The Yankees Should Not Trade For Trout

Although no deal is imminent, and few even think a deal as possible, there has still be a lot of talk about the Yankees trading for American League Most Valuable Player, Mike Trout.

I like to think he's smiling about the idea of being a Yankee.

Many Yankees fans are drooling over the idea of Trout wearing Yankee pinstripes, and for good reason. Mike is only 25 years old, just won his second MVP award, and was the runner-up for the award in his other three years in MLB. Mike Trout may be the best baseball player any of us will ever see in our lifetimes.

So it's quite easy to see why anybody would want him on their team. Whenever he comes to bat people stand, not expecting good things to happen, but knowing good things will happen. But do me a favor and answer me this...

Where did the Angels finish in the standings last season, and in 2014 (the other season Trout won MVP)?

In case you don't know, or didn't go check, I'll fill you in...

Last season the Angels finished in 4th place in the American League West, and in 2014... while they won the most games in the AL during the regular season... got swept by the Royals in the AL Divisional Series.

Want more proof that one guy does not make a winner? In 2015 Josh Donaldson won the AL MVP, and his team the Toronto Blue Jays lost to the Royals in the AL Championship Series. The 2013 Detroit Tigers, with AL MVP Miguel Cabrera, lost in the ALCS. And the 2012 Detroit Tigers, again with AL MVP Miguel Cabrera, got swept in the World Series.

Those aren't bad finishes, but just making the postseason is not the goal. The goal should always be to...

"Win the whole @#$%ing thing."

So I don't care about whether or not Mike Trout plays for the Yankees. What I care about is the Yankees winning the World Series. And while having an MVP caliber player like Trout certainly helps, it doesn't guarantee anything. Especially in a game like baseball, where the Most Valuable Player in the game gets the same number of at bats as the majority of all batters in the game.

To further drive home my opinion let's look at a recent trade proposal brought forth by Randy Miller of NJ.com...

Randy believes that the Yankees could trade the following six players for Trout...

Didi Gregorius

Luis Severino

Dillon Tate

Jorge Mateo

Dellin Betances

Clint Frazier

I'm not going to get into whether or not either team would accept such a deal, I just want to point out the ramifications of this for the Yankees.

For starters, it would mean banking on Gleyber Torres to develop into a strong MLB player, which is certainly no guarantee. Just ask those that thought the same thing about Brien Taylor, Todd Van Poppel, Ruben Rivera, Greg Miller, Joel Guzman, etc. There's a chance that Torres doesn't make it, and the Yankees end up reaching for somebody like Stephen Drew or Brian Roberts again. And nobody that wants the Yankees to win would wish for that.

Secondly, the Yankees' starting rotation future is very up in the air. While they have a number of prospects that could be strong contributors in the future, is it smart to take any away? Instead of a future rotation that could be filled by Severino, Tate, James Kaprielian, Justus Sheffield, and Domingo Acevedo, the Yankees could find themselves reaching in trades or free agency to fill their rotation even if all three of Kaprielian, Sheffield, and Acevedo work out. Which is not a good bet, as at least one of those three will probably become MLB relievers or fade away completely.

The third reason to be concerned about making such a trade is the bullpen. While it's true that the Yankees have been good at developing relievers, Dellin Betances is not just any reliever. While the Yankees could have Aroldis Chapman, who would they have to pair with him? Adam Warren? Jacob Lindgren? Who? Having a great closer can be big, but if the team struggles to get him the ball with the lead then does Chapman matter? Just ask Orioles fans, who just watched one of the greatest seasons by a closer ever, but still missed the postseason. Or ask Reds fans about when they had Chapman. Or Phillies fans when Ken Giles was wrecking it for them in 2015. Or Braves fans in 2014, when Craig Kimbrel was killing it.

"At least there was no pressure when my team finished 17 games back from first place."

Here's one more final thought... 

While the Yankees have outfield prospects like Aaron Judge and Blake Rutherford, they are not Clint Frazier. Judge had big problems with a large strike zone in MLB last season, and has had trouble keeping his strikeout total down at any level. Blake Rutherford is just 19 years old, and a ways away from MLB. And I can't say it enough... look again at the number of former top prospects that went nowhere. The Yankees outfield could very well be left with Jacoby Ellsbury, a right fielder that strikes out a ton while running into the occasional home run, and a third outfielder that is no better than replacement level.

While I would love to see Mike Trout wear a Yankees' uniform, I do not want them to pay the price to acquire him. I think many fans would agree that the Yankees will have plenty of chances to win in the near future without him. 

What Do I Think About The Yankees Youngsters?

