The Yankees should go for it – by trading Aroldis Chapman. Sounds counterintuitive, I know.
The Yankees are on the verge of dealing Chapman, probably to the Cubs, for the most overt reasons: They are unlikely to make the playoffs (Fangraphs puts their chances at less than 9 percent) and it is just sound business, in that scenario, to get far more in return for Chapman than the Yankees gave up last offseason.
This is what non-contenders do annually, what the Yankees have avoided for nearly a quarter of a century.
Except these are the Yankees.