Are the Yankees Following the Red Sox Blueprint For Success?

The Yankees and Red Sox are battling it out atop the AL East, which brings one back to the early 2000s, when these two teams were virtually competing solely against one another to crown a division champion, with the Yankees more often than not edging out Boston. However, the tables have turned, and since 2004 the Red Sox have three world titles while the Yankees have only had one. In the last two seasons in particular, the Red Sox have relied on the emergence of young prospects, veteran leadership, and savvy trades/free-agent signings to be successful. Are the 2017 Yankees an original creation of Cashman and Steinbrenner, or were they inspired by the strategy employed by other teams in more recent years, such as the Royals, Cubs, and even (in an ironic twist) their arch rivals, the Boston Red Sox?

The Red Sox recently called up highly-talented prospect Rafael Devers to fix their gaping hole at third base, and he has revitalized the lineup. He, along with Xander Bogaerts, can grow to be one of, if not the best 3B/SS combo in the majors, not to mention their presence at the plate, with Bogaerts being considered the best two-strike hitter in all of baseball. The Red Sox also have an outfield stocked with young talent. The Killer B’s (Benintendi, Bradley, and Betts) have each regressed slightly at the plate this season, but are still putting up respectable numbers. Bradley and Betts are also playing outstanding defense, as Betts leads the AL with 2.1 dWAR this season. However, one shouldn’t forget about Dustin Pedroia, who provides veteran leadership to help these young prospects adjust to life in the big leagues while remaining a staple at second base, as well as in the lineup.

One can’t say that the Red Sox rebuilding strategy has been perfect, as they currently have a revolving door at catcher, first base, and DH. They are clearly affected by the departure of David Ortiz’s intimidating reputation in the DH spot. Hanley Ramirez has been productive at the plate, but his defense is less than stellar, to put it mildly. Mitch Moreland and Christian Vazquez are just now getting hot bats after struggling at the onset of this season. More than anything, the Red Sox have been plagued by injuries to their starting pitching, as well as poor free-agent signings, most notably Pablo Sandoval, David Price, and even Rusney Castillo, who many forget is still in AAA-Pawtucket.

Overall, I believe the Yankees have learned a thing or two from the Red Sox. It’s important to give Dave Dombrowski credit for sticking with Devers at third, rather than trying to orchestrate a trade to acquire Josh Donaldson, as tempting as the idea was. The Yankees have groomed a host of young talent including Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, and now Clint Frazier. They also made good trades for Sonny Gray and others by not having to give up too many big names within their stacked farm system, and added Matt Holliday in the offseason to add some veteran leadership in the lineup at a low-risk contract. Like the Sox, the Yankees aren’t perfect, and are sitting on their hands with some expensive free-agent contracts (I think I hear Jacoby Ellsbury’s name somewhere). While the Red Sox rebuilding efforts have been more or less successful, I believe the Yankees should look at themselves when deciding how the team will shape out in the coming years. The Yankees from the mid to late 90s are one of the best examples of how teams can keep sustaining success. The Yankees in that era were built with a core group of prospects (the core four comes to mind), some established veterans such as Paul O’Neill and Tino Martinez, and other guys that helped create unbreakable clubhouse chemistry. All of these elements, and also a little bit of luck, are the keys to shaping the next great baseball dynasty, whomever that may be.