When thinking about Yankees prospects I can't help but smile. And I'm not even that big a prospect guy, unlike some of my collegues here. So to help sort things out I made a list, and decided to share it with you.

FYI, I decided to use the Top 30 list created by MLB.com, as well as include players on the big club that are under 27 years old.

Now, I did leave off some players under 27, who I felt simply weren't worth listing. That would be Chasen Shreve, Nick Goody, Johnny Barbato, Tyler Olson, Brandon Pinder, Aaron Hicks, and Ronald Torreyes.

A few notes before you read it below...

1. The number in parenthesis is their ranking on the Top 30.

2. An asterisk next to their name means they have played more than the position they are listed under. That isn't to say some players can't play other positions in the future.

3. There are players on the Top 30 List that have already appeared in the Majors.

4. I didn't split up the starting and relief pitchers. This wasn't supposed to be me trying to guess what role each guy would pitch in. So you can talk about that if you want.

Okay, so without any further ado, here you go...

Catcher - Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez (5), Luis Torrens (16), Donny Sands (28)

First Base - Greg Bird, Chris Parmelee, Rob Refsnyder*

Second Base - Starlin Castro, Jorge Mateo* (3), Tyler Wade* (14), Hoy Jun Park* (22), Kyle Holder* (27), Rob Refsnyder*

Shortstop - Didi Gregorius, Gleyber Torres (2), Jorge Mateo* (3), Wilkerman Garcia (11), Tyler Wade* (14), Hoy Jun Park* (22), Kyle Holder* (27)

Third Base - Miguel Andujar (8)

Outfield - Rob Refsnyder*, Clint Frazier (1), Aaron Judge (4), Blake Rutherford (6), Dustin Fowler (12), Billy McKinney (15), Mason Williams (23), Ben Gamel (24), Jake Cave (25), Trey Amburgey (29), Leonardo Molina (30)

Pitcher - Masahiro Tanaka, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Pineda, Luis Severino, Luis Cessa, Justus Sheffield (7), Domingo Acevedo (9), James Kaprielian (10), Chance Adams (13), Ian Clarkin (17), Drew Finley (18), Jordan Montgomery (19), Jacob Lindgren (20), Chad Green (21), Dietrich Enns (26)

The Future Keeps Getting Brighter

I'm loving how the Yankees have been focused more on the future.

That's kind of how I look when I see possible future rosters.

For the longest time the Yankees were constantly adding older players who were past their prime, hoping that the player could rekindle some of their previous magic.

For example, I'm sure you'll never forget the Stephen Drew experiment at second base. In 2013, the season before the Yankees traded for him, Drew put up a respectable batting line of .253/333/.443. And while he hadn't put up those type of numbers consistently from year to year, Stephen did have a couple other nice seasons under his belt. So Drew was made a Yankee in hopes of straightening him out for good. That didn't happen. Over two seasons, Stephen hit a sad .187/.257/.352.

Then there was 2012 when the Yankees brought Raul Ibanez aboard. Raul didn't hit as poorly for the Yankees as Stephen Drew would a couple of years later, but his triple-slash of .240/.308/.453 with 19
home runs was a far cry from the line of .287/.353/.505 while averaging 28 homers a season he put up for the Mariners and Phillies between 2006 and 2009.

Things are certainly different now.

During the 2014/2015 offseason, the Yankees traded for Didi Gregorius to play shortstop. Didi struggled a bit in his first season in pinstripes, however he has come along nicely in 2016, batting .297/.329/.464, to go along with some very nice defense. It looks like the Yanks may have found their long-term solution at the position that was left vacant by future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter.

Then you have this past offseason, which saw the Yankees deal for Starlin Castro. Sadly, like what happened with Didi in his first season with the Yankees, Castro is struggling. As of right now Starlin is batting a paltry .262/.295/.406. Hopefully his July numbers (.286/.321/.416) are a sign that he's coming around, and by this time next season it looks like he could be the long-term solution to losing Robinson Cano three years ago.

People like Daniel here will not let you forget that Rob Refsnyder could be a factor for the Yankees, either.

"I don't know who this 'Daniel' guy is, but I love how he supports me."

Now the Yankees added to their already respectable minor league system by trading Aroldis Chapman for top prospect Gleyber Torres, and another good prospect in Billy McKinney.

All this while holding onto possible 2017 starting right fielder Aaron Judge, possible 2017 starting first baseman Greg Bird, possible future starting catchers in Gary Sanchez and Luis Torrens, possible future star Jorge Mateo, and possible future key starters in Luis Severino and James Kaprielian.

*that's a lot of "possible" there, but that's why having prospect depth is so valuable.

