The Best Moves the Yankees Can Make Today?

(WRITTEN BEFORE THE YANKEES ACQUIRED ANDREW MCCUTCHEN)

Call me Phil Hughes, because I have potentially an unpopular opinion. Wrigley Field and Fenway Park are… just kidding. I was joking about Wrigley Field and Fenway Park, but not joking about having an unpopular decision about what the Yankees could potentially do today before the August 31^st trade deadline. In a word, I think the Yankees should do nothing before the deadline. Riot gear is on, let me have it. Really though, do the Yankees really NEED to do anything? No, they don’t. Not in my opinion anyway. Would it be nice to add a lesser depth piece like Curtis Granderson? Sure. And does Curtis Granderson make the most sense for the team right now? Damn right, I said as much this week and I am not flipflopping on that. Does the team NEED to though? No, not really.

You know what the best moves the Yankees can make before the trade deadline are and the moves that they can make into the month of September? Activating Gary Sanchez off the disabled list giving the Yankees a huge upgrade offensively and in controlling the opposing team’s running game over Austin Romine and Kyle Higashioka. You know what other move the team can make? Activating Didi Gregorius off the disabled list adding better defense at shortstop and a left-handed middle-of-the-order type hitter to the lineup that can break up all the right-handed bats and add balance and depth to the roster. You want a third roster move? Activate Aroldis Chapman off the disabled list and immediately improve the bullpen allowing everyone to take a step back and slide into their natural roles with the club. You want one final move? Eventually activate Aaron Judge off the disabled list and get Shane Robinson the hell off of my team and do it now.

I know this isn’t the sexy answer, or even the greedy answer, to the Yankees plan to navigate the August 31^st trading deadline, but it may be the smartest in my opinion. I am far from conceding the division, but I am also not making the need to win it as large as many other fans. The Red Sox won the division last year and the Yankees won the first Wild Card, both of which will likely happen here in 2018 as well, yet it was Boston who were sitting on their couches watching the Yankees play in the ALCS against the Houston Astros and not the other way around. Do I want anything to do with the one-game playoff game? Hell no, nobody does, but that doesn’t mean I am afraid of it. Not with a consistent starter like JA Happ starting, this explosive offense, the presumably crazy crowd inside Yankee Stadium, and what could be one of the best bullpens in the game behind them.

I’m not conceding the division, but I am damn sure not afraid of the Wild Card Game either. Bring it on and bring back my Yankees healthy and ready to go. It isn’t always the best team that wins in October, sometimes it is the hottest team, the freshest team, the healthiest team, and the deepest team… and that could be the New York Yankees if they just stick to the plan and stand pat at the trade deadline today.