Given a do over, Girardi would expect better results for Yankees

NEW YORK Back at Yankee Stadium for the first time since Tuesday’s elimination, Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi’s prevailing message on Friday was this: Bring back the exact same team next year, the Yankees can be better than they were this year.

No need for a big splash in free agency. No need for a franchise-altering trade. Bring back the same guys who lost in the wild card game and next year’s Yankees might win enough to take the division and make a run at the World Series.

“If guys would have had some of the offensive numbers that they had in the first four months in the last two months, I think we substantially would have had more wins,” Girardi said at his annual year-end press conference. “I think it's possible we would have won our division. … If they had the same second half as the first half, I think it's a much different story.”

Here’s the story that actually played out: The Yankees had a seven-game lead in late July, made no substantial moves at the trade deadline, and watched their season slip away to the Blue Jays, who had massively reloaded.

It was still the Yankees’ best season since 2012. The held onto their top prospect, many of whom played a positive role late in the year, and now they find themselves stuck between the good and bad of age and experience.

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Another year older means more wear and tear on aging veterans Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira.  It also means more experience for emerging young players Didi Gregorius, Luis Severino, Greg Bird and Nathan Eovaldi.

It means diminished health concerns for Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda and Ivan Nova, each of whom made it through the season relatively healthy after significant medical issues the year before. It also brings questions and concerns about in-their-prime players Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Brett Gardner who declined significantly in the second half.

“I think a lot of those questions we had going into spring training were answered,” Girardi said. “And I think we saw improvement out of players during the course of the season.”

The biggest contracts coming off the books this winter are role players Stephen Drew, Chris Young and Chris Capuano. That leaves little wiggle room unless general manager Brian Cashman gets creative by trading one piece of the big league roster in order to upgrade another piece.

Need to add a right-handed bat to solve the second-half struggles against lefties? Girardi pointed to the return of Teixeira from a broken leg as more important than any free agent addition.

“That adds a big right-handed bat,” he said.

Need to add a David Price or Dallas Keuchel caliber ace to lead the rotation, especially for a potential one game playoff?

“To me, the most important thing is that during the course of the season we have five starters that can compete every day and give you a chance to win,” Girardi said.

Need to rest players more often so that key guys like Ellsbury, Gardner, Rodriguez and Dellin Betances don’t decline in the second half?

“One of my oldest players (Beltran) played as much as anyone and thrived in the situation” Girardi said.

So Girardi sees reason for hope in a season that ended with disappointment. That’s really nothing new. He is optimistic by nature. But if an unchanged team reports to spring training expecting different results, how far will that optimism go?

Twitter: @LohudYankees