The offseason is now in full swing in New York. It could very easily bring a lot of changes towards the franchise. After opting to stay put at the trade deadline, the Yankees might not take the same approach this upcoming winter. They got very little return on investment from some of their highest paid players as rookies like Greg Bird, Luis Severino and Rob Refsnyder are on the rise. So who ends up on the chopping block this offseason?
Ivan Nova is aware that he is on the hot seat heading into the winter. The pitcher was moved to the bullpen for the wild card game while many believed he might not even be an option if the Yankees were to have made the playoffs. Nova is coming off a disappointing year following Tommy John surgery and according to the New York Daily News, he is at risk of heading elsewhere soon. Nova simply described his return as "bad."
"I still believe in myself," Nova said, via NJ.com. "I'm confident in myself that I can pitch better than what I did. I lost 11 games. I didn't pitch the way I would like to pitch. I was struggling the whole year."
The Yankees have some questions to answer in the pitching rotation. After seeing Nova struggle, Masahiro Tanaka deal with injuries and CC Sabathia enter rehab, the team could become players for bigger names. This offseason will see David Price, Johnny Cueto and potentially Zack Greinke become available while other big names could become options in trades. In need of upgrades, the Yankees are expected to be in the mix for several pitchers. Fans can also expect trade talk for players like Craig Kimbrel to pick up once again.
Young infielders are also on the rise in New York. Bird and Refsnyder are pegged as the future of the team. Stephen Drew's contract is expiring which will make the transition easy for Refsnyder, but the situation for Bird is a little more complicated. The rookie got the first base spot thanks to the injury to Mark Teixeira. The veteran ended up with a season-ending injury and as he has one year left on his contract, Bird makes him trade bait. Teixeira has been an injury risk his entire Yankees' career which has overshadowed any production at the plate. He could be on the outs thanks to the rookie's hot bat. NJ.com reported that the Yankees could have sought a deal for Teixeira had they known he was going to get injured which could be telling of his future.
