NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — There was a time, not so long ago, that a move as huge as the Red Sox obtaining Chris Sale would have moved the Yankees to at least as substantial a counter-attack.
But that was then, this is now.
The Red Sox acquired David Price (free agency) and Craig Kimbrel (trade) last offseason, and the Yankees reacted by being the only one of 30 teams that did not sign a major league free agent.
By the trade deadline, they were going in the opposite direction, trading Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller for huge prospects. They were trying to catch the Red Sox in another way — by building a talented base of young prospects, specifically position players. They have done most of the heavy lifting in that area, and will be viewed as starting 2017 with one of the best farm systems in the majors, if not the best.
By doing a better job of cultivating prospects — but also finishing in last place three times from 2012 to 2015 — the Red Sox have been able to make a series of big trades over the past 13 months for Kimbrel, Drew Pomeranz and now Chris Sale.
Almost all of that accumulation was done under former Red Sox GM Ben Cherington, who resigned in August 2015 when Dave Dombrowski was hired above him as head of baseball operations. Part of that buildup included signing Cuban import Yoan Monada for a combined $63 million in bonus and tax money.
The Yankees were deeply involved in pursuing Moncada, and depending on whom you ask, they either did not want to spend that amount on an amateur or the negotiation did not go well. Either way, it led to Moncada pivoting to Boston. Moncada and starter Michael Kopech were the key pieces that landed Sale.
The addition of Sale turns what already was the AL East favorites into arguably the AL favorites. The Yankees now must decide what they will do in response.
I believe they should just stay the course: trying to get good enough to contend at least for a wild card in 2017, continuing to protect the minor league system, letting the best prospects get major league experience and then becoming as aggressive as the Red Sox next offseason.
The Yankees believe they have indexed so much talent throughout their system that they will begin to have serious 40-man roster problems next offseason, and teams in such situations usually alleviate that burden in part by putting multiple prospects in a trade for a more established star.
There is little the Yankees can do in the next weeks and months before the start of the season to close the 2017 talent gap with the Red Sox. To do so just out of some past spirit of The Rivalry would be to detour off of what has been a strong path to get younger and more flexible (in terms of the roster and finances) to sustain championship contention for a long period.
The Yankees have been more patient than at just about any time since George Steinbrenner bought the team in 1973. They need just a bit more of that to be better positioned to outdo the Red Sox.