Keeping This Young, Nucleus Together Will Be Costly

So, yesterday marked the first of what is expected to be multiple contract extension signings for the Yankees.  Luis Severino signed a four year extension, which “buys out his arbitration years, and is worth $40 million and could max out at $52.25 million through the fifth season, league sources told ESPN.” Keeping this young, nucleus together is going to be costly and “we have to manage our payroll in the present as well as the future,’’ Cashman said. “There’s going to be paydays coming down and you have to prepare for those.’’ So, does  this mean that guys like Aaron Judge and even Gary Sanchez will be signing papers potentially before the 2019 season?

“Cashman wouldn’t say specifically if he’s engaged representatives for Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez about long-term deals, but “we’ve approached certain players and we are always open, for the right people, to do things and find common ground if that’s at all possible,” reported NJ.com.

If these guys earned the right to be invested in, then, by all means, invest is what I say.  This is exactly why the Yankees can’t be throwing money at guys like Manny Machado or Bryce Harper who have not demonstrated that they will be able to perform at the level they are predicted to in years 7, 8 or 9.  We need to save our cash for Judge, Sanchez and potentially Didi Gregorius and Aaron Hicks.  Many also speculate that depending on how Dellin Betances performs this year that he will get a contract extension, protecting his role on the Yankees over the next couple of years minimally.

The Yankees have learned through costly contracts that investing in today without thinking about tomorrow just doesn’t make sense.  Jacoby Ellsbury is one reason.  Alex Rodriguez is another reason.  We could go on, but we all know that the Yankees have invested in players for the long haul and that, for lack of a better word, has bitten them in the butt.

As Cashman admitted, “Overall, “we try not to do bad business, although I have been guilty of doing some bad business deals,’’ Cashman said. “It’s not intentional, but we do try to do sound business where people can look at and mostly say that makes sense.’’

Keeping this young, nucleus together will be costly but very much worth it when it comes to Aaron Judge and Didi Gregorius.  I am still unsure how Gary Sanchez and Aaron Hicks fit in the Yankees’ future, but if they perform, they will be part of investment in the Yankees’ future.

Glad for Sevy and looking forward to “locking up” a few more guys in the weeks and months to come.

–Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof