This is the time of year you begin to hear more about prospects. You hear about ones who could be traded and ones who teams don’t want to part with. The latter are viewed as potential parts of a new “core” of “homegrown” players that will lead the team to great success in the years to come.
This isn’t just about the Yankees; it’s really about all teams and the way they value prospects, the way they view short-term fixes vs. long-term solutions. Ideally every team would love a crop of All-Star caliber young talent that won’t cost as much to retain as veteran free agents.