Yankees bank on youthful look suiting them

NEW YORK — The last several seasons have seen the Yankees attempt to pull off a delicate balance of restocking with younger, more athletic players for the future while continuing to battle with the American League East’s powerhouse competition.

The process was accelerated in July, when a series of trades created opportunities for some of that touted talent to make a big league impact sooner than anticipated — no one more than Gary Sanchez, whose incredible 20-homer performance kept the Yankees in the race until the finish and has everyone eager to see what he can do for an encore.

“The fact that they came up not as September callups — they came up in a real pennant race where things were tight and close the entire time,” Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said. “It was the real deal. You can’t have a better test than that. The pressure was on, and they responded.”

2016 Year in Review Final 2016 MLB stats Final 2016 MLB standings Hot Stove Tracker Select a team ¬–AL East ¬BaltimoreBostonNew YorkTampa BayToronto–AL Central ¬ChicagoClevelandDetroitKansas CityMinnesota–AL West ¬HoustonLos AngelesOaklandSeattleTexas–NL East ¬AtlantaMiamiNew YorkPhiladelphiaWashington–NL Central ¬ChicagoCincinnatiMilwaukeePittsburghSt. Louis–NL West ¬ArizonaColoradoLos AngelesSan DiegoSan FranciscoFull coverage ¬–PostseasonAll-Star GameDraftStatcastOpening DayHall of Fame inductionsJackie Robinson DayRoberto Clemente DayFort Bragg GameTrade DeadlineWinter MeetingsAwardsFeats, tributes ¬–Ichiro reaches 3,000 hitsArrieta’s second career no-hitterScherzer strikes out 20Scully retires after legendary careerBig Papi calls it a careerJose Fernandez: 1992-2016Monte Irvin: 1919-2016Ralph Branca: 1926-2016 2017 Outlook 2017 season schedule Important Dates 2017 World Baseball Classic Buy 2017 tickets Select a team ¬–AL East ¬BaltimoreBostonNew YorkTampa BayToronto–AL Central ¬ChicagoClevelandDetroitKansas CityMinnesota–AL West ¬HoustonLos AngelesOaklandSeattleTexas–NL East ¬AtlantaMiamiNew YorkPhiladelphiaWashington–NL Central ¬ChicagoCincinnatiMilwaukeePittsburghSt. Louis–NL West ¬ArizonaColoradoLos AngelesSan DiegoSan Francisco

The Yankees completed 2016 with 84 victories, good for their 24th consecutive winning record (1993-2016), and they have their focus set upon achieving more in 2017. Here are five questions that, when answered, could determine if the Yankees will head back to the playoffs:

5. Will these be Happy Hollidays for the bats?

The Yanks produced just 680 runs in 2016, ranked 12th in the AL. …

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