to move him from catcher to first base in the first place, is a bit concerning. There is no real competition ahead of him in the Yankees' system at first base until you reach Mark Teixeira in the big leagues. If Bird can keep up his power game and continue to get on base at a high clip, it's possible that he could be positioning himself to be the heir to Tex at the big league level in a couple years.

Although the numbers were down for Bird pretty much across the board, it's hard to know how much of that was back injury and how much was merely adjusting to a higher level of the minors. It is encouraging that the Yankees felt satisfied moving Bird from High-A to Double-A within the same season despite 2014 being his first year beyond the Low-A level. It seems likely that Bird will start his 2015 season in Double-A Trenton with the chance for a promotion to Triple-A mid-season or later if he performs well. Hopefully the back injury is fully behind him at this point, but it will certainly be a concern to monitor going forward.

One week into the off-season, we took our guesses on what the Yankees have been doing since the season ended.

You may have noticed due to the lack of Yankees' games happening, but the 2014 New York Yankees season has been over for a week now. While I'm sure the players would have liked to be participating in the playoffs, the off-season gives them time to do things they don't get a chance to do during the season. Most of the Yankees haven't been very public about what they've done since the season ended, so in this week's Pinstripe Q&A, we took our guesses on what the players' have been up to.

How do you think the various Yankees' players spent their first week of the off-season?

Greg: Well, Coney & I went and got some drinks and just hung out, talking sports and all that. You're just going to have to take my word on that. Brian McCann and Brett Gardner spent the week trying to avoid Eduardo Nunez, who had somehow found his way back into the Bronx again. Mark Teixeira was not so fortunate, but he managed to convince Nunez that he could be on a future episode of "Foul Territory with Mark Teixeira."

Andrew: Mark Teixeira spent countless hours staring at an old family photo of him as a child, and he drew several hearts around his wrist. His only comfort was his favorite juice, "A Whale of a Kale." Rich Hill tried desperately to convince people at his favorite bar that he was a member of the Yankees. The bartender told him to stop making a scene or he'd cut him off. Derek Jeter spent countless hours pacing back and forth in his mansion, anxiously awaiting Mike Piazza's submission to his new website. He was then disappointed to discover that the first article was written in Comic Sans and that there were countless typos, which Piazza blamed on Autocorrect.

John: Alex Rodriguez: Standing in front of his mirror, stroking his image and softly asking, "Who's a pretty horsey? Who's a pretty horsey?"
Mark Teixeira: Eating strawberry kaleshakes.
Carlos Beltran: Eating strawberry milkshakes.
Shane Greene: He's at the Tampa complex, prepping for his next start.
David Robertson: Yacht shopping.

Jim: Brian McCann has been very busy not shaving since September 28th in hope that the Steinbrenners finally relax their facial hair rules in 2015. By now it's clear that his ability to hit baseballs is directly proportional to the amount of ginger fuzz on his face. To make matters worse he looks like a baby-faced creep without the beard, so it would be best for everybody involved if Hank and Hal pull the trigger on that rule change. Meanwhile, Mick Kelleher stayed in bed the entire week and refused to release his wife from the spoon position. It was a long season.

Bryan: Now that the off-season has begun, Mark Teixeira has begun traveling to different spots of the world in hopes of discovering a new healthy, delicious juice that will magically fix his wrist. But of course he isn't traveling alone as Brendan Ryan has found something he is good at and he will be Teixeira's cameraman while Texieira simultaneously films new episodes of "Foul Territory with Mark Teixeira." David Robertson is contemplating whether he will get re-signed or not while also wondering whether the blown save he had in Derek Jeter's final home game will be part of his Yankeeography. Stephen Drew will be hatching out a plan to make Scott Boras disappear, and Alex Rodriguez will slowly emerge from his cave where he has been working out for the past year. While A-Rod didn't shave during that year in the cave, he will need to find time to shave the few hairs off of his face. I can only assume Brett Gardner has done gritty things by sliding into his actual home anytime he gets a chance. And Derek Jeter has been overlooking the men and women who are responsible for replacing Thomas Jefferson's face on Mount Rushmore with his own.

