Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller: Yankee relief aces in World Series but for Cubs and Indians.

The Yankees tanked the 2016 season starting with the trading of Aroldis Chapman. Then Andrew Miller. Then DH Carlos Beltran, the Yankees best hitter. Of the eleven players received, pitcher Adam Warren was the only one with major league experience.

Aroldis Chapman

• July 25, 2016: Traded by the New York Yankees to the Chicago Cubs for Rashad Crawford (minors), Billy McKinney (minors), Gleyber Torres (minors) andAdam Warren.

Andrew Miller

• July 31, 2016: Traded by the New York Yankees to the Cleveland Indians for J.P. Feyereisen (minors), Clint Frazier (minors), Justus Sheffield(minors) and Ben Heller.

Carlos Beltran

• August 1, 2016: Traded by the New York Yankees to the Texas Rangers for Nick Green (minors), Erik Swanson (minors) and Dillon Tate(minors).

Warren and relief pitcher Ben Heller were the only ones who played for the Yankees in 2016. Yes, of course, all these minor league players are "prospects", a euphemism for gullible media people and fans.

Will any of them play significant amounts for the Yankees in 2017? In 2018? Will any be impact players, ever?

What if Yankee general manager Brian Cashman had kept the three Yankees he traded and added some talent for a stretch run? Maybe the Yankees would have qualified for the tournament. Maybe the Yankees would be playing the Cubs in the World Series.

But even if that happened, the Yankees would still need significant change in 2017. Tanking 2016 as Cashman did it will have little meaningful impact on improving the Yankees. So, what was the point? To have better minor league players? For what? To trade for veterans with records of some success? Veterans who are having their salaries dumped?

Between the 2015 and 2016 seasons only one team did not sign any free agents: the Yankees. Cashman cannot repeat that before the 2017 season, especially given how week the team looks now.

The Yankees need two batters who are likely to hit at least 30 home runs. They have none.

The Yankees need an ace starting pitcher, someone better than Masahiro Tanaka. In recent years the Yankees failed to sign free agent pitchers Jon Lester, Max Scherzer, David Price, and Zack Greinke. None won the Cy Young award but Lester will start game one for the Cubs. Yankee fans wish a current Yankee pitcher was starting game one ... for the Yankees.