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Where will the money truck be headed to first?
For the second straight season the New York
Yankees failed to make the playoffs, which is reason enough for Yankee fans to riot, loot, and destroy everything in sight. This just in: Rob Thomson has just been seen rushing out of the city. After backing up the truck for
Masahiro Tanaka,
Jacoby Ellsbury,
Brian McCann, and even
Carlos Beltran, this team once again failed to play in October, and the closest we got to playing in a playoff game atmosphere was Derek Jeter's final home game, the magical game winning hit in his last at-bat game. Now that this team has unfortunately hit the offseason a lot earlier than they would have wanted to, and aside from extending Brian Cashman which appears likely, what is the first move this team should make in order to improve for the 2015 campaign?
Brandon McCarthy anyone? McCarthy might be the first domino that falls as he pitched very well for the Yankees after being acquired at the trade deadline. This might depend if
Hiroki Kuroda decides to hang it up or play in Japan as McCarthy would fit nicely in the Kuroda role: a solid, ground ball pitcher that will keep the team in every game. Plus, McCarthy and his wife make a fantastic team and who wouldn't want to have that pair on your side? On the other side of things, the offensive was the problem all of 2014, so the Yankees might look to add some offensive first. Somehow.
Replacing the captain? Are the Yankees going to quickly look for Jeter's replacement, or will they wait and see what the youngsters give them? This team will likely move fast if they are indeed interested in
J.J. Hardy's services or another one of the free agent shortstops. A lot of baseball people have suggested the Yankees trade for
Jose Reyes or
Jimmy Rollins and if that's the case (and I hope not) than this will probably be done much later in the offseason. Looking for an everyday shortstop is important, and might be the first move because
Brendan Ryan is looming...
The Yankees might look to keep one of their own as their first move as David Robertson is a free agent. At the very least the Yankees will definitely offer Robertson a qualifying offer as it doesn't look likely they will look to sign him long term. The Yankees' bullpen was their biggest strength in 2014, so they might wait on this move, but expect a qualifying offer. Now, whether Robertson accepts it or not is another story, but with the
Stephen Drew and
Kendrys Morales horror stories still fresh in everyone's mind, and with the looming thought that not many teams will surrender a first round draft pick for a closer, the Yankees know they are at an advantage.
Of course the Yankees might not make any player first moves and instead they might first make some changes in the coaching staff. I'm looking at you, Rob Thomson and Kevin Long. Offensively the Yankees were quite terrible in 2014, and it seemed that more runners were being thrown out at home than were successfully crossing it so Thomson might be on the way OUT. That would be irony at its finest. In all seriousness, a man would be losing his job. Let's not joke, people!
For those expecting one of the big fish to be reeled in first, like a
Jon Lester or Max Scherzer, you might be waiting for a while as usually those guys go later in the game. The Yankees might even look into
James Shields if Kuroda departs and McCarthy doesn't resign.
What do you think is the first move the Yankees need to make this offseason? What move do you think they will make first?
