What got the Rangers and Diamondbacks to the World Series offers a template for the Yankees’ future

Someone finally slayed the dragon — it just wasn’t the Yankees.

For the first time since 2020 — and only the third time since 2016 — the Astros won’t be representing the American League in the World Series that starts tonight. If that provides some solace for Yankees fans tired of seeing Houston dominate in October, have at it, though the Rangers don’t look like they’ll be any less of a threat anytime soon.

That’s a problem for another day, though. So is figuring out how to beat the Astros, who have knocked off the Yankees three times in the ALCS since 2017.

For now, there are some lessons to be learned from watching the Rangers punch their ticket to the Fall Classic — and one from the National League representative Diamondbacks, too — as the Yankees are left continuing their October of organizational evaluation. And no, it does not involve blasting Creed in the clubhouse:

A relentless, balanced lineup

Pitching is supposed to reign in the playoffs, but the Rangers have shown there are other ways to win. Yes, they have a strong starting duo in Nathan Eovaldi and Jordan Montgomery (more on that later), but they also slugged their way to the World Series with a deep, balanced lineup that had very few weak spots.

Their typical starting nine features three left-handed bats (Corey Seager, Evan Carter and Nathaniel Lowe) and two switch-hitters (Jonah Heim and Leody Taveras).

When the Yankees were fully healthy this season, their only left-handed hitter in the lineup was Anthony Rizzo with a switch-hitter (Oswaldo Cabrera or Aaron Hicks) in left field. That’s a large part of why left-handed-hitting catcher Austin Wells and switch-hitting center fielder Jasson Dominguez (when he returns from Tommy John surgery) are so important to the Yankees moving forward. The Yankees tried rolling through other left-handed hitters like Jake Bauers, Franchy Cordero, Willie Calhoun and Billy McKinney, among others, but they need real impact bats from that side of the plate.

Of course, regardless of which side of the plate they are batting from, those hitters need to produce, too. All but one member of the Rangers’ starting lineup posted an OPS-plus above 100 (league average). The exception was Taveras, a strong defender in center field who had a 97 OPS-plus. That mark was better than all but two Yankees regulars: Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres. The Rangers also hit for average, too, batting .263 as a team.

Whether it was because of underperformance and/or injuries, the Yankees had too many holes in their lineup on a consistent basis this season, making life easier for opposing pitchers. Beyond just hoping for bounce-back seasons from some of their veterans, it’s why the Yankees need to add a few reliable bats this offseason.

Yes, the Rangers spent big on Seager and Marcus Semien in free agency. But they also made some shrewd moves elsewhere that have paid big dividends this season: purchasing Adolis Garcia after he was designated for assignment by the Cardinals in 2019 (though the Rangers themselves DFA’d Garcia in Feb. 2021 and were lucky enough that all 29 other teams did not claim him on waivers, allowing him to remain in their system so he could go crazy this postseason); landing Jonah Heim (for Joey Wendle) and Nathaniel Lowe in separate trades with the Rays; and acquiring Mitch Garver from the Twins for Isiah Kiner-Falefa and minor league pitcher Ronny Henriquez (which, of course, got the ball rolling for the brutal Josh Donaldson trade for the Yankees).

Don’t give up on talent too early

The Yankees’ thinking in trading away Montgomery last summer was that they did not anticipate him being part of their postseason rotation, so they used him to land a talented defensive center fielder in Harrison Bader that they thought could make a difference in October.

Montgomery has made that decision look worse just about every time he has taken the mound this month. And his next start will likely come on Saturday in Game 2 of the World Series as the Yankees watch from home after a season in which their lack of quality starting pitching depth was exposed.

Late this season, a Yankees source said that this version of Montgomery was close to what they thought he had the potential to become, but wondered if the big lefty might have just needed a fresh start in another organization to break out. That said, the source added, the Yankees were at their best in the regular season last year when Montgomery was part of their rotation and taking the ball every five days.

Making a trade geared toward the postseason had some validity — as these playoffs have reminded us, the best regular-season teams are not always the best postseason teams — and the Yankees’ biggest problem last October was not having more batters hitting like Bader did.

