New York Yankees Still Inferior to Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Says Baseball Analyst
The New York Yankees committed more than $400 million in free agency money to get themselves back in contention for another World Series title. Unfortunately for Bronx Bombers followers, their team's heavy re-tooling is not enough for them to topple the defending champs and main rivals the Boston Red Sox—at least, not in the eyes of ESPN MLB writer David Schoenfield.
Schoenfield, a regular columnist for ESPN's SweetSpot, indicated the Yankees are still not good enough to beat the Red Sox and the Rays in what looks to be a very competitive American League East battle next season.
"Yes, I clearly rate them behind the Red Sox and Rays. Schoenfield said when asked by a fan if the Yankees are good enough to make it in the postseason" Schoenfield reported via ESPN Sports Nation.
According to Schoenfield, the Yankees apparently don't have enough big league-ready talent in their farm league system for them to bring up or use as trade chips to plug in the loopholes in their roster.
Moreover, ESPN baseball senior writer Keith Law ranked the Yankees' farm system at No. 20 in the league, showing the lack of quality prospects the Bronx Bombers currently have.
"Keith Law rated their farm system at No. 20 and most of the top guys are in the low minors and coming off injuries, so not a lot of trade bait unless Gary Sanchez or Mason Williams finally blossom," ESPN reported.
Yankees Millionaires
The Yankees front office entered the offseason with a goal of not going beyond the $189 million threshold, but a slew of big free-agency signings forced them to commit more than $400 million.
The Yankees have been on a spending spree for the past three months, signing Jacoby Ellsbury ($153 million), Brian McCann ($85 million), Carlos Beltran ($45 million) and Japanese ace pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (seven years, $155 million).
Despite shelling out loads of money, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is confident that he has put together a championship-caliber team.
"I think Hal Steinbrenner has spoken to that on a number of occasions now, the new basic agreement provided certain benefits if we were on our way to under $189MM, he conveyed that it was a goal, but he has reiterated that it wouldn't come at the expense of putting together a championship team," Cashman said via MLB Trade Rumors
"I think our fans can recognize that Hal Steinbrenner and Hank Steinbrenner [mean it] when they say they intend to put a team on the field that can compete on a yearly basis," he added.