The Yankees Need A Massive Overhaul

The Yankees were just swept by the mediocre Phillies and looked absolutely pathetic doing so. They were shutout 7-0. With a current payroll of $190 million, the Yankees still stink, which means the time is now: Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman need to become heavy buyers or sellers. Pick one.

Doing anything in between would prove the Yankees are satisfied with their new school mentality of finding the silver lining. But do they really just want to scrape by with a playoff berth, or are they focused on finding a path to title No. 28? Right now, the answer is unclear.

Today's performance was a microcosm of who the Yankees are in 2021. Designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton didn't play because the team doesn't trust him to stay healthy in the field. Aaron Judge sat out with an ailing back. This roster is filled with giant body builders with no ability to stay on the field. And that's a major reason why this team needs further investment -- or new ownership.

How can you expect to win when your biggest investments rarely show up to work?

Reality is finally setting in that this Yankees front office can't and really shouldn't trust either of their two best offensive players. Sure, DJ LeMehieu is their purest hitter, but Stanton and Judge are the top players who can carry a team for months at a time. When those type of players routinely sit out, you're going to lose...a lot. And to his credit, Aaron Judge had played in 40-straight games this season. He hasn't done that since 2017.

The Yankees are now 8.5 games behind the first place Tampa Bay Rays, who are spending only $68 million this season. That's roughly the cost of Gerrit Cole and Giancarlo Stanton alone.

So what's the solution? This front office has already proven they have no clue how to develop offensive talent, and most of their contributors were acquired outside the organization. So that, in theory, should tell the Yankees that they either have more spending to do or they need to start from scratch.

I honestly wouldn't be opposed to hitting the reset button. Big time free agents like Corey Seager and Trevor Story hit the market this off-season, so maybe they can re-invest in more reliable assets?

The most common solution I've found on social media is to fire Aaron Boone. I'm not screaming to keep the guy, but I also don't think he's the problem right now. Maybe the issue isn't the job Boone does, but the reason he was hired? We can't forget Brian Cashman agreed to bring Boone on because he was more willing to buy into analytics than former manager Joe Girardi. Lineups, when to pull pitchers, where to shift -- all predicated on data from geeks in the front office. So that really means that this front office has failed, not Aaron Boone.

Only way

If the Yankees want to start winning, they'll need to double-down or fold up their chairs and go home. Don't want to extend past the $210 million threshold? Fine, then take ten steps back and re-load later. Better that than watching this front office pretend this team is one hot streak away.