I know of at least one person out there that can't be convinced that the future of the Yankees is looking pretty good, but I'm ready to tell him and everyone else that they are wrong. And yes... I have FACTS to prove it.

Lost But Not Forgotten

"I feel like we have a better team than we had last year, and we were second in the league in runs scored. I don’t think everybody just forgets how to hit or get on base overnight." 

That is what Brett Gardner had to say after last night's loss to the Orioles. And while we hear lip service like this from players and coaches all the time, I can't help but agree with him.

Mark Teixeira is no longer in his prime, and was actually out of his prime before he even donned a Yankees uniform, but he hit 31 home runs just last year, and had an slugging percentage of .548. If he were injured since last season then I would buy into his lack of power this season, but that's not the case.

Didi Gregorius is not going to be among the better hitting shortstops in Major League Baseball, however I don't believe he's going to continue to hit nearly 30 points lower than the .251 batting average he's accrued during his 368 MLB games. Nor will his on-base percentage remain 62 points lower than his career average in that department.

The chances of Chase Headley repeating his great 2012 season, in which he slashed .286/.376/.498 with 31 home runs, are as close to "none" as you can get. But do you really think he's going to finish with an OPS nearly 300 points lower than it was last season?

And while Alex Rodriguez is unlikely to ever again receive a legitimate vote for American League MVP, I don't believe he's going to go from a .250 batting average last season to a sub-.200 one this season.

It's not just the offensive side of things that's not living up to expectations either. Two of the team's starters have an ERA over 6.00 right now, and two others have an ERA over 5.00.

"Come on, guys, I can't win every start."

Nathan Eovaldi is probably not going to give the Yankees the same 3.39 ERA that he had in 2013, but something closer to the 4.20 he put up last season is hardly preposterous.

Michael Pineda may never win a Cy Young, but you can't tell me he's going to go from a 4.37 ERA in 2015 to 6.33 the following season.

And Luis Severino may not be as good as the sub-3.00 ERA pitcher he was in 11 starts last year, but I don't believe he's as bad as the 6.31 ERA so far this season indicates.

Every team is going to have a player or two performing below expectations. It's rare for everybody to be firing on all cylinders at the same time, but it does happen. Unfortunately I think we're seeing the opposite end of that... just about every Yankee is playing their worst at the same time.

You see, this team doesn't need an overhaul. Sure, give Ronald Torreyes a couple starts a week in place of Chase Headley, until pitchers inevitable catch up to him and show us why he played with three different organizations last season. Perhaps call up Rob Refsnyder once he's more comfortable playing third base, and let him give Chase a break every few games or so.

Believe it or not, this team is not that bad. I'm not saying they're World Series contenders, but they shouldn't finish last in the AL East, either. I think this team simply needs a little shake-up. They need something or somebody to light a fire under their butts. And I can't believe I'm saying this, especially when I kind of bashed the guy when he was signed, but you can't deny this guy's ability to fire his teammates up...

Weekly Check in: Robert Refsnyder

We have more on Robert Refsnyder a little later so I’ll keep this short and sweet. Stephen Drew sucks, I’ve said it numerous times throughout the course of his Yankees tenure and I will continue to say it until his Yankees career comes to a close. The Yankees are in a unique situation this season where they can add and upgrade to their team pretty much more than any other team in the month of July without selling off top prospects. The Yankees are in first place in the American League East Division and just added closer Andrew Miller and center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury to the team and now have one more glaring hole to address, second base.

Refsnyder is light years ahead of Drew offensively and quickly closing the gap defensively on the Yankees incumbent second baseman. When you have a great first baseman in Mark Teixeira and a shortstop with a ton of range and speed that can cheat an extra step or two to his left in Didi Gregorius the Yankees wouldn’t miss that much defensively. Not to take all the blame off Refsnyder but you have to remember that the first baseman he is throwing to in the minor leagues, Kyle Roller, is here for his offense. His defense is borderline atrocious and he lacks the special sort of defense that Teixeira harnesses at first base every day. How many errors, hits and runs does Teixeira save every single season with his defense?

Refsnyder wouldn’t be Willie Randolph at second base but I don’t think he would be a young and promising Derek Jeter defensively either. Drew’s days are numbered, that much is clear, but whether the team signs another player to block Refsnyder or if the year of the prospect continues remains to be seen. Let’s hope for the latter.

Offense:

Year	Lev	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2015	AAA	80	360	45	88	16	7	36	10	43	44	.287	.383	.407	.790

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Defense:

Year	Lev		G	Ch	PO	A	E	DP	Fld%	RF/G
2015	AAA	2B	72	376	141	222	13	49	.965	5.04

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table