Andrew Miller is everything you would want in a relief pitcher. A 6-foot-7 left-hander, he dominates on the mound with an ego small enough he didn't even raise a peep when Aroldis Chapman took his closer job to begin the season.
He is the type of championship player you could have seen lifting his arms after throwing the final pitch of a season, on a cold night in late October or early November in the Bronx.
Unfortunately for him and his now-former franchise, his timing was off. The 2016 Yankees are not real title contenders, meaning for Miller to best help the Yankees win one day, he had to be traded.
The remnants of the Yankees' dealing Miller, Chapman and surely others in the next 24-plus hours could be what we are talking about when the Yankees finally win World Series title No. 28, which, after Sunday morning, is closer to happening than it was Saturday night.
The Yankees' surrender this July means there could be many important Octobers in the near future.
The Yankees are the most powerful organization in baseball when they have a deep farm system. By trading Miller and Chapman, they have added seven prospects.
Owner Hal Steinbrenner gave the green light on these deals, showing a pragmatism that his father probably would never have displayed. Steinbrenner deserves the credit for listening to GM Brian Cashman and realizing that the Yankees were beginning to be on a ferret wheel of yearly contention for the second wild card and not much more.
The dividends of acquiring the fifth pick in the 2013 draft, outfielder Clint Frazier; another first-rounder in talented lefty starter Justus Sheffield; as well as two right-handed pitchers, Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen, could be major in so many ways.
With a deeper farm system, the Yankees have a great chance to not only turn into a championship team, but also a more entertaining one -- after the daily boredom of the post-A-Rod-era Yankees. (Yes, Alex Rodriguez is still on the team but really in clubhouse presence only.)
With the deals, the Yankees are now in play when any top player hits the market. Let's say a year from now lefty Chris Sale is still at the top of his game and available; the Yankees will be well-positioned to trade for him.
They now have two top outfield prospects in Frazier and Aaron Judge as well as a few others who could be major leaguers one day. The Yankees have a nice storefront display set up for when they are buyers again and want to acquire elite major leaguers.
By having a deep farm system, the Yankees could also avoid overpaying in free agency for the likes of Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Chase Headley. When a system is thin, as the Yankees' has been until now, teams have to reach to try to piece together playoff contenders.
This relentless cycle makes for long contracts that don't pay off in the end -- and, in too many recent cases for the Yankees, aren't worth it even at the beginning of the deals.
Yankees fans have been paying huge prices to attend games and have not felt they are getting their money's worth. By and large, fans seem to want the team to sell. And it isn't just about winning, but wanting a club that is more interesting.
Yankees fans have had it great for nearly a quarter-century, finishing above .500 every season since 1992 and winning five titles. By selling, the Yankees have a chance to combine a youthful base with the ability to pick out the finest players in trades and free agency.
The Yankees should not be done. Carlos Beltran, Ivan Nova, McCann and others could be dealt over the next 24 hours or so to improve the minor league base.
And it isn't as if they are breaking up the Core Four dynasty with these trades. They are facing reality. If they continue to make the right moves, the future could be fantastic.