The MLB rumor mill started swirling early Friday with speculation that New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira would retire, and it was made official when the 14-year veteran announced 2016 would be his last season at a 3 p.m. press conference.
Mark Teixeira announces he will retire following the 2016 season.https://t.co/rpQIXlg2fJ
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 5, 2016
With the 36-year-old slugger – whose eight-year, $180 million contract with the Yankees expires after the 2016 season – calling it a career, it is the fourth veteran player the Bronx Bombers managed to alleviate from their overly expensive and aged roster in the last two weeks.
General manager Brian Cashman traded lefty relievers Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller to the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians respectively, and also sent veteran outfielder Carlos Beltran to the Texas Rangers.
With those trades Cashman has solidified the franchise’s shift in direction from “winning now ” to “building for the future” by recharging the Yankees’ farm system. The prospects acquired from the aforementioned trades were headlined by shortstop Gleyber Torres from the Cubs and outfielder Clint Frazier from the Indians.
All these moves and Teixeira’s possible retirement spurs daydreaming about what the younger, more hip Yankees squad will look like. So we put together a potential starting lineup for the 2019 New York Yankees based on prospects and free agent signings:
Jacoby Ellsbury (L) RF – The only reason Ellsbury remains in this lineup is because the Yankees signed him to a $153 million contract through 2020. Hopefully by then he can be the bat the Yankees expected him to be when the team offered him that monumental deal.
Gleyber Torres (R) SS – With already solid defense, Torres’ bat should be major league ready after spending 1 to 2 years in the Yankees’ farm system
Bryce Harper (L) CF – If available in the 2018-19 free agent pool you can bet the Yankees will throw a good chunk of change at the 2015 NL MVP.
Yoenis Cespedes (R) LF – The Cuban outfielder could move across town if he doesn’t opt out of his current contract with the Mets after the 2016 season, which would then make him available during that 2018-19 free agent class.
Gary Sanchez (R) C – The young catcher is still unproven, but he is making the most of his first chance with Yankees when the team called him to start at DH instead of Alex Rodriguez. By 2019 he could be the Yankees everyday catcher.
Greg Bird (L) 1B – Teixeira’s likely successor and proved he could produce on a major league level when he filled in for the injured Teixeira during 2015.
Didi Gregorius (L) 3B – As a talented infielder, Gregorius will likely transition to third base if and when it’s time to call Torres up to shortstop, and his production this year has earned him the No. 2 spot in the lineup.
Brian McCann (L) DH – McCann’s services are contracted through 2019 and as long as he produces at the plate he will be a solid DH, who can catch every now and then to give Sanchez a day off.
Starlin Castro (R) 2B – The second baseman is proven major leaguer entering his prime and will round out this loaded Yankees roster.
One might ask, “Why 2019?” The answer is because 2017 and 2018 will likely be transition years as the newly acquired prospects develop in the minor leagues. And because it’s way more fun to imagine the roster after the Yankees likely big splash in what’s predicted to be the deepest free agent class in MLB history during 2018-19.
Now, all the Yankees have to do is get rid of their $21 million benchwarmer Alex Rodriguez and they will officially turn the page to a new era of baseball in the Bronx.