Last Friday, I wrote I’m Sick of Sonny Gray. Since then, I haven’t been sick of Sonny Gray at all.

Gray has made two starts since I wrote how his performance was not only keeping the Yankees from running away with the AL East, but also eventually going to force them to give up more prospects to acquire another starting pitcher as a result of his incompetence. The Yankees won both of those starts with Gray pitching to this line: 14 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 14 K, 1 HR.

The first of those starts was a 4-1 win over the Orioles (6 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HR) and the second was a 3-0 extra-inning win over the Blue Jays (8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K). That start against the Blue Jays was Gray’s best as a Yankee, and his first shutout of eight innings or more since July 28, 2015. (He had four shutouts of eight innings or more that season and two of them were complete-game, nine-inning shutouts.)

I, just like every other Yankees fan, really want Sonny Gray to be Sonny Gray again, and maybe this two-game resurgence that helped lower his ERA from 5.98 to 4.81 is an indicator that the former A’s ace, who the Yankees traded to slot behind Luis Severino along with Masahiro Tanaka, is really back to being his old self. Then again, the Orioles are 19-41 and the Blue Jays are 26-35.

Gray has been very good against teams under .500 in seven starts this season: 40 IP, 32 H, 14 R, 14 ER, 17 BB, 35 K, 3 HR, 3.15 ERA, 1.225 WHIP.

In five starts against teams .500 or better, he’s been very bad: 23.2 IP, 31 H, 20 R, 20 ER, 13 BB, 23 K, 4 HR, 7.60 ERA, 1.859 WHIP.

With plenty of teams following the tanking blueprint made successful by the Cubs and Astros, there are way more mediocre and bad teams in the league than there are good ones. Gray’s five starts against teams .500 or better have come against the Red Sox, Astros, Indians, A’s and Angels. The only other good AL team is the Mariners. So most of Gray’s starts, and any pitchers starts for that matter, will come against bad teams this season. That’s good news for the regular season, but the Yankees are going to the postseason. There’s no jinxing that. They are 40-18 with a .690 winning percentage and have already played all of their games this season against the Astros and Angels. Their second-half schedule is why I believe they will run away with the division.

Before the season, the Yankees didn’t know that Jordan Montgomery was going to go down with an elbow injury and need Tommy John surgery. They didn’t know that Masahiro Tanaka would build off his inconsistent 2017 season by being inconsistent once again in 2018. And they didn’t know that Gray would get off to the worst of his career and essentially be the worst starting pitcher in all of baseball to continue to get regular turns in a rotation. Even without knowing all of this, the Yankees still tried to add starting pitching in the offseason, so they aren’t going to stop now. But Gray can stop them from making a trade that could potentially cost them Cling Frazier or Justus Sheffield or other top prospects if he can build off his last two starts and completely turn his season around.

The Yankees got Gray because of his front-end starting pedigree and his career 3.42 and because he was under team control for the rest of 2017, all of 2018 and all of 2019 and because Michael Pineda was lost to a season-ending injury, Masahiro Tanaka and CC Sabathia were inconsistent and untrustworthy and Jordan Montgomery was a rookie. But they also go him for his postseason experience, pitching to 2.08 ERA in two starts and 13 innings against the Tigers in the 2013 ALDS. They need the Sonny Gray they traded for and not just against the Orioles and Blue Jays and Royals. They need him against the contenders as well.

I’m no longer sick of Sonny Gray. But we’re a long way from October, and until he proves he can’t beat teams with realistic postseason chances, I won’t be fully cured of him.

I was ecstatic when the Yankees traded for Sonny Gray. Brian Cashman was able to add a front-end starter, who had pitched to a 3.42 ERA over 705 career innings, and more importantly had pitched to a 2.08 ERA in two career postseason starts. In exchange for the A’s ace, the Yankees had to part with a 2015 first-round pick, who had pitched just 29 1/3 minor-league innings (James Kaprielian), a top prospect whose status had begun to fade (Jorge Mateo) and an outfielder who had suffered an unfortunate and potentially career-damaging injury (Dustin Fowler). The Yankees had added an All-Star and postseason-proven pitcher for three players that might never make the majors. (Thankfully, Fowler did this season to overcome his awful injury.)

