Bronx Bomber Ball

The New York Yankees entered the 2021 season as World Series favorites but struggled through mediocrity and general malaise over the course of the entire season before fizzling out well short of their goal in the American League Wild Card Game at the hands of hated rivals Boston Red Sox.  Two weeks after their playoff elimination, it was announced Manager Aaron Boone's contract would be renewed for three more seasons with a fourth-year option.  Writers of the BBB weigh in on both below:   Photo Credit: Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

One of the last pieces to fit into the Yankees' 2021 puzzle, before today, could be stated along the lines of... "What about Brett Gardner?"  Photo credit: NorthJersey.com

Credit: MLB.com                                 

  The New York Yankees have seemingly filled out their starting rotation after acquiring Pirates right hander Jameson Taillon in a trade today.   News that the Yankees were first pursuing Taillon broke last night from MLB.com insider Mark Feinsand .   The Yankees, up against Major League Baseball’s luxury tax line with little room to spare, were looking to add to their starting rotation at a lower AAV than would be available on the free agent market.   Today, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Yankees were able to complete the deal for Taillon, sending minor league prospects Miguel Yajure, Roansy Contreras, Maikel Escotto and Canaan Smith to Pittsburgh to complete the deal.

It’s official: Yankee veteran Brett Gardner will remain in the Bronx in 2020. Photo Credit: Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports

The Yankees come into this offseason ahead of the curve. The team wildly defied expectations in 2017 behind an MVP-caliber season by Aaron Judge and a Cy Young-caliber season from Luis Severino. The 91-win Yankees season concluded with a game seven loss in the ALCS to the eventual World Champion Houston Astros. From there, the Yankees wasted no time with their surprising that manager Joe Girardi would not return as the Yankee manager in 2018. With that, it is clear that Brian Cashman has full control of the New York Yankees, and they will look toward making some minor upgrades to field another competitive team in 2018. Unlike this past season, the Yankees will enter next year as one of the favorites in the American League, so many of the decisions made this offseason will factor into how this team can compete for a World Series in 2018, while also looking at the bigger picture of building a dynasty that is ready to begin in 2019 and run into the 2020's. Let's take a...

The 2017 New York Yankees were thought of to be a rebuilding club and not much more. While many of the experts picked them to finish in third or fourth in the American League East this season, the Baby Bombers carried a division race all the way until the second to last day of the season, ultimately capturing a Wild Card berth. An exciting postseason run saw the Bombers eliminate the top seeded Cleveland Indians and push the Houston Astros all the way to Game Seven, before ultimately falling short of their 41st American League crown. With the offseason now upon us, let's play GM to decide the fate of the 2017 New York Yankees. Will Masahiro Tanaka opt out of his deal? Will Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman be given new contracts? Will the Yankees bring back CC Sabathia? How about the logjam of middle infielders and aging DH-types like Starlin Castro, Jacoby Ellsbury and Chase Headley as well as pending free agents Matt Holliday, Michael Pineda, Jaime Garcia and Todd Frazier? Des...

Yankee fans have heard the same thing for the past few years about their club, “This team has a lot of holes and is not that talented,” then they surprisingly overachieve. This sudden success changes the conversation to “Look how great this team is!” Then they go through a slump, and all the critics come back calling for heads to roll, usually those of manager Joe Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman. This conversation is a yearly tradition for the media and fans, and this year is no different. As for this season, Joe’s contract is up after the year, and with the club possessing one of the top two or three farm systems, Cashman's spot is safe. Photo Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke/Newsday

There has long been speculation throughout the offseason that the Yankees will trade one of, if not both of Brett Gardner and Chase Headley. I’m an irrationally big Gardner fan, so I would prefer they keep him, but I would have no problem with a Chase Headley trade to shed payroll. However, in order to trade him, the Yankees need a trade partner. However, there are many quality third basemen out there that are better than Headley, which could make a trade difficult. There are not many teams that have a glaring need at third base, but here are some that I could see pursuing a Headley trade: Photo Credit: USATSI

It was not long ago I remember Doug Fister shutting down the Yankees in the fifth game of the 2011 Divisional Series. Fister’s outing seemed like it was the coming out party for the tall, lanky right-hander from California.   I also remember being shocked when the Tigers declared him on the trading block following the 2013 season, in which Fister finished with a 3.67 ERA and shined throughout the postseason. Detroit had decided to prioritize other pitchers ahead of the 27 year-old Fister and concluded they would not be able to sign him long term once his contract expired.   It seemed too good to be true that the Yankees had a chance to land a young impact starter on the rise, without shelling out a mega deal. Well, due to the drained farm system we were accustomed to at the time, it was. Fister was soon shipped off to the Washington Nationals. Photo Credit: Getty Images/Rick Yeatts

The hot stove may be cooling down, but there is still plenty to talk about at this time. In the last BBB podcast of 2016, Steven Eareckson and Chad Raines discuss the latest Yankees news. Steven and Chad cover the Matt Holliday and Aroldis Chapman signings, the recent trade rumors surrounding Jose Quintana and Andrew McCutchen, and the upcoming Hall of Fame vote. This podcast also previews what you should expect from the BBB moving forward into the New Year! We have many exciting features planned, and look forward to providing you, the readers, with more quality pieces as we get closer to the 2017 baseball season.

