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ESPN Senior Writer- Andrew Marchand is a senior writer for ESPNNewYork. He also regularly contributes to SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight, ESPNews, ESPN New York 98.7 FM and ESPN Radio. He joined ESPN in 2007 after nine years at the New York Post. Follow Andrew on Twitter »
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ESPN Staff Writer- Wallace Matthews has covered New York sports since 1983 as a reporter, columnist, radio host and TV commentator. He covers the Yankees for ESPNNewYork.com after working for Newsday, the New York Post, the New York Sun and ESPN New York 98.7 FM.
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With their wild-card loss to the Houston Astros on Tuesday, the New York Yankees completed the shortest postseason in franchise history. So how did the individual players fare in 2015? Here are Andrew Marchand and Wallace Matthews' final grades for the Bronx Bombers.
MANAGEMENT
Owner Hal Steinbrenner
Hal deserves an A for A-Rod. It may have been because he didn't want to just pay off Alex Rodriguez, but Steinbrenner was the voice that said A-Rod stays. Rodriguez proved to be the likely difference between making the playoffs and not. Plus, for all the frugal talk, the Yankees had the second-highest payroll in the majors.
GM Brian Cashman
This year might prove to be a good one for what Cashman didn't do rather than what he did. By resisting the temptation to trade the potential core -- Luis Severino, Greg Bird and Aaron Judge -- Cashman may have protected the future. His much-maligned deadline trade for Dustin Ackley proved to be a good one.
Manager Joe Girardi
The Yankees largely overachieved this season, which is a credit to the manager. But Girardi was tight down the stretch, as the Yankees faded and his overuse of Dellin Betances proved to be a problem late.
STARTING PITCHERS
He's not the pitcher he was before his elbow injury last July, but he's still pretty good. Injuries continue to be a problem for him, however, and his durability remains a question mark.
Maybe the most puzzling member of the starting rotation, Pineda can dazzle you one start, drive you nuts the next. He has great upside tempered by maddening inconsistency.
Eovaldi benefited from incredibly generous run support over the first half of the season but became a different pitcher after getting shelled by his former team in Miami. He might have scored higher if his season hadn't been shortened by injury.
His first season back after Tommy John surgery was predictably inconsistent, but there are also doubts about whether he'll ever be more than a No. 4 starter. Will he even be a Yankee next year?
Sabathia had a terrible first half, and unfortunately for him was just rounding into form when he checked himself into alcohol rehab.
Poise, confidence, stuff. Everything you want in a young pitcher but rarely get. The only thing keeping Severino from an A is a mere 11 big-league starts.
RELIEF PITCHERS
Miller had a nearly perfect first season as the Yankees' closer, marred only by a month lost to a forearm injury. He was Cashman's best offseason signing.
Unhittable for the first half of the season, but late-season hiccups drop Betances' grade a notch. Still a fearsome presence on the mound in the late innings of a game.
Wilson became a reliable left-handed specialist just as Chasen Shreve began to falter, and by the end of the season was one of only three relief pitchers Girardi really trusted.
Hard to believe the Shreve we see now is the one we saw for the first half, when he went more than a month without allowing an earned run. By the end of the season, Girardi was afraid to use him in anything but no-leverage situations.
Cursed by his own versatility, it's not Warren's fault the Yankees shuttled him back and forth from the rotation to the bullpen all season. He showed some drop off late in the season.
Mitchell has yet to live up to the potential the Yankees saw in him and never really bounced back from the broken nose he suffered in mid-August after being hit by a line drive.
The D stands for DFA, which Capuano was four times in 2015, although he kept coming back for more. He was largely ineffective all season.
CATCHERS
McCann was on his way to an A with a tremendous bounce-back season until he forgot how to hit. A .200 average in the second half spoiled what was shaping up to be a very fine 2015.
In his first year as the full-time backup, Murphy was very serviceable. He showed signs that he could one day be a starting catcher, though with McCann signed for three more years, it probably won't be in the Bronx anytime soon.
INFIELDERS
Teixeira was on his way to an A and deserved three more letters associated with his name -- M-V-P. He was arguably the most valuable Yankee before he got hurt. Of course, his fractured shin finished his season way too early, which drops his grade.
Bird really was supposed to arrive in 2017. Instead, with Teixeira hurt, Bird became the starting first baseman and kept pace at the plate with Teixeira. He is not the same force as Tex against left-handers and doesn't have the glove of the $180 million man, but Bird showed a lot of promise.
A lot of people criticized Cashman for not doing enough at the trade deadline, but the move for Ackley proved to be an excellent one, as he became the left-handed part of a platoon at second base.
Drew was the most loathed Yankee for much of his season. He hit for some power, but his average sat below .200 for most of the year, which is why his grade is so low. He did play fine defense. Plus, no matter what fans think of him, they should still wish him the best with his concussion issue.
Ryan may be the most fun guy in the Yankees' clubhouse. He platooned at second base for a while with Drew. However, at the end of the season, he lost that role to Rob Refsnyder.
Refsnyder would receive an A if this were a popularity contest. It is not, but nonetheless he did pretty well, improving enough on defense that he ended the year as the starting second baseman against lefties.
Didi began the year looking like he never had played baseball before. He ended it up as an upgrade over the an aged Derek Jeter. Gregorius was one of the best players on the Yankees, and he might be even better next year. He showed tremendous range, and he started to hit for average.
Headley had trouble in all facets of the game. He was the weakest defender in the infield because of his inability to consistently throw accurately across the diamond. At the plate, he was not much of a threat. He needs to improve or the next three years of his contract will be long ones.
OUTFIELDERS
Gardner was good enough to make the All-Star team in the first half. In the second half, he was bad enough that he was a big reason the offense nearly shut down. Normally a fan favorite, after striking out three straight times in the wild-card game, Gardy grounded out in the eighth -- and was loudly booed by the Bronx crowd as he walked back to the dugout.
Ellsbury started the season strong, got hurt and then stunk to the point he didn't even start the Yankees' wild-card game. (He would pop out to short in an eighth-inning pinch-hitting appearance.) At seven years, $153 million, Ellsbury was supposed to have his standout seasons at the beginning of the deal. It hasn't quite worked out that way.
Young's job is to hit left-handed pitching, and he did it at a near 1.000 clip. He was especially good in the first half, when there was some thought he should replace Beltran in right. In the second half, Young wasn't as good, but overall, the Yankees had to be happy with how he performed.
Beltran started the season dreadfully, looking as if he might be finished. However, over the final month or two, he was probably the Yankees' best hitter. His effort in the outfield seemed to be less than ideal to everyone except Girardi, who defended him. Still, late in the season, there was no one the Yankees would rather have up.
DESIGNATED HITTER
A-Rod was the difference-maker during the regular season. He came into camp unwanted and ended the season invaluable. Without A-Rod hitting the way he did, the Yankees likely wouldn't have made the playoffs. Plus, he re-affirmed himself as a team leader.