The Yankees future isn't as set in stone as it has been in the past.  No Derek Jeter, no Jorge Posada, no cornerstone for the team to build around.

The possibility of Bryce Harper joining the Yankees after the 2018 season is a lot more likely to happen than you think.

Buster Olney wrote about the idea this week and joined Armen & Levack this week to discuss it.

"Bryce Harper is tied to the Nationals Organization for three and a half more years, but I do think it would be more of a shock if he didn’t end up with the Yankees after 2018 then if he did because of all of the circumstances that are in place," Olney said, on 104.5 the Team.  "You guys are well aware of some of them. First of, they have so many expiring contracts over the next three and a half years, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia with twenty-five million coming off the books. By the fall of 2018, Brian Mccann’s contract(eighty-five and a half million) off the books. Chase Headley, Andrew Miller. So they are going to have a lot of money to spend and we know that they are probably will be struggling, as they have continued to this year, to find the face of the franchise, the guy to be their guy after Derek Jeter. Bryce Harper in 2018 is going to be 26 years old. He’s not gonna be 32! I can’t imagine a player better fitted for their ballpark for the left handed hitter, Bryce Harper, who would become sort of the modern version of Babe Ruth. All of that coupled together makes me think that it is not a question of if he is going to wind up with the Yankees, it’s how much is it going to cost them?”

The Yankees most certainly will be looking to spend come 2018 and if Brian Cashman is still the general manager, expect nothing less.  Should Harper become a Yankee, the team will be in prime position to compete for a World Series.

If we speculate what the lineup may look like, it doesn't look bad at all.

Yankees possible 2019 lineup:

Jacoby Ellsbury, CF

Brett Gardner, LF

Bryce Harper, RF

Aaron Judge, DH

Greg Bird, 1B

Eric Jagielo, 3B

Gary Sanchez, C

Rob Refsnyder, 2B

Kyle Holder, SS

Bench: Mason Williams, OF, Ramon Flores OF, Tyler Austin, 1B

Not a bad lineup at all, especially considering the majority of them would be prospects.  The only acquisition would be Harper.  If this situation would play out, the Yankees would be able to give Harper the money and contract he wants, and fulfill needs in their pitching rotation as well with the leftover money.

So here's the bad news, Levack is going to drive us all nuts for the next three and a half years.

 

More From 104.5 THE TEAM