The New York Yankees finished just two games over .500 last season, a year that saw a key injury to superstar Aaron Judge derail the team's chances at an AL East pennant.

The dominant play of the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays among other American League teams had a lot to do with the Yankees' struggles as well.

On Tuesday, longtime GM Brian Cashman revealed a reason for the Yankees' struggles that most fans and media did not want to discuss: injuries. Cashman's stance on analytics has also been criticized by fans, and he fired back with a NSFW message.

Steinbrenner Calls for Youth Movement

The Yankees' owner Hal Steinbrenner has also been busy lately making the media rounds. According to Steinbrenner, the Yankees need to focus on changing the makeup of the team going forward in new, creative ways, starting with an infusion of young talent.

Yankees' Farm System ‘Middling' 

The end of the season brought clarity not just in terms of big league teams' fortunes, but also in terms of the MLB farm system rankings.

Cashman and Steinbrenner's Yankees farm system has been listed as having just two Tier 1 prospects in OF Jasson Dominguez and RHP Chase Hampton. Five second-tier prospects including shortstop George Lombard Jr. and shortstop Roderick Arias have also been mentioned as potential, future impact players, along with right-handed pitcher Drew Thorpe and catcher Austin Wells.

The question now is whether Steinbrenner has what it takes to follow through with his aforementioned plan — or whether it was merely a smokescreen as part of a potential free agent signing or two that could make a big splash this offseason.