A big-time feeling hanging out there in the world of baseball execs is that the New York Yankees are the sleeping giants to land free-agent pitcher Max Scherzer. After all, these are the Yankees and they've missed the playoffs two years in a row. I'm actually surprised their payroll hasn't ballooned up to $300 million yet.
After 2008, the Yankees went wild during the offseason. They were angry and ashamed. And like The Hulk, you won't like it when they're angry. The rest of baseball didn't enjoy it either as they went on a supermarket-sweeps type shopping spree which resulted in their latest World Series Championship in 2009.
The question is though, should they even think about pursuing Scherzer?
Scherzer, 30, is still on the top of his game. He was named the AL Cy Young award winner in 2013 and threw solid ball this past season with a record of 18-5, 252 strikeouts and a 3.15 ERA. He'd help the Yankees immediately, so what's to think about you ask?
Well, signing Scherzer would emulate the exact reason the Yankees are in the struggling spot they're in right now. Not building talent within, and signing older, big-name free agents has caused an uneven personnel disaster in their system.
The short-term rewards pay dividends, but the long-term payouts are all too harmful and familiar.
Let's look at this roster right now.
When dealing with their everyday lineup, across the board we have aging veterans. Brian McCann, Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, and Martin Prado are all over 30 years old. The only regular that actually came through the system is Brett Gardner, and he's also over that magic mark of 30. Having these veterans on such lucrative contracts automatically locks them into their everyday positions, leaving no possibility for a youngster to step up and grab some playing time which kills development.
Not only that, but injuries come fast and furious. New York has dealt with more injuries than any other team in baseball. Year after year, they've been dealt big-blows. Could it just be bad luck? No chance, this team is assembled poorly, and age hurts.
The pitching staff isn't all that better. CC Sabathia is locked in for another ridiculous three-years. These will be years that are painful, as we've already seen the decline and constant injuries plague the burly-lefty.
Masahiro Tanaka is literally the only Yankee star that's under the age of 30. He's young, he's unbelievable, he's also littered with injury concerns. The point is though, if you only have one star well under 30, then you're banking a lot that he doesn't get hurt.
The bullpen is the only bright spot as it relates to talent and youth. Dellin Betances broke-out in a major way this past season, and David Robertson is a bonafide MLB closer. Both guys were groomed through the Yankees farm, the right way; an interesting coincidence I might add.
Signing Max Scherzer will only add-on to the flawed personnel setup this team has going for them. It's construction is impatient and silly. The franchise could get away with doing it for a number of years only because of how deep the pocketbook is, but now they've finally hit that wall, that point of no return where everything is coming to a head.
Brian Cashman and company need to realize that a new-day is necessary. They will have to dump, or allow contracts to expire, draft smart, and struggle for a couple of seasons while development of youngsters takes place.
Regardless of whether they sign Scherzer or not, it's going to be a long rebuilding process in Yankee land. Signing Scherzer will only complicate things, and make that process even longer.
Stop the madness. Let the 30-year-old pitcher go elsewhere and start building from within.
You know what they say the definition of insanity is, right? The act of doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. The Yankees need to escape that stigma.