Does anyone really believe the Yankees can trade their way to a 2021 world series?

Most likely, the 2021 post-season will boil down to a battle between the elite MLB franchises of this millennium: the Giants, Dodgers, Redsocks, Astros and Rays. Of course, the ascending White Sox and Brewers look formidable. Then come the outliers - the Mets, A's and Padres. 

Back in the pack - way back, in the zone of mediocrity - sit the woeful, seemingly cursed, 2021 Yankees. 

You might say this team has "issues." It has no lefty slugger, none. It has a tired, demoralized bullpen with no certain closer. It has no set outfield and nobody hitting over .300. (They rank 20th in batting average.) Aside from 3B and RF, the fielding is lackluster. The team is injury-prone. It has absolutely no speed - ranks 23rd in stolen bases- and little ability to manufacture runs. It cannot bunt. Its players hit solo HRs, hit into way too many DPs, and they have fanned more than 800 times. (Ranks 13th.) It's managed by a good-hearted schlubb who is caught in a vice between overpaid celebrity stars and a front office paralyzed by deep-dive analytics. 

This week, we hear commonly that with a few trades, all these problems will vanish.

Dear God...

Supposedly, the Yankees have put out a bid for Colorado's Trevor Story. Surely, the 28-year-old SS is a fine person, and he will make a lot of money when he files for free agency this winter. But not as much as he would have made last winter. Story is hitting .240 - only six points below the SS he'd replace, our own 24-year-old Gleyber Torres. The Yankees might move him to CF (after trading Estevan Florial?) Just what we need - another right-handed outfielder, learning a new position. (Oh, and did I mention those underwhelming stats come at Coors Field?)

Miami's Sterling Marte surely would help. He'll turn 33 in October, when he files for free agency. He's a former all-star! (Note: 2016.) He's hitting .303 with 7 HRs. You know what they say: A team cannot have too many RH outfielders over age 32.  

Then there is Max Scherzer. Great pitcher. Future Hall of Famer. He would make Cory Kluber feel young - (Cory's only 35; Max is 37.) Scherzer would be our greatest career twilight addition since Randy Johnson. And although he missed a start recently - something didn't feel right - he's thrown 105 innings this season. If he becomes a Yankee, he'll be right behind Gerrit Cole (110 innings.) 

Joey Gallo? He's left-handed! Then again, he's also a HR/K hitter who bats .222. Do we need another 20 solo homers? The Rangers may be the worst team in baseball. He anchors that lineup. Does that mean anything? I dunno. Just sayin.'

The Yankees are touting a farm of one: Jasson Dominiquez, around whom they have built the most relentless minor league hype machine since the marketing of Michael Jordan. They spent $5 million to sign Dominiquez - he was 16 - and immediately began comparing him to Mickey Mantle and Mike Trout. They seem determined to get their money's worth in ink. They won't trade Dominiquez, but it almost feels as though everybody else in the system can go. After all, they've got Mickey Trout. 

Meanwhile, the Yankees have built a wonderful narrative: That the Yankee farm system so overflows with talent that players must be dealt, like a pressure cooker ready to blow. They have too many prospects. They don't know what to do with them. Strangely, this defies the consensus of system rankings, which generally puts them back in their normal zone of mediocrity -  around 20th.  It's worth noting that their system ranks behind all their opponents in the AL East, and that Toronto ranks 4th and Tampa is No. 1 in all of MLB. Somehow, the people campaigning to trade off Yankee prospects have overlooked this. 

Look, I realize the Yankee front office certainly knows more than I. Also, these trades are far more complicated my dim view of baseball allows. Still, I ask one question: Under what metric do the Yankees think trading prospects can overcome the issues that this current team faces? 

You know, we wonder sometimes why the Yankees - no longer an elite franchise - have been so bad in this millennium. Some suggest the stadium is cursed. Some say it's New York City, too much pressure. Some blame Food Stamps Hal, or Cooperstown Cashman, or the luxury taxes, or the demand of challenging every year. I'm starting to think it's the expanded wild card system, which allows a mediocre team, barely playing over .500, to think it's a tweak or two from a championship. 

I ask it again... Does anyone really believe this team can trade its way to a 2021 world series?