Yankees rumors are at a fever pitch with trade and free agent speculation still running rampant, but from one analyst's perspective, the Yankees haven't done enough this offseason to be considered a playoff team yet.
ESPN Insider columnist David Schoenfield released his preseason team rankings today for the middle of the pack in Major League Baseball, placing the New York Yankees 14th overall out of 30 Major League Baseball teams.
Schoenfield also predicted that the Yankees will finish 84-78, and miss the playoffs once again.
In Schoenfield's eyes, "the Yankees will at least be far more interesting than last year." However, Schoenfield is not sold on the additions, nor the state of the roster--"Don't forget that they've lost a closer, a starting pitcher who had a good year, the infield is old and they're counting on 39-year-old Hiroki Kuroda to give them 200 innings."
The ESPN analyst continued on expressing doubts about the New York Yankees' current construction, stating, "no team has won with a 40-year-old shortstop and Teixeira was good, but not great in 2011 and 2012 anyway."
All in all, Schoenfield believes that the New York Yankees "will be better than last year, but they could actually end up winning fewer games," giving credence to the fact that several American League contenders also made significant upgrades to their rosters during the offseason.