As a Yankee, Gray wasn’t as good as he had been in 2017 before the trade and he was nowhere near his 2013-2015 self (2.88 ERA in 491 innings), but he was solid. His offense and defense let him down in most of his starts as he either got a loss or no-decision in four starts where he went at least five innings, allowing two earned runs or loss. But after the Yankees won the wild-card game, and Gray was announced as the Game 1 starter of the ALDS, his regular season didn’t matter. This is what the Yankees had gotten him for: the postseason.

Gray was bad in Game 1 of the ALDS (3.1 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 1 HR). Very bad. But it didn’t matter much because the Yankees’ offense was shut out in the 4-0 loss. Gray’s poor ALDS performance took him out of favor for the start of the ALCS, and he was pushed to Game 4 for a chance to redeem himself for the egg he laid in Cleveland. He was much better against the Astros (5 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) and helped the Yankees tie the ALCS 2-2. Gray didn’t get a chance to pitch again in the postseason, but after what I had seen during his time with the A’s and his short time with the Yankees, I was excited for the future. If the Yankees had lost the AL East by just two games in 2017 and were now going to have a full season of Gray (along with NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton and not Chase Headley and Starlin Castro and Michael Pineda) then 2018 was going to be a lot of fun.

For the most part 2018 has been a lot of fun (minus the 9-9 start, Stanton’s never-ending slump and Aaron Hicks continuing to be treated like Bernie Williams). But the biggest issue of 2018 has been Gray. He hasn’t been bad. He’s been awful. He’s been worse than awful. What’s worse than awful? Terrible? Whichever of those is the worst, that’s what Gray has been.

I hate the stat “quality start” because why should a pitcher be rewarded for what could be a 4.50 ERA (6 IP, 3 ER), but using some so mediocre as the “quality start” to measure Gray, he has only pitched four of them in 10 starts. He has only gotten an out in the fifth inning in five of his 10 starts, and he has put 90 baserunners on in 49 2/3 innings. How could a starting pitcher have only pitched 49 2/3 innings over 10 starts on a team with championship aspirations? That’s not a rhetorical question. I’m actually asking how it’s possible.

The Yankees are 4-6 in Gray starts and 31-11 in all other games. He has been the weakest member of the Yankees’ rotation, and basically the weakest starting pitcher to continue to start in all of baseball. But it’s not just his actual numbers that suck, it’s the collateral damage it has caused, and I don’t mean keeping the Yankees virtually tied for a share of the division lead.

Despite the Yankees’ unwillingness to have personal catchers (and rightfully so), Gray has essentially demanded to only work with Austin Romine. No other Yankees pitcher has an issue throwing to Gary Sanchez. Luis Severino didn’t mind pitching to Sanchez when he threw a complete-game shutout on the road against the defending world champions. No one had a problem when the Yankees came within one game of the World Series with Sanchez catching in his first full season in the majors. No one minds because they want the best hitting catcher in the world in the lineup on days they pitch. But Gray’s whining ways have led to Romine catching him no matter what, which sets a horrible precedent if the Yankees reach the postseason and need Gray to start.

But what might be worse than Gray’s record for a team that gives him an average of 5.38 runs of support in his starts or his 5.98 ERA or his 1.711 WHIP is the complete lack of accountability he has had for his embarrassing season.

On Saturday, Gray was destroyed by the Angels. He was given a 4-1 lead through the second and made it disappear almost as quickly as he got it. His line for the night: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 1 HR.

After the game, Gray said the following about his performance:

“I thought I commanded my two-seam well. I think it was my four-seam that every time I threw it, it kind of leaked back over the middle of the plate. Slider was good. Yeah, I think the stuff was good.”

In 3 2/3 innings, Gray put 10 runners on base, walked three, allowed seven hits, allowed three extra-base hits, walked Kole Calhoun (.160/.195/.199), walked in a run and hit a batter. But he thought his “stuff was good”! What does a Sonny Gray start look like when he doesn’t have his good stuff? I’m afraid to find out.

