Bronx Bomber Ball

The two most critical non-player positions are open as the 2017 offseason begins, as GM Brian Cashman and Manager Joe Girardi contracts have expired. The GM of the New York Yankees is one of the most coveted positions in all of the sports and probably one of the most stressful as well, but Cashman has done his job incredibly well, and will likely garner a lot of interest. Let’s look at the man himself. Photo Credit: John Munson | NJ.com

The Yankees parted ways with quite a few impactful players during their sell off at the trade deadline and in free agency in an attempt to decrease their payroll and get younger as they roll into the youth movement. Obviously, Brian Cashman since reacquired the traded Aroldis Chapman, but I will be providing you all with an update on the former Yankees who the team has seen depart over the last season.   Photo Via Outside Pitch

The Yankees bats were able to come alive Saturday afternoon as they won 11-5 in Pittsburgh. Having a mix of veterans and youth, the Yankees offense has been inconsistent at times, but completely different from last year. In April 2016, the Yankees scored 73 total runs, this season with seven games remaining in the month the Yankees have scored 91 runs. On Sunday, the Yankees were going up against a familiar face in the likes of Ivan Nova. Last summer, knowing that the 29-year-old was due to become a free agent, the Yankees sent Nova to Pittsburgh for a minor-league outfielder and left handed pitcher. Nova has been solid in the Burgh, and signed a three-year deal worth north of 26 million dollars. The Yankees are known for struggling against pitchers they are seeing for the first time, but how would they fare against one of their own that most likely has a chip on his shoulder? Photo Credit: Gene J. Puskar | AP

While the New York Yankees impressive youth movement and shocking playoff push continue, it’s never too early to start taking a look at pieces to potentially add to the team. We shouldn’t expect the Yankees to be major players this winter, in what is shaping up to be a fairly weak free agent class. However, they are the Yankees, and no scenario should be thought of as impossible. Let’s take a look at some potential names and positions that could be of service to the Yankees.

Ladies and gentlemen, the New York Yankees are officially in rebuilding mode. As a fan who has seen nothing but winning, never in my life did I think I would utter those words. In the days leading up to the deadline the Yankees traded Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, Carlos Beltran, and even Ivan Nova! While seeing the first three players depart saddens me as a fan, they were moves that had to be made. The Yankees brought back a significant return in terms of prospects for Chapman, Miller, and Beltran as they look ahead towards a brighter future. While General Manager Brian Cashman has been lauded as a genius in many circles, I find such praise to be grossly premature. Let's not forget that he's the same man who dug us into this hole. That being said, I'm looking forward to seeing the many talented young players the Yankees acquired develop in the coming years. Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

As a New York baseball fan, this is one of the best times of the year, the Subway Series between the Yankees and Mets. Although neither team will probably win their respective divisions, the Mets are still within reaching distance of a Wild Card spot, as they sit just 2.5 games behind the Marlins.  Last season was just the fourth time that both made the playoffs, as the Mets ended up losing in the World Series. This season, the Yankees have entered sell-mode and the Mets have struggled with their offense and key injuries. Entering this series, both teams have really struggled lately. The Yankees have lost four straight, including getting swept against the lowly Rays this past weekend. The four-game skid has dropped them back to a .500 record at 52-52. The Mets were also on a four-game losing streak before yesterday’s comeback victory, as they head in with a 54-50 record.

Following impressive series victories against the Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants, and Houston Astros, the Yankees once again took two steps backwards against the last place Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees dropped to 52-50, still only four games out of the second wild card spot. Unfortunately, Ivan Nova struggled from the very beginning. In perhaps, and for that matter hopefully, his last game in a Yankee uniform, Nova could not mitigate his damages, giving up five earned runs in 4.1 innings pitched. Tonight, he was not bailed out by the inconsistent offense, which was shut down against Rays starter Jake Odorizzi. Photo Credit: AP Photo/Mike Carlson

The New York Yankees (52-49), will begin a three game set on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays (39-61), the final series before the trade deadline. Winners of seven of their last ten games, the Yankees will look to continue their hot streak and (unfortunately) not sell at the deadline. This series could ultimately decide the Yankees future. If they lose two of three or get swept, they will almost definitely become full-blown sellers. But if they win two of three or sweep the Rays, they will most likely stand pat at the deadline.

A free agent at the end of the season, Ivan Nova’s name has been floated around in trade rumors for a while now, dating back to last season. Sure, he’s really just a back-end of the rotation type arm, but the pitching market is heavily inflated this summer. His 4.65 ERA isn’t attractive, but his 2.66 ERA in his last four starts has increased his trade value. With a severe lack of high-end talent for starting pitching, Nova would bring back a return higher than most would expect, despite his fairly mediocre career numbers. With this being said, here are a few teams that could be interested in acquiring Nova. Jim McIssac - Getty Images

In an extra inning marathon that no one seemed to want to win, Mac Williamson drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the 12th inning, giving the San Francisco Giants a 2-1 win on Saturday afternoon. The Yankees middle relief was once again the culprit - Anthony Swarzak took the loss following four dominant innings of scoreless relief from No Runs DMC. With the win the Giants snapped a six-game losing streak. The Yankees, meanwhile, are now 5-4 on a critical 10 game home stand coming out of the All-Star break. Photo Credit: Elsa | Getty Images