Doug: Now that the offseason is upon us, players are turning the page on a disappointing 2014. Here's how some of the players are spending their first week of vacation.
Derek Jeter: Was busy in his first week of his retirement launching his new blog "The Players Tribune."
Francisco Cervelli: "Cervi," was spotted fist pumping in local NYC clubs.
A-Rod: Spent the week telling everybody around him that "The team is finally all mine!!" He supposedly was using the Mike Francesa grin after uttering those words.
Mark Teixeira: Sat at home brainstorming next year's episodes of "Foul Territory with Mark Teixeira."
Michael Pineda: With a tear in his eye, he threw out all of his remaining pine tar paraphernalia.
Brandon McCarthy &Chase Headley: Were both spending some quality time with Cashman, Hal and Girardi. They both stated their cases to return, with a PowerPoint presentation, as well as with white binders filled with statistics.
Masahiro Tanaka: Continued his strengthening program, realizing that he was one of the few reasons to watch a Yankee game this season.
The rest of the team spent the first week either wallowing in self pity or moving into the nearest physical therapy facility.

Shaun: Tanaka: Counting the days until he and his splitter can once again feed on the despair of opposing batters. Also his wife is apparently a walking good luck charm so maybe being home will boost her powers and keep his arm healthy for the next 15 years.
Kuroda: Debate retirement, and in the warmer months, coach his daughters' little league teams. They will lose most of Their games due to lack of run support.
McCarthy: Traveling the country with his wife and little dog, solving wacky mysteries.
Pineda: Discovering better places to hide his pine-tar.
Dellin Betances: Being cloned for the future All-Dellin bullpen.
D-Rob: In a jacuzzi full of the money the Yankees gave him when they re-signed him.
McCann: Spending time with his Grandma.
Tex: Working on more "Foul Territory with Mark Teixeira."
Gardner: Realizing he's the Yankees best player now, and SHOULD NOT BE SAC BUNTING!
Girardi: Whatever the Binder tells him, because the Binder knows all and sees all.
Jacoby Ellsbury: Chillaxing at the beach, he's earned it.
Headley: Getting fitted for his A-Rod mask that he'll be wearing when he's playing 3rd base in NY while the real A-Rod is locked in the dungeon below the stadium.
Beltran/CC Sabathia/Ivan Nova: Recovering; there is no joke or corny line; just please get healthy!
Rob Thomson/Drew/Chris Capuano/Hill and the rest of the cast of forgotten pieces: In a giant cannon waiting to be shot to the moon.

Matt F: In between rides on his yacht-acopter, Derek Jeter is debating whether or not he should accept the Yankees' offer to open a chain of "Derek Jeter's Taco Hole" restaurants. If he decides against it, the Yankees do have a back-up plan, so a "Brendan Ryan's Burrito Burrow" may be opening in your town soon. Mark Teixeira is taking "Foul Territory with Mark Teixeira" on the road and filming a Anthony Bourdain "No Reservations"-type show about juice bar locations. Not to spoil it, but the Portland episode ends with a second bad experience with a beaver for Teixeira. Francisco Cervelli fell off a ladder. Yankee in his own mind Eduardo Nunez has been marking his "return" to the team by bonding with "new teammate" Martin Prado. Little does he know, that's not Prado, it's a live buffalo.

Now that you've seen our answers, what do you think the Yankees have been doing so far this off-season?

Mark Teixeira offers his A-Rod thoughts; Yankees already linked to Pablo Sandoval; AL East crown not out of reach.

New York Post | Dan Martin:Mark Teixeira thinks that the returning Alex Rodriguez could make for a great story.

NJ.com | Brendan Kuty: Rumors are that the Yankees could be one of a few teams in play for the services of Pablo Sandoval.

ESPN New York | Andrew Marchand:How will the Yankees go about building their depth for 2015?

New York Daily News | Bill Madden:Despite the team's age the Yankees could still end up winning the AL East next year.

Boston Globe | Nick Cafardo:26-year-old Japanese pitching ace Kenta Maeda has told Japanese media that he would prefer to play for the Yankees or Red Sox.

LoHud Yankees Blog | Chad Jennings: It's time for the Yankees to settle on a backup catcher from among Francisco Cervelli, John Ryan Murphy and Austin Romine.