Domingo German is in the Yankees’ rotation because of Jordan Montgomery’s injury, and because of a lack of major-league ready pitching in the farm system due to injury and inexperience, the Yankees’ only current option to replace Gray in the rotation would be to let A.J. Cole start, and the reason he is on the Yankees is because of how bad he was as a starter. And thanks to all of the postponements, the Yankees’ off days are quickly becoming day games and doubleheaders, so a phantom injury for a figure-it-out-with-bullpen-sessions disabled list stint isn’t even an option. The Yankees are stuck with Gray every five days.

The Yankees were looking for starting pitching in the offseason even when they had Gray, Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Jordan Montgomery and CC Sabathia penciled in for their rotation. Now because of Montgomery’s injury, Tanaka and Sabathia’s inconsistencies and Gray being unable to get through the fourth inning, the Yankees are most definitely going to trade for pitching. The depth of the farm system and future of the Yankees, which was somewhat compromised to get Gray last season, will be further compromised because of him again this season.

The only thing that has held the Yankees back from running away with the division so far has been Sonny Gray and his “good stuff”. He better find his “great stuff” or Miguel Andujar or Clint Frazier or Justus Sheffield will realize their potential in the majors with another team. Or worse, Yankees fans will have to sit through another wild-card game this fall.

When it came to facing the Yankees, Dallas Keuchel was Cliff Lee. He was so much like Lee that I started calling him Cliff Lee 2.0. He owned the Yankees with low-90s fastballs and breaking balls to the point where it was an automatic loss when he pitched against them.

In 2015, Keuchel faced the Yankees on June 25. His line: 9 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 12 K.

He faced them again that season on August 25. His line: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K.

When it was announced that he would start the wild-card game, it didn’t matter that it was at Yankee Stadium. The game could have been played anywhere and he would have won, and the annoying Astros fans wearing Keuchel beards that made the trip to the Bronx would have been in attendance wherever it was played. But it was played in the Bronx, and Keuchel once again didn’t allow a run. 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K.

Opening Day is a beautiful day. It’s the start of a new season after six months of no baseball and miserable weather. The excitement I get from Opening Day can’t be put into words. But after leaving the Stadium following the wild-card game loss the previous fall, I was more than ready for the start of the 2016 season. Until I realized who would be pitching: Cliff Lee 2.0.

Keuchel was on the mound again on Opening Day 2016 at the Stadium, going head-t0-head with Masahiro Tanaka in a rematch of the wild-card game, and just like they had in their last game of the 2015, the Yankees lost the first game of 2016. They did finally break through against Keuchel for two runs, but that would be all. 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K.

Nearly four months later, on July 25, the Yankees finally did beat Keuchel. But it was more that the Astros’ lost him the game than the Yankees beat him. 7.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K.

Then, on May 11, 2017, in his only regular-season appearance against the Yankees of the regular season, Keuchel put together his usual performance for another win: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB 9 K.

The Yankees couldn’t beat him. Well, they could once, but that was a 2-1 win, in which he pitched into the eighth inning and allowed six baserunners in seven-plus. From the start of 2015 through the end of the 2017 regular season, the Yankees had scored four earned runs against Keuchel in 42 2/3 innings. His combined line in those six starts: 42.2 IP, 26 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 7 BB, 47 K, 0.84 ERA, 0.773 WHIP. And on top of those outrageous numbers, he had never allowed a home run to a Yankee in his career.

I knew entering the ALCS the Yankees were in trouble. They would essentially have to go 4-1 in Games 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 to advance to the World Series because they weren’t going to win Game 1 or Game 5, which Keuchel was going to start. I was right. In Game 1, Keuchel dominated the Yankees the way he always had (7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K) and the Astros went up 1-0 in the series. The next day, Justin Verlander followed Keuchel’s dominance and the Yankees were down 2-0.

The Yankees went on to win Game 3 and had the legendary comeback against the Astros’ bullpen in Game 4 to tie the series at 2. But it was Keuchel’s turn in the rotation again, and unless the Yankees could beat him, they were going to have to win Games 6 and 7 in Houston.

And that’s when everything changed.

In the first inning of Game 5, Keuchel got Brett Gardner to ground out on the second pitch of the at-bat, and then struck out Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. As I sat/stood in right field, I knew how this game would play out. I was in the same exact spot two years ago when Keuchel shut down the Yankees (granted, the 2015 Yankees), and Tanaka, also starting Game 5, couldn’t hold down the Astros’ offense. From my apartment, I had watched this same game unfold five days earlier with the same starting pitchers. The only chance the Yankees would have was the familiar one with Keuchel on the mound: Tanaka needed to keep the game close to get to the bullpen because the Yankees were unlikely to score.

