Yankees Plan B Wasn't Built for Postseason

Yankees Plan B

The ones Hal Steinbrenner and company portrayed as viable successors, Cody Bellinger and Max Fried, were expected to drastically improve the roster out of spring training. While their regular season success was evident, the result was still another disappointing finish.

Past numbers are not indicative of future success, as Aaron Judge taught us for the Yankees' most recent playoff run, but for a team that has made questionable decisions for the last 15 years since their last championship, replacing an all-time postseason bat in Soto, with two players who have struggled to rise when the games matter most, should have been more of a red flag.

In Soto's career, he has had 191 plate appearances in October, hitting .281/.389/.538 with 11 home runs and 30 RBI. The teams that he has been on are 26-17 in the playoffs. Soto's World Series numbers are immaculate as well. In his two appearances with the Yankees and Nationals, he has hit .326/.473/.674. He also has more strikeouts than walks, with a ratio of 12 walks and 10 whiffs.

His introduction to the fall classic came in 2019. At 21 years old, Soto stared that behemoth 2019 Houston Astros team down. Powered by a trio of this generation's most dominant aces, Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Zack Greinke, Soto showed no fear. The Soto Shuffle was introduced to the national stage, and he took both Cole and Verlander deep. A 96 MPH fastball from Gerrit Cole on the outer half of the plate was sent opposite field to the train tracks. It's a feat of strength most ball players dream of.

From the moment Soto presented himself to the world, he was ready for the big game. He showed that with the Yankees, where his epic blast in the ALCS sent them to the World Series for the first time since 2009. It was a match made in heaven until it wasn't.

Once the ink dried on Soto's contract with the Mets, it was time for the Yankees to look elsewhere. Within a day, they pivoted to Max Fried. A week later, they landed Cody Bellinger for Cody Poteet. It was an obvious salary dump for the Chicago Cubs so they could land Kyle Tucker.

Early Success, Bad Ending

Early on, their regular season success was unmistakable. They helped the Yankees come out to a seven-game lead in the division, before that lead dissolved. The team eventually corrected course, and all eyes were on October as they usually are in the Bronx.

What was most unfortunate for the Yankees was that Bellinger and Fried's regular season successes did not pay off during the postseason. Bellinger hit .214/.358/.393 with a home run and 4 RBI. Max Fried went toe-to-toe with Garret Crochet in his first start, but his meltdown on the road in Toronto was a massive part of the team's latest demise. Fried finished his first postseason run with the Yankees with a 6.75 ERA. He allowed seven earned runs in 9.1 IP.

It should have come as no surprise to the Yankees, though. This is who Bellinger and Fried have been throughout their playoff careers. Fried has a 5.31 ERA in 76.1 innings, and Bellinger has hit .211/.282/.378. Their numbers with the Yankees are right in line with where they always have been.

It is fitting that the front office, which has authored one of the longest championship droughts in the team's history, landed two guys who have struggled during a time of the year they themselves have claimed is the only part of the season that matters. It's still too early to say whether losing Judge's potential successor to the crosstown Mets will play out in their favor, but if Steinbrenner is going to speak up about the prosperity of Plan B in the near future, nobody wants to hear it. For now Plan B is a mirage.

The only guarantee is that the Yankees will sell fans and media on the next incarnation of their fallback option as a great success once they enter Spring Training.

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