With the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline rapidly approaching, the Yankees front office of general manager Brian Cashman, team president Randy Levine, and owner Hal Steinbrenner are in a power struggle. While Cashman wants the team to sell and get younger, Levine and Steinbrenner want this team to make a playoff push (most likely to sell tickets and make money), and buy at the deadline. However, at 49-47, seven games behind Boston in the AL East and five and a half out of the second wild card spot behind Toronto, it looks as though the Yankees are better off playing for 2017 and beyond. So with that, let’s take a look at potential trade bait players for the New York Yankees if they do become sellers. Photo Credit: Getty Images

This series possesses an interesting interleague matchup between the Yankees and San Francisco Giants. The Giants are currently battling for the best record in baseball, despite having been swept in the past two series against the Padres and Red Sox. Already having three World Series titles this decade, the Giants have continued their status as the best team in the 2010’s. On the other hand, the Yankees haven’t won one since 2009 and are likely not headed to this year’s postseason. Hovering around the .500 mark all season, the Yankees have come out of the All-Star break playing really good baseball. Despite the way they've played, they haven't gained much ground in the AL Wild Card race, still sitting 5.5 games behind the Blue Jays heading into Friday.

The Yankees opened their four-game series with the division leading  Baltimore Orioles on Monday and they sent Ivan Nova to the hill. Nova  came into Monday’s contest hanging onto his rotation spot by a thread.  If the Yankees want to make a playoff push, it’s necessary that they  win a minimum of three games this series. They got off on the right foot on Monday winning a tightly contest matchup by a score of 2-1. Photo Credit: Al Bello | Getty Images

After salvaging the final game of a three-game set against Boston, the Yankees host the Baltimore Orioles for a four-game series. New York, which went into the All-Star Break with an even record of 44-44, now sits a game below at 45-46 after dropping two of three to start the second half. The O’s, on the other hand, sit at 53-37, good enough for first place in the American League East. They took two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays in their most recent series, and they haven’t lost a series since being swept by the Seattle Mariners on July 1-4. These two teams have already met six times this season, with Baltimore winning four of the six. These games will most likely prove to be pivotal to the Yankees’ season, especially with the trade deadline fast approaching. If the Yankees’ performance in four-game series this year is indicative of future performance, we can expect them to do pretty well. Of the six four-gamers they’ve played this year, they’ve won five, with a 2-2 split against t...

The Yankees began a four game series against the red-hot Cleveland Indians with a narrow 5-4 victory following disappointing visits to San Diego and Chicago, where they dropped two out of three in each respective series. Ivan Nova pitched well enough to keep the Yankees in the game, while the offense did just enough to put the game in the hands of the team's biggest strength: (no run) DMC, which did not disappoint. AP Photo/Tony Dejak

Heading into this season, neither one of these teams had high expectations nor they were expected to win their respective divisions. Through 84 games, the Yankees have been as advertised, continuing their mediocrity, as they have gone 41-43. They have been one of the more streaky teams in baseball in every facet of the game with their bullpen, offense, defense, and rotation. On the other hand, the Indians have taken a 6.5 game lead over the Tigers, thanks in large part to their recent 14 game winning streak. Incredibly, before Wednesday’s loss against division-rival Detroit, they had not lost a home game since May 31. Their 51-33 record is good for fourth best in the majors. They will look to continue their fantastic first half when they take on the New York Yankees for the first time this season, at Progressive Field.

The Yankees were unable to come out with a win in the the rubber match against the White Sox. The final score was 5-0 in a game that became out of the Yankees reach early on with most of the lineup struggling to hit Miguel Gonzalez. AP Photo/Matt Marton

With an intriguing pitching matchup of two pitchers trending in opposite directions in Ivan Nova for the Yankees vs. Drew Pomeranz for the Padres, Nova had to be on top of his game to keep the Yankees in the ballgame. He did just that. However, the Padres (35-46) left the game as walk-off winners when Melvin Upton Jr. belted the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth inning way over the left field wall to beat the Yankees (39-41) in the second game of the series to give San Diego a 2-1 victory. Photo Credit: Lenny Ignelzi | AP

The Yankees are coming off a split against the American League’s top team, the Texas Rangers. After being outplayed and games one and two and for the most part of game three the Bronx Bombers were able to rally late on Wednesday and walk-off thanks to a Didi Gregorius home run. Michael Pineda came up huge in game four and “No Runs DMC” lived up to their name, the Yanks were able to walk off again after Robinson Chirinos let a Tony Barnette pitch by to the backstop allowing Chase Headley to score. The Yankees now sit with a 39-39 record good for 4 th  place in the AL East. That being said these last two wins over the Rangers were beyond impressive and showed that these guys still have some fight left in them. That brings us to this weekend series where it will be a rematch of the 1998 World Series when the Bombers travel west to sunny San Diego to take on the Padres.

The Yankees rotation is everything but a model of consistency. With the likes of Michael Pineda (who has been much better as of late), Nathan Eovaldi, and especially Ivan Nova getting the ball every fifth day, the Yankees are unsure what type of performance they will receive on any given night. As frustrating as they may be, Pineda and Eovaldi have tremendous talent and have even exhibited potential at the major league level. Nova, on the other hand, has no future with this organization. He's been with the team since 2010, and at 29 years old, will be heading into free agency this offseason. In a season that everyone, except Yankees upper management, realizes is lost, it would be much more conducive to the team's long-term interests to call up Luis Severino to replace the struggling Nova. Although Severino struggled during his brief stint in the majors this year, he is only 22 years old. Moving forward, he is one of the cornerstones on which the organization is depending on for...