Thankfully, I was wrong.

Tanaka pitched around a leadoff double in the second, and Keuchel answered by quickly retiring Didi Gregorius and Aaron Hicks in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs and no one on, Starlin Castro jumped on a 1-0 pitch for a double to left-center, and Greg Bird, who had saved the Yankees in Game 3 of the ALDS, and who had one of the only three hits against Keuchel in the 2015 wild-card game stepped in. Keuchel got behind him 2-0, and on the next pitch, Bird rocked a line-drive single to right to score Castro. The Yankees led 1-0.

That was the at-bat that changed it all. That was the at-bat that started the process of turning Keuchel into any other pitcher against the Yankees.

Judge added an RBI double in the third to make it 2-0, and in the fifth, the Yankees delivered the knockout punch. With two on and two outs, Sanchez and Gregorius delivered back-to-back RBI singles to make it 4-0 as Keuchel gave up the ball and made the long walk back to the visitor’s dugout with the Stadium shaking. His line: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. The Yankees had done it. They had ruined Keuchel.

On May 2 of this season, the Yankees saw Keuchel for the first time since Game 5, and they beat him again. He pitched good enough to win on most days, but he was no longer Cliff Lee 2.0. 7 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. All three of those runs were a product of two Giancarlo Stanton home runs. A two-run home run in the first and a solo home run in the fourth. The first and second home runs Dallas Keuchel had ever given up to a Yankee in his career.

Last night, Keuchel was back at the Stadium for the first time since Game 5, and again, the Yankees beat him. He got his strikeouts, the way he always seems to do against the Yankees (the way every elite starting pitcher seems to do against the Yankees), but he put 10 runners on base in five innings, and once again, he couldn’t get Sanchez out in a big spot. 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 7 K.

The 5-3 win over Keuchel and the Astros gave the Yankees the season series win, which could be a significant factor if they meet against in October for the third time in the last four years. After losing all four games in Houston in the ALCS, the Yankees proved they could win there, taking three out of four in Houston four weeks ago, and then two out of three in the Bronx this week. They also proved they could beat Dallas Keuchel with their third straight win over the former Cy Young winner. They proved that Dallas Keuchel is no Cliff Lee.

Now there’s only one thing left for the Yankees to do: Figure out how to beat Justin Verlander.

The Yankees are in Texas and faced Cole Hamels, and because of Hamels’ impending free agency, the fact he’s on a bad team and the Yankees need starting pitching, it only makes sense that everyone envisions Hamels as a Yankee by July 31.

Do I want the Yankees to trade for Hamels? I don’t know? Maybe? It really depends on the asking price. And if that asking price involves Clint Frazier, then no, I don’t want the Yankees to trade for Hamels. But if the asking price is a salary dump and/or lesser prospects, then sign me up.

Hamels will have a little less than $8 million left on his 2018 salary at the trade deadline, and with him having the power to block a trade to the Yankees, he might be looking for them to pick up his $24 million option for 2019 in order for him to allow a deal. (His option would have vested if he pitched 400 innings between 2017 and 2018, but he only pitched 148 in 2017, and certainly isn’t going to pitch 252 this season.) A demand like that would likely scare the Yankees away as that money would be better used on the upcoming free-agent class. If Hamels made a wild demand like that, then the Yankees should be out on him. But let’s say the Yankees want to trade for Hamels and he doesn’t want anything other than the chance to pitch for the World Series favorite …

This isn’t three years ago when the Rangers traded for 31-year-old Cole Hamels, and it’s not even two years ago when 32-year-old Cole Hamels was an All-Star and went 15-5 with a 3.32 ERA for the AL West champion Rangers. And even though it’s brought up in every mention of Hamels, this most definitely isn’t the NLCS and World Series MVP of a decade ago. This is a 34-year-old impending free agent, who has pitched to a 3.38 ERA with the best K/9 ratio (9.8) since his 2006 rookie season (9.9), and who went seven innings, allowing two earned runs (both solo home runs) to the Yankees on Wednesday night, handing them just their fourth loss in 25 games.

