How does Wander Franco impact the Yankees immediate future?
The No. 1 prospect in baseball arrived with a bang on Tuesday. If you hadnt heard of Wander Franco before Tuesday, you likely have now. The 20-year-old Dominican shortstop had been the No. 1 ranked prospect by everyone over the past two years. The Tampa Bay Rays traded Wily Adames to make room for him and, on Tuesday, he made his much-anticipated MLB debut. And he didnt waste any time letting people know he was for real. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tampa Bay Rays (@raysbaseball)  Franco, who started at third base batting second for the Rays, hit a missile of a home run in his second career big league plate appearance. He followed that up with a rocket off the wall in left that he turned into a double because, not only can he hit, he can fly as well. He finished his debut 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three runs batted in. And everyone was impressed. The unfortunate reality for fans of every other team in the American League East is that Franco is about to become one of the best players in the best division in the game. And that doesnt bode well for the Yankees. Big Trouble in Tampa  As we wake up on Wednesday morning in the glow of Francos debut, the Yankees are four games behind Tampa and 5.5 behind the first place Red Sox. Tampa has done the Yankees (and the rest of a division) a favor; theyve lost seven in a row. And theyre now going to be without their ace, Tyler Glasnow, for what appears to be the rest of the division. But now Tampa has some new energy in the lineup. And, arguably, just added the best bat in the organization. Lets also not forget the Rays have the Yankees number. They own the Yankees recently. And, now, they have Franco to make life miserable for the pinstripes. First, lets eliminate the elephant in the room: calling up Jasson Dominguez is not the answer. He hasnt played a professional game yet. He might be the Yankees answer to Franco eventually, but rushing him doesnt help his development or the organization. The Yankees do have their issues, however. Theyre chasing two teams in the division and Torontos offense is going to keep them competitive. The AL East is a beast and that reality was strengthened with the arrival of Franco. If the Yankees do respond  which they should  it should be in the form of a trade to get some left-handed help in their lineup well before the trade deadline. The Yankees should strike quickly and make their push as July starts  not after the trade deadline. They have shown enough issues on the field to this point that work needs to be done and the arrival of Franco could make the Rays harder to catch as the season progresses.