After a paradigm shift in 2016 the likes that most of us have never seen in our lifetimes, the New York Yankees enter the 2017 MLB season with a brand new look, a brand new philosophy, and a significant buzz that fans like myself haven't felt in years. Photo via Getty Images

Signed as an undrafted free-agent in July of 2011 as a ripe young 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic, Miguel Andujar has quickly risen the ranks in the New York Yankees' farm system.   He is currently considered the best third base prospect in the organization and is listed as the Yankees' seventh best overall prospect according to MLB.com . Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas | USA TODAY Sports

I’m going to preface this article by saying that I’m aware that it doesn’t make much sense to sign any slugger heading toward the wrong side of 30 to a big money deal. This is especially true for the Yankees since they seem to be shying away from lengthy contracts for older players and because they just brought in Matt Holliday whose best fit for the team is at the designated hitter position. In spite of those reasons, I think they should sign Edwin Encarnacion anyway.   My reasoning for this is that simply put, even at the age of 33 and even though he’s pretty much only a DH just like Holliday, he’s still a hitter to be feared at this point in his career. Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton | USA TODAY Sports

With Aroldis Chapman officially returning to the Yankees, Dellin Betances is back to being the set-up man in the eighth Inning. The bridge to the two, however, is a bit more in question. The roster currently has some viable options such as Tyler Clippard, Adam Warren, and a few others. But, the addition of Justin Wilson would add some flexibility in not only the bullpen, but the starting rotation as well. Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac | Getty Images

Brian Cashman no longer has the unlimited budget to build a winner in New York as he once did. Though, he still faces the same pressure from the New York media, the Yankee fan base, and most of all his bosses, to be a contender year in and year out. There certainly have been growing pains under the new Hal Steinbrenner way of operating. Over the past four seasons, the Yanks have only seen the playoffs once and it was an abbreviated appearance, losing a one game wildcard playoff to the Astros in 2015. The idea of the Yankees NOT making the playoffs year in and year out is a difficult one for some of the most spoiled fans in all of sports. But this recent spell should not be considered a knock on Cashman, as much as it is on the “old guard.” Photo Credit: Brad Penner | USA TODAY Sports

Now that the Yankees have filled their designated hitter and closer needs through free agency in the form of the soon to be 37-year old Matt Holliday and flamethrowing Aroldis Chapman, respectively, Brian Cashman's focus shifts to filling out the remaining holes in the 2017 Yankees roster. Namely, adding another middle reliever (likely one of the left-handed variety) and, more importantly, bringing another impact starting pitcher on board to fill out the rotation.  No name screams more of an obvious than the Chicago White Sox's newly crowned ace, left hander Jose Quintana. Photo Credit: Al Bello | Getty Images

Just last week, the Washington Nationals gave up a boat load of top prospects to acquire outfielder Adam Eaton from the Chicago White Sox. The Nationals gave up number one prospect Lucas Giolito, number three prospect Reynaldo Lopez and number six prospect Dane Dunning. While many around baseball thought that the Nationals gave up too much, the Yankees and their fans should rejoice because the trade made Brett Gardner’s value go way up. While Eaton has had a higher WAR than Gardner over the years, Gardner does have an All-Star nod and a gold glove to boot, something Eaton doesn’t have. Because the Nationals gave up their number one, three and six prospects, I decided to do some unrealistic hypotheticals and took the number one, three and six prospects from teams that might line up for a Gardner trade. Still, it is important to note that Gardner is not likely to get the same return that Eaton received, but here's what some trades could look like if he did, just for kicks. (E...

With the Major League Baseball offseason in full swing, teams are making moves to either help bolster their rosters for the upcoming season or stock up on on prospects for the future. So far this offseason, the Yankees have taken an approach pretty much right in the middle of the two. The Yanks are at an in-between period right now having a lot of talented young players on the roster as well as some veterans. After signing closer Aroldis Chapman and designated hitter Matt Holliday, you would think they will not be adding any more veterans. The question is, how many veterans does Brian Cashman want on the Opening Day roster? One veteran that comes to mind as a player the Yankees could look to move is outfielder Brett Gardner. Photo via Presswire

Yankees fans can finally exhale. On Wednesday night, the Yankees made closer Aroldis Chapman the richest reliever in baseball history. The Yankees and Chapman agreed to a five-year, $86 million dollar contract, easily topping previous contracts given to relievers. In a move that had seemed inevitable to some within the industry, the Yankees showed that they still have the financial resources to make a big deal happen. While the Yankees have shied away from handing out big contracts the last few off seasons, the re-addition of Chapman addresses a major need for the team. The elite reliever will resume where he left off prior to being traded to the Cubs around last year's trade deadline in a deal centered around top-prospect Gleyber Torres. During his appearances at Yankee Stadium last season, Chapman often dazzled the crowd with his ability to consistently top 100 MPH. The Yankees may be a few years away from competing for a championship, but one thing is for sure. Assuming he stays...