The two players Yankees should trade for right now: Sherman

The Yankees have to think about next year. That does not mean surrendering now. Not when, despite all that has gone wrong this season, they began Tuesday just four games out of the second AL wild card. Not when seven road games against the Red Sox and Rays, which begin Thursday, can change their trajectory.

But the 57 percent of the season that has been played cannot be dismissed. The Yankees completed that period more likely to miss the postseason than to make it. If they do reach the playoffs, their most likely entry would be as the second wild card, which assures only a sudden-death game on the road. Thus, reality must trump optimism. Those seven games at Boston and Tampa Bay could go horribly wrong too. Thus, they must consider more than 2021 between now and the July 30 deadline. Can they add players who help the present, but begin to address what is wrong to make the near future better?