An oblique injury in 2017 kept Hamels out for two months, but aside from last season, the last time he didn’t pitch at least 200 innings in a season was in 2009 when he pitched 193.2. He has been as durable as any starting pitcher in the league over the last 10 years, and you won’t have to worry about injuries with him the way you would with Michael Fulmer or James Paxton. And you wouldn’t have to worry about wildly inconsistent starts from him the way you would with Danny Duffy or Chris Archer. And he wouldn’t cost nearly as much as any of those four, and he’s most likely better than all four as is.

The Yankees’ two biggest threats to winning the AL pennant are the Astros and Red Sox. This season Hamels has made the following starts against both:

March 29 vs. Houston: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 2 HR

April 13 at Houston: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ,ER 2 BB, 7 K, 2 HR

May 5 vs. Boston: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR

May 11 at Houston: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 0 HR

In four starts against the Astros and Red Sox, Hamels has pitched to the following line: 23.2 IP, 17 H, 8 R, 7 ER, 11 BB, 24 K, 5 HR, 2.66 ERA, 1.183 WHIP.

When you add in his start against the Yankees, Hamels has pitched to the following line against the three best teams in baseball: 30.2 IP, 21 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 13 BB, 31 K, 7 HR, 2.64 ERA, 1.109 WHIP.

Yes, that home run total is a little high, but again, this is against the three best teams in baseball. Those numbers are pretty freakin’ good.

The Yankees have given Domingo German a chance to take over Jordan Montgomery’s rotation spot, and he has turned in one great start and two A.J. Burnett-like starts. But if German can’t get on track, then turn to another in-house option, and if that doesn’t work, turn to another. Exhaust all in-house options over the next nine-plus weeks before deciding to go out and potentially trade a future star for a two-month rental or cost-controlled starter, who might not make a significant difference and might not make a difference at all.

The Yankees were good enough to come within one win of the World Series last season with the same team that now has Giancarlo Stanton, Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar. That might be enough to get that win and four more after that, but if it’s not, getting a starting pitcher should be. Cole Hamels is the best option to be that starting pitcher.

The Yankees are 27-12 and no one wants to hear a Yankees fan complain, but I’m not really complaining. I’m trying to improve the Yankees as the best team in baseball because the second-best team in baseball plays in their division, and the difference between going right to the ALDS or having to play another one-game playoff might actually come down to one game. (I don’t think it will. I think the Yankees will run away with the AL East, but the Yankees front office has to think it will be a close race when making decisions.) I don’t want the Yankees to play in the wild-card game for the third time in four years. I can’t keep going through one-game playoffs. I can’t.

Are the Yankees currently putting out the best possible lineup every day? The answer to that is an easy no, and it’s not only because Greg Bird isn’t playing first base yet. It’s because Aaron Hicks continues to bat sixth, serving as Gary Sanchez’s protection, and bat fifth when Sanchez has the day off. I don’t necessarily think Sanchez needs protection as the best pure hitter on the team, but even so, Hicks has no business batting sixth, let alone fifth. In reality, Hicks has no business being a starter on this team.

Hicks is hitting .213/.330/.382 through Sunday with three home runs and 13 RBIs. He hit his third home run of the season on Saturday against the A’s, but prior to that, he hadn’t hit a home run since April 13 at Detroit, when he hit both of his home runs this season in that one game. The RBI that came on that home run against A’s was his first RBI since April 28. The home run was his eighth extra-base hit of the season, and he has one multi-hit game since April 20.

Hicks hasn’t had a good season. But this isn’t a player where you can say “It’s early!” or “He’ll heat up!” or “Give him time and he will play to the back of his baseball card!” Hicks is playing to the back of his baseball card. He’s a career .230/.316/.373 hitter in 1,759 plate appearances. And it’s not like he’s a spring chicken. He’s 28, which is old in baseball years, and at some point the Yankees are going to have to admit this is who he is as a player. The only reason they haven’t admitted it yet is because of two things: 1. Hicks was a first-round pick and first-round picks seemingly get infinite chances to figure it out even if he was selected in the first round based on how he performed when he was in high school playing with metal bats, and 2. April 2, 2017 to June 25, 2017.