But you also have to make sure you get into the dance, and the Yankees sure could have used Montgomery during this regular season as a sturdy No. 2 behind Gerrit Cole as Carlos Rodon, Luis Severino, Frankie Montas and Nestor Cortes all battled injuries and/or regression. Of course, it didn’t help that Bader couldn’t stay healthy this year, either, before the Yankees put him on waivers in late August.

Shortly after he was traded last year at the deadline, a teary-eyed Montgomery was the first to admit that he felt like he didn’t pitch the way he was fully capable of as a Yankee. He has spent most of his time since living up to that potential, with the Rangers as the big beneficiary after acquiring him from the Cardinals at this year’s deadline.

In some cases, especially with their prospects, the Yankees have hung on too long before moving off of those struggling players. But in Montgomery’s case, he was perfectly solid and consistent, yet the Yankees chose not to see his development through.

It should provide some caution before the Yankees think about trading a talented, if unfinished, starter again — i.e. Clarke Schmidt. Montgomery had accomplished more before he got traded than Schmidt has to this point, but Schmidt made good on his potential with a step forward this season (despite running out of gas late). It’s possible that the Yankees could use him as part of a trade package to bring in a bat this offseason, but beware him blossoming elsewhere if they do.

Youth and athleticism can be dangerous

The team standing in the Rangers’ way of a title doesn’t exactly pack the same kind of punch in its lineup. Heck, Luke Weaver beat them with 5 ⅓ shutout innings when they visited The Bronx during a dreary weekend late in September.

But the Diamondbacks do have the kind of youth and athleticism that can thrive in today’s game by wreaking havoc on the basepaths — so much so that their tag line has become “Embrace the Chaos.” They showed it late in the NLCS to help finish off an upset of the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, and it figures to be on display again in the World Series.

During the regular season, the Diamondbacks stole the second-most bases in the majors (166) and their average sprint speed was 27.7 feet per second (seventh). The Yankees, meanwhile, stole only 100 bases (21st) and were dead last with an average sprint speed of 26.6 feet per second. They clearly need to get more athletic next season, and the easiest way to do that is for their younger players to step up.

To be sure, power is still essential, especially in the postseason. Teams that out-homer their opponents are 21-4 in these playoffs, per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs. But the Diamondbacks have provided a blueprint in how to make up for that.

Almost hitting the mark

Sean Casey’s tenure as the Yankees’ hitting coach proved to be a brief one, but between Casey and the guy he replaced, Dillon Lawson, the team should have a good idea of what matters when hiring the next hitting coach.

Neither Casey nor Lawson was able to get the Yankees’ offense out of its season-long slumber. But the veterans on the team seemed to click better with Casey because he spoke their language and knew what they were going through as a former three-time All-Star himself.

Lawson brought more of an analytical approach, the style the Yankees have taught throughout the minor leagues. Their affiliates all rated well offensively, but the Yankees have not been able to get that to translate to major league success enough in recent years.

The ideal candidate for the next hitting coach is someone with big league experience but with a good grasp of analytics that can filter the right information to the players. Of course, people like that are tough to find.

Fall ball

The Yankees did not send any of their big-name prospects to the Arizona Fall League this year, but a few of the players that did make the trip are taking advantage of the opportunity.

Infielder Caleb Durbin, a 23-year-old the Yankees acquired from the Braves in a trade for reliever Lucas Luetge, was hitting .347 with a 1.104 OPS in 14 games through Wednesday. Durbin split this season between High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset.

Another infielder, 23-year-old Ben Cowles, was batting .333 with a 1.000 OPS in 13 games. Cowles, a 10th-round pick of the Yankees in 2021, spent almost all of this season at High-A Hudson Valley.

On the pitching side, the top Yankees performer is 24-year-old right-hander Matt Sauer — a second-round pick in 2017 who has been plagued by injuries — who had a 2.35 ERA with 12 strikeouts across 7 ⅔ relief innings.