KEEP ROOTING FOR THE PLAYERS!

As bad as the Yankees season has begun, they are making progress. By no means is this a difficult mountain to climb. They reached .500 then plummeted down a few notches and now they are at .500 again. Whether or not the Yankees start making a run for the postseason or not is up to them. Bottom line, there are plenty of reasons to still root for individual players.

For starters, it has been great to see Austin Romine, who was all but written off at the beginning of 2015, get some semi-regular time and perform both at dish and behind it. He may be one of the best feel good stories for us die hard fans.

Rob Refsnyder has seen more action and has succeeded overall (Read .500, MIGRANES & HARD WORK PAYS OFF). It’s great to see him get a chance to play with Tex, Parmelee and Ackley sidelined. Sometimes you just need a chance!

Seeing some younger, inexperienced players like the above mentioned have some success bodes well with how they can help the club in the future. It also allows them experience and a ‘try out’ of sorts as the Yankees look into the future.

As for the veterans, not only would their success help lead the Yankees to victories but it would also enhance their trade value throughout the summer. Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman, Brett Gardner and Carlos Beltran stick out to me as guys who could bring in a return if the Yankees decide to sell over the next seven weeks.

Carlos Beltran hasn’t quite lived up to his contract, but has not been a complete disaster either. He has been the Yankees best hitter over the first nine weeks though and is on pace for 40 home runs! His .272/.301/.549 slash line with 15 home runs and 38 RBI should be attractive to a team needing a playoff experienced rental bat come July. We need him to stay hot in order to help the Yankees win, which he does, and also keep his value high.

Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman are very similar in what they can offer on the trade market. There have been speculations already but there is no need to beat a dead horse there. Miller has several years of team control, making him higher valued, while Chapman is a free agent this fall. The three headed monster in the bullpen is fantastic but so wouldn’t acquiring some young, Major League ready, or close to, talent. If the price and circumstances are right, these two pieces could be the best way to improve the roster and the upper echelons of the minor leagues.

Offers for Brett Gardner and pretty much anyone else on the current roster should be considered by Brian Cashman assuming the Yankees think that selling is the right move. Nathan Eovaldi is another intriguing piece (and I would hate to see him moved since he is young, still controllable for another year and is still learning how to pitch. Read THE "TRADING EOVALDI" RUMOR if you haven't seen it yet.)

Still, it’s early June and the Yankees are finally back at .500. This is baseball and they still have plenty of games to play.  But the Yankees are now at 4 in a row, and in baseball it means a hot streak could be coming.

I’m a glass (of beer) half full kind of guy and still have hope for contention but am also realistic that an on-the-go rebuild is necessary. However this season plays out in terms of wins and losses I can handle, as long as the organization makes a decision to either go after the playoffs if they’re close or sell, sell, sell their marketable pieces if they aren’t.

At the very least though we can still enjoy rooting for the individuals on the roster as they can help the organization in several different ways.

 --Dan Lucia
BYB Senior Writer
Twitter: @DManLucia

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