Say hey, baseball: What are the Yankees doing?

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The Yankees seem to be out on Max Scherzer, and they might not have the prospects to acquire Cole Hamels. Hamels has designated the Yankees as one of the nine teams not covered by his no-trade clause, however, and financially the Yankees are in a position to change their minds about Scherzer at any time before he signs elsewhere. Those dollars probably mean Scherzer makes more sense for New York, but logical sense doesn’t automatically augur a move.

It should be noted that the Yankees aren’t necessarily screwed in 2015 even if they do bow out on the rest of the ace proceedings. There is still a whole lot of talent on the Yankees’ roster, and they are only a year removed from signing a mess of expensive, long-term deals that will keep their payroll lofty for quite some time. The 2015 season could end up being more about answering questions the Yankees already have on their roster, before committing major money anywhere else. Will Carlos Beltran rebound after a rough 2014? Will Jacoby Ellsbury look like they player the Yankees hoped they were signing to a seven-year deal? What does Brian McCann have left behind the plate? Can Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, Michael Pineda, and Alex Rodriguez all stay healthy and productive? Are Masahiro Tanaka’s elbow concerns behind him? Will young players like Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi, and Rob Refsnyder evolve and take hold of their role as youthful saviors? All of these questions could be answered positively in the coming season, but chances are good that at least something will go awry. Which one (or ones) go wrong could determine whether the Yankees miss the playoffs for the third year in a row, or, like their core players, rebound for the first time in awhile.

The Yankees already have $192 million on the books for 2016, and that doesn’t count the salaries of their eight arbitration eligibles. A little patience in the present, rather than dumping more money on the problem, is understandable. It’s a plan with a lot of risk attached, but the rewards are obvious. And hey, let’s not forget that David Price is a free agent in a year, too: skipping Max Scherzer doesn’t mean a lot if all the Yankees are looking for is a high-quality, not-yet-old ace to join them eventually.