Now that the World Series is over, after a minute to take a breath, the Hot Stove Season begins.
For the Yankees, Tanaka has three days to opt out of his deal. I think he won’t. If he does, the Yanks have their first big decision to make, if they haven’t already done so. And oh yeah, they need to find a manager. But they are set at almost every position. Sure, they’d like to add some pitching, a DH and dump Ellsbury’s deal, but otherwise, they have talent up and down the lineup with more to come from the farm. Castro could be traded to clear the way for Gleyber, but I wouldn’t give the second sacker away for nothing. He’s still young and he can rake.
The Mets have their manager already, but their reconstruction job is bigger. They are unsettled at third, second, centerfield, right field, the bullpen and to an extent, the rotation. And that’s assuming that Smith, D’arnaud, Rosario, Cespedes and Conforto are back healthy and improving. Mets fans are wary that the budget will be limited so Alderson may opt to go with lesser players to save money.
Let’s not anoint the Yanks as the next dynasty, especially since the Tribe and Astros are young and aren’t going away anytime soon. But the Bombers’ immediate future looks a lot brighter than the Mets’. Just d
on’t forget that a year ago, we assumed the opposite was true.
