With the 2016 regular season in the books, New York Yankees fans can take a hard look at what their team accomplished.

What started at 9-17 (.346) ended at 84-78 (.519). What started as an aging, lifeless team finished as a revived, catalyzed club stemming from an organization with newfound life.

Fans may have become greedy at the end, anticipating a playoff berth and postseason run from an unexpected second half surge. In keeping perspective, one can realize just how much of a pure success this 2016 season was for the Yankees’ franchise.

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A 75-61 finish to a season that experienced so many twists and turns, ups and downs, and sheer uncertainties. In the process, a deep, highly-regarded, minor league system was built and an epic peek into the future was provided in the final two months.

So, yes, there is plenty to be excited about. But there is biased excitement and brutal honesty.

If these Yankees — first half and second half combined — were to run home to mom and dad, what would their final report card entail? Would they be praised, lectured, or grounded?

Without further adieu, let’s take a dive into the critical evaluation.

Starting Pitching

Tanaka dazzled all year, proving his ace status and keeping the rotation afloat. Pineda had one of the more confusing seasons in major league baseball history. Eovaldi was disappointing up until being pronounced out for 2016 and all of 2017. Sabathia was an extremely pleasant surprise. Most of all, Luis Severino completely flopped, proving time and time again that he is a reliever.

As a staff, the Yankees ranked 19th in baseball with a 4.44 ERA. In fact, none of their starting pitchers managed to toss a complete game this year. When the rotation came together, they spun off winning streaks. When everything fell apart, extended losing spells would be the name of the game.

Keyword: inconsistency.

Simply put, Brian Cashman needs to address this aspect of the team if he wants to see an improvement from the 84 total wins that were tallied.

Grade: C-

Infield

Anyone that has an issue with the catching situation needs to go home. Not only did the Yankees find their guy with Gary Sanchez, but they found the correct mix with him and Brian McCann. They received 40 homers and 100 RBIs combined between the two primary guys at the position.

As for the rest of the infield, Didi Gregorius and Starlin Castro were forces up the middle for the entirety of the campaign. Didi had, by far, the best year of his young career while Castro gave the Yankees a glimpse of what he can provide in the Bronx: a free swinger with major pop and a more than capable glove.

Headley greatly improved his subpar 2015 defense and turned in a steady season. Teixeira, across the diamond, disappointed offensively for a vast majority of 2016. However, he turned it around while seeing less time in the final two months of his career.

The Yankees will need to figure out the Tyler Austin/Greg Bird scenario at first base in 2017, but they are pretty much set otherwise. It will be a good problem to have.

Grade: B

Outfield

Let’s not give this outfield any more credit than it deserves. It was absolutely lame.

Ellsbury and Gardner, who are supposed to be the two table setters, do not get on base nearly enough, meaning they do not steal nearly enough. Even when they do reach first, you rarely see them at second. Both of them, more particularly Gardner, underperformed this year.

Hicks, who was brought on to play every outfield position as a backup, finally showed why the Yankees acquired him in August and September. With that said, April through July was a train-wreck.

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Aaron Judge showed promising signs early on but was pitiful until going down for the remainder of the year with an oblique injury. He had no answer for the breaking ball, striking out at an absurd rate.

Trading away Beltran likely helped the franchise’s future greatly but did not help the second half cause whatsoever. If the Yanks want to get guys like Mason Williams and, ultimately, Clint Frazier — their No. 1 prospect — further involved in the near future, they need to find Ellsbury or Gardner a new home.

Grade: D

Bullpen

“No-Runs DMC” fortified the first half and won the Yankees some games they probably shouldn’t have won. As a product of the deadline fire sale, two-thirds of the three-headed monster were wearing different uniforms.

The bullpen, however, did not go on a downward spin as a result. In fact, with the acquisition of Tyler Clippard, they were better after August 1 … for the most part.

Dellin Betances simply ran out of gas down the stretch and blew arguably the most important game of the year in Boston.

When it was all said and done, the Yanks came in at 16th in major league baseball with a 3.67 bullpen ERA. Their specialty? Strikeouts, which they ranked third in (578).

The closing role is likely up for grabs as far as 2017 is concerned, but the bullpen, as a whole, held it together amidst changes in 2016.

Grade: C+

Final Evaluation

Team Grade: B

Throughout everything, for this team to pull off 84-78 was exceptional. Staying right in the thick of things until the end provided fans with an exciting brand of baseball during a rebuilding phase for the organization.

Manager Grade: A

The Yankees were able to remain afloat and win 84 games because of their skipper, Joe Girardi. In his ninth year at the helm, he dealt with all of the rumors and sideshow in the best possible way and maximized his value. He effectively utilized the roster he was handed every single night and never let the team fall to a point where they were completely out of the hunt. This was Manager of the Year stuff.

Executive Grade: A

Brian Cashman wanted to do this all along, and he finally got his chance. He resurrected a franchise on a downwards trend and put his faith in Joe Girardi to continue fielding a winning team. Once he got the go-ahead from ownership, he revitalized the organization into what can potentially turn into the next dynasty. The Yankees now have seven of MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects in their system — some have tasted the majors. Thank Cashman for that.

Emmanuel Berbari is Elite Sports NY’s Editor in Chief. Interact with him and view his daily work by “liking” his facebook page. He invites you to email any questions, comments, or concerns as well.

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