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Grading the Yankees' Offseason

I wish to be considered for the open writing position.

Offseason grade: A-

I am tempted to channel my inner Bart Simpson by writing "I shall not complain, for the Yankees signed Gerrit Cole," fifty times and call it a day, but I will restrain myself.

Heading into the current offseason, the Yankees truthfully did not have any glaring holes in the roster. Sure, there was the half-season vacancy created in center with Aaron Hicks undergoing Tommy John surgery, as well as the ever-present calls from the fan base to bolster the starting rotation.

Still, even if the Yankees had gone Colorado Rockies-mode and not spent a single cent while allowing every in-house free agent to depart, they would regardless have a solid enough roster to challenge for the A.L. East regular season title. That being said, the Yankees do not concern themselves with division crowns. They compete for rings.

Additions:

The most obvious starting point of this discussion is the addition of Gerrit Cole. In the wee hours of December 11, 2019, the Yankees signed Gerrit Cole to a nine-year $324 million contract. The deal includes a full no-trade clause and a player opt-out following the 2024 season, which the Yankees can counter with by adding another year (at the same AAV of $36MM).

The deal smashes the records set the previous day by Stephen Strasburg with regards to both AAV and total contract value for a starting pitcher. It also definitively dispels any notion that Hal Steinbrenner is cheap or even frugal. Instead, it reaffirms the disciplined approach the Yankees' Front Office takes in both free agency and on the trade market as it pertains to player valuations.

It is no secret that the Yankees and Brian Cashman have coveted Gerrit Cole for more than a decade. Cashman would not be denied his white whale this offseason after seeing Cole choose UCLA when drafted in the first round by the Yankees in 2008, and then miss out again in 2018 when Cole was traded from the Pirates to the Astros.

Cashman's pursuit of Cole was undeniably well-founed. During his tenure in Houston, Cole emerged as a legitimate ace in the MLB, arguably the best starting pitcher in baseball. Per Baseball Savant, this past season Gerrit Cole led all of baseball in xBA, xSLG, and xwOBA amongst qualified starting pitchers.

Gerrit Cole 2019 Statcast RankingsCourtesy Darren Willman/Twitter

Simply put, batters do not want to face this guy. With Gerrit Cole leading the charge, a rotation comprising of Luis Severino, James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, and J.A. Happ/Jordan Montgomery easily vies for the crown of best starting five in baseball.

The other notable signing I will discuss is the retention of wily veteran Brett Gardner. The deal includes an $8 million base salary and $2 million signing bonus for 2020, and a $10 million option for 2021 with a $2.5 million buyout, essentially making the deal a one-year $12.5 million pact.

Gardner, the sole remaining player from the 2009 championship season following the retirement of CC Sabathia, had a renaissance season in 2019 posting career-highs in OPS (.829) and home runs (28). This in large part could be down to a change in approach at the plate, where according to Baseball Savant he increased his average launch angle from 8.4 degrees in 2018 to 13.6 degrees in 2019. It remains to be seen whether Gardner can replicate this offensive success, should the MLB decide to nerf the rabbit ball for 2020, however Gardner's importance to the team as a still-elite outfielder and as a leader in the clubhouse cannot be overstated.

Maybe as important as the roster additions this offseason are the additions made to the Yankees staff. The Yankees replaced pitching coach Larry Rothschild with rookie pitching coach Matt Blake. This isn't to say Blake, former assistant director of pitching development for the Cleveland Indians, isn't already an expert in his field. During his tenure in Cleveland, the Indians churned out an abundance of impressive starting arms, including Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger, Shane Bieber, Aaron Civale, and Zach Plesac. The hope is that he can apply the same analytics-driven methods to extract similar improvement from players like Severino, Montgomery, Deivi Garcia, and Clarke Schmidt.

In the same vein, the Yankees added Tanner Swanson as major league quality control coach. It has been well documented Gary Sanchez's mercurial performance behind the plate, who greatly improved upon his blocking abilities in 2019 at the expense of having some of the worst framing stats amongst starting catchers. If Swanson can marry both abilities, he will be a valuable addition to the coaching staff.

Perhaps the most important modification to the Yankees' staff was the shakeup in the training department. The Yankees cannot expect to maintain similar on-field resiliency should they equal record setting 39 IL trips from this past season. Therefore the replacement of strength and conditioning director Matt Krause with Eric Cressey will come as a welcome sight for Yankees fans. The Yankees will hope the methods he employs will taylor toward the bulky body types that populate the roster, and combat the soft tissue injuries that plagued the season.

Departures:

The Yankees allowed two fan favorites to depart this offseason, in Didi Gregorious and Dellin Betances. Didi signed a one-year $14 million deal in Philly while Dellin signed a one-year $10.5 million deal with the crosstown Mets. While sad to see both go, it was understandable given Didi's Tommy John-shortened season in which he posted a concerning .276 OBP and Dellin only having pitched two-thirds of an inning before partially rupturing his achilles.

The other departure worth mentioning is the release of Jacoby Ellsbury, and Yankees' filing of a grievance to avoid paying the remaining $26 million on the deal. Whether this conflict arose from Ellsbury's contractual violation of seeking non-team approved treatment, or the insurance policy expiring is up for debate.

The Yankees have positioned themselves as the odds-on favorite for the 2020 Worlds Series via marquee signing and coaching staff upgrades, and while there may be movement yet including Happ's contract, bolstering the bullpen, or infield depth, there can be no doubt that this offseason will be looked back upon as an overwhelming success.

Prospective Articles:

1) Examining the fact and fiction behind clutch, including modern-day parameters, the hot-hand effect, and neurological evidence.

2) Breaking down the truth behind home field advantage, including looking at the actual numbers across history, and looking into the psychological effect in action.

Thank you for your consideration!

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