April 2, 2017 through June 25, 2017 was the worst thing that could have happened to the Yankees from a judging Hicks standpoint. In 242 plate appearances during that time, Hicks hit .290/.398/.515 with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs, playing at an All-Star level. Then Hicks went on the disabled list, and when he returned on Aug. 10 through the end of the season, he hit .218/.319/.396 in 119 plate appearances, essentially his career numbers.

Those 242 plate appearances gave Hicks the starting center field job in the playoffs, where he hit .196/.260/.304 in 50 plate appearances. (I didn’t have a problem with him starting in center field in the playoffs because the alternative was Jacoby Ellsbury). Those 242 plate appearances gave Hicks the starting center field job this season. (Again, I didn’t have a problem with him starting in center field in the playoffs because the alternative would have been Jacoby Ellsbury if weren’t hurt.) Those 242 plate appearances have led to Hicks batting sixth (16 times), fifth (5), first, (3) and third (1) this season, never hitting lower than sixth despite his actual production.

Prior to those 242 plate appearances, Hicks had 1,289 career plate appearance. In those 1,289 plate appearances, he hit .223/.299/.346. Since the end of those 242 plate appearances, Hicks has had another 282 plate appearances (including playoffs) and has hit .213/.312/.371. So for 1,571 of plate appearances in the majors, Hicks has been a first-round bust, but for a 242-plate appearance stretch, he played like an All-Star. In Maury fashion, the results are in, and Hicks IS NOT the player we watched during those 242 plate appearances.

Maybe the Yankees are OK with that. Maybe Brian Cashman is fine with a starting center fielder who has a great arm and has improved his defense and routes to balls and doesn’t care that over 162 games, he averages a .230/.316/.373 line with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs. In a lineup that has Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Didi Gregorius and Bird coming back, maybe Cashman feels he doesn’t need another offensive presence in center field and can due with Hicks being an average player. The problem is there is an offensive presence waiting in Triple-A.

Clint Frazier, a former first-round pick himself, is hitting .333/.404/.643 with seven extra-base hits in 47 plate appearances in Triple-A. He has started to play games in center field to go along with his usual spot in left field, and while it always helps to have players that can play multiple positions, he’s doing so now for two potential reasons: 1. A lineup change is coming for the Yankees, and 2. The Yankees are increasing his value. No. 1 is unlikely, even though I wish it were the case. No. 2 is most likely the reason.

Gardner can play left and center, and if Yankee Stadium didn’t have such a big left field, he would likely always play center. Judge can play right and center. Stanton can play right and left, and Hicks can play anywhere. The Yankees wouldn’t need Frazier to play center, and if he were called up and used, I find it hard to believe they would ever actually use him in center unless there was an emergency. Frazier is playing center field in Triple-A to showcase his defensive range for the rest of the league for when the Yankees make a move this summer on a starting pitcher.

I wouldn’t trade Frazier. I mean I would for a true front-end starter that could pair with Luis Severino that would give the Yankees an actual 1-2 postseason punch and increase their chances at winning the division and getting through the ALDS to a seven-game series. But I wouldn’t trade him for an impending free agent whose no more trustworthy than CC Sabathia or Masahiro Tanaka. I wouldn’t want to trade him in a deal for a pitcher, who will need a personal catcher even if that personal catcher isn’t any good. I’m sure the Yankees don’t plan on trading him for anything other than the pitcher that I also want, but if injuries were to arise, and the market and demand were to change, who knows what might happen.

I also wouldn’t want the Yankees to trade Frazier and then be forced to watch his career develop from a far, while Hicks continues to be given countless chances to prove himself as a Major Leaguer. In a worst-case scenario, Frazier’s offense only ever becomes Hicks’: a .230/.316/.373 hitter. But that’s the absolute worst-case scenario and highly unlikely given what Frazier has done in the minors and what he did in his short stint with the Yankees last season.

Frazier deserves a chance to play in the majors for the Yankees right now. Hicks has had enough chances. He’s had five-plus seasons, 484 games and 1,759 plate appearances worth of chances to prove himself in the majors, and outside of a three-month stretch that represents 13.8 percent of his career playing time, he hasn’t proved himself.