Would Selling the Farm be the Worst Thing to Happen?

If it was not for my age at the time of the release of the movie I think I would have been a prime candidate to star in the movie “The Devil’s Advocate.” To be honest I’ve never seen the movie but I know the general gist of the plot and what it means to play the Devils’ advocate. It basically means to go against the grain and pose the questions that oppose the general consensus, there’s more to it but if you need to know it all you can simply watch the movie. For the purpose of this post the Devil’s Advocate is me, the biggest prospect humper in the history of prospect humping, asking the question whether it would be the worst thing in the world if the Yankees sold the farm at this year’s trading deadline.

The Yankees had a very successful draft in which they signed 36 of their 41 draft picks including every pick taken in the first ten rounds. The team got a fast moving starting pitcher in James Kaprielian and an elite college shortstop in Kyle Holder in the first round and made many notable signings including LHP Josh Rogers to join an ever growing farm system that is no longer bottom feeding or top heavy. The team finally has some noticeable depth in the upper levels of the system and is having trouble finding enough at bats or innings to give to this group of talented individuals. The Yankees GM Brian Cashman has been reluctant to trade away in prospects in recent years and has been building for a year like the 2015 season in shaping up to be.

The Yankees window, I know I’ve said this before but I will say it again and again until it sinks in, is the 2015 season. Without any big money contracts coming off the books and without any key areas in which the team can upgrade without eating substantial amounts of salary in trades, DFA’s or releases the team will look like a mirror this team in 2016. The problem with that is the Yankees veterans will be one year older, the pitching will have that many more miles on their arms and anything but a decrease in stats overall from 2015 should not be expected. Every team has a window and this team’s window is now so why not trade away a few pieces of the farm to ensure a deep October playoff run?

If the Yankees traded away Luis Severino in 2015 you would have to think by the time the team is relevant again, 2017 or 2018 I would think, another big arm would be ready to come out of the farm system. If New York sent Aaron Judge packing for a pitcher you would have to think another “can’t miss” prospect would present himself for us all to drool over in two or three seasons. There will be more Greg Bird’s, Jorge Mateo’s and Gary Sanchez’s, winning seasons and World Series trips are never guaranteed. So I’m not saying I necessarily want the team to start selling off prospects for veterans again, especially rentals, like Johnny Cueto, if the right deal comes along I’m not saying I would be necessarily upset about it either.