Two years ago, the New York Yankees got off to an 8-16 start and were never really a factor in the AL East race (they made a minor run in early September before finishing 84-78). With the team stumbling in midsummer, GM Brian Cashman traded Andrew Miller to the Indians and Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs, giving each of the eventual World Series participants a key bullpen component.
For the sport’s flagship franchise, it was the lowest point since the early 1990s. The team was irrelevant, lacked a star attraction (Brett Gardner led position players with just 3.