To Sell or Not: What The Yankees Should Do At The Deadline

The heavily debated topic of what the Yankees plans are for the July 31st trade deadline continues to make headlines. With the All Star break behind them the team finds itself in a precarious position in the standings, close enough to still contend yet not close enough to guarantee it. Brian Cashman has recently stated that he would like to begin selling off the Yankees assets so that they can get as much as they can in deals with contending teams However this has been rebutted by Yankees President Randy Levine and the Steinbrenner’s whom believe the club can still compete for a playoff spot despite most of the organization siding with Cashman. 

What actually happens is entirely up to the what the consensus is, so here's my take on why the team should sell or not come the end of the month.

Why They Should Sell

Currently, the Yankees are 44-44 and sit 7.5 games out of first place in the AL East and 5.5 games out of the second wild card spot. With a god run making up the difference sounds easy, but that may not be the case for this team. The starting pitching is very inconsistent and they're not getting much production out of the middle of their lineup. These factors alone will make it very difficult to make a strong push. Trading away the likes of Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman, Brian McCann, and Carlos Beltran would more than likely land a pretty nice haul of prospects that would satisfy their somewhat talent starved minor league system and build upon the future that Cashman wants to put in place. Standing pat would prove much too risky if nothing comes of it and it's best that Yankees use the deadline for all it's worth.

Why They Should Not

While dealing away assets seems to be the more pertinent move, there is the chance that the Yankees find a way to close the gap before July 31st. Should that happen, there will be more of a need to buy at the deadline than sell. Though it could compromise the minors, the Yankees could find a suitable pitcher or hitter that would help take them over the hump and into the playoffs. There is also the off chance the current roster hits a groove that sparks a win streak and erases the deficit, making holding onto their important players look like a season saving decision.

Are The Yankees Doing The Right Thing?

Girardi and Cashman have bet on the Yankees future.
Photo Credit: Leon Halip/Getty Images

The offseason is almost at its end and the Yankees remain the only team to have not signed a major free agent on the open market. A far cry from their free agency techniques of the past 15 years. There are some who will believe that this is a sign the the team is fully committed to Brian Cashman's plan of building from within. However, doubters will not share these same sentiments, feeling that the lack of initiative will doom the club in the long run. Whichever side one chooses to pick seems to be of little concern to the Yankees brass as they plan how they can compete for a championship in 2016 and beyond.

Despite their firm stance on their payroll ($210 Million for 2016), the Yankees haven't been completely stagnant this winter as they acquired the services of Starlin Castro, Aroldis Chapman and Aaron Hicks in offseason trades. In addition, the club signed veteran pitchers Anthony Swarzak and Kirby Yates to minor league contracts. These moves give the club both stability and options in areas that were a bit problematic last season.

Unfortunately the one area that is probably most concerning to the Yankees and fans alike is starting pitching. There have been talks of having a 6 man rotation to compensate for the potential lack of innings that may come out of the group (considering the health of the staff). While that could be a viable solution, there is no guarantee that if will help each pitcher in the long run. It's understandable that the Yankees did not want to risk putting loads of money into a top or even second tier pitcher whom may or may not work out, especially since they really haven't had one live up to their expectations since Mike Mussina (though one could argue Sabathia's first for years).

Now that it's known that top prospect Greg Bird will miss the season with shoulder surgery (despite the fact that he was set be in minors for the duration of it), things could change on the free agent front. Whether they reach out the Pedro Alvarez or go a completely different route, one has to believe the Yankees will do whatever is deemed necessary to have a successful 2016 season without jeopardizing the future.