Despite a promising future, 2017 should feature a Yankee-less postseason for the fourth time in five years.

Postseason appearances will not be a concern for the New York Yankees in the near future. General manager Brian Cashman has masterfully set the organization up for sustained success.

With that said, judging from 2016’s success clip, the team is still in “wait and see” mode. Until hopeful stars turn into annual staples and reinforcements are contracted to supplement those stars in areas of weakness, the franchise will remain in transitional mode.

The 2017 campaign should prove to be no different.

While an aroma of optimism will consistently fill the air in the Bronx, Joe Girardi’s squad is smothered with uncertainty — an attribute that stems from reliance on youth.

Sure, the Yankees will be relevant. Yes, they will most definitely be more exciting than what the first half of 2016 had in store.

However, that does not mean they will be postseason bound. Here are the central reasons as to why:

Starting Pitching Concerns

As currently aligned, the New York Yankees’ 2017 starting rotation will go as follows:

The one certainty is Tanaka, who pitched to a stellar 3.07 ERA in 199.2 innings last year. However, people seem to forget that his ulnar collateral ligment is not fully intact. With that said, anything is possible.

Beyond the 28-year-old ace, there lies nothing but question marks.

CC Sabathia, who, granted, had a remarkable bounce-back year in 2016, is not getting any younger. Michael Pineda has proven time and time again that he is the biggest mystery in baseball. Luis Severino, who harnesses the most potential out of the five, pitched to an 8.50 ERA in 11 starts last year. At the number five slot, the Yanks have no idea what to feasibly expect from Chad Green at the big league level.

This is not to point the finger at Brian Cashman, who had little to work with when assessing a brutally weak free agent class. What this does point the finger at, though, it last year’s win total.

One cannot reasonably envision that number climbing without a hint of help in arguably the most important area of the ballclub.

Offensive Question Marks

The overall offensive tenacity gained by the 2016 trade deadline fire sale was tremendous. Gary Sanchez simply played on another level, Starlin Castro and Didi Gregorius — two youthful double pay partners — continued to thrive at the dish, Aaron Judge showcased some eye-popping power, and, as a collective unit, the lineup ultimately became more circular.

Fans must face reality. Aside from the established brand of a guy like Castro, raw young talent can and will go through growing pains.

A 37-year-old Matt Holliday may not be enough when Sanchez goes tumbling into his first prolonged big league slump. The one stabilizing factor, Brian McCann, was shipped off to Houston in an attempt to clear payroll.

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Jacoby Ellsbury has not proven himself as the catalyst the Yankees inked to a seven-year, $153 million contract prior to the 2014 season. And while Chase Headley is another veteran presence, his .716 OPS can only mean so much.

In short, the Yankees are relying on a 162-game tear from Gary Sanchez, an immediate MLB adaptation from Aaron Judge, and the reemergence of Greg Bird, whose health and readiness pose a serious question mark.

Sure, fans will be refreshed knowing they won’t have to watch Carlos Beltran limp after a ball in right, Alex Rodriguez get beat by an above average heater, or Mark Teixeira underperform his way to the finish line, but they don’t necessarily have Murderers’ Row taking the field either — let’s slow down with the Gary Sanchez-Babe Ruth comparisons.

Bullpen’s Lack of Worth

The same was the case when New York assembled a “super ‘pen” consisting of Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and Aroldis Chapman. If you do not take a lead into the sixth or seventh inning, your bullpen’s value plummets.

Yes, the Yankees are sure to have more depth in 2017, with a bullpen featuring the likes of Adam Warren, Tommy Layne, Bryan Mitchell, Betances, Tyler Clippard, and Chapman. However, the starting pitching and its lack of quality depth immediately subsides any value the ‘pen wishes to have.

If Michael Pineda is departing after the fifth inning with the Yanks trailing 7-3, that game will not be handed over to “ACDC” — yes, senseless nicknames are already being created.

The bullpen will be as dynamite as the starting pitching makes it look.

So, brace yourselves and hope for as many six-inning quality starts as possible. With the starting staff’s current look, those may be few and far between.

American League Prestige

The final obstacle standing between the Yankees and the postseason is their own league. Let’s face the fact that there are 15 teams vying for only five available top spots.

Once the Boston Red Sox acquired Chris Sale, the American League East was all but decided. With all of that talent, it is hard to see any other intra-divisional team popping champagne in late September.

Outside of the AL East, Cleveland and Detroit do not figure to go anywhere in the AL Central, with both clubs certainly coming in at 85-plus win projections.

Out West, there are three teams set to battle it out for limited spots. Texas is poised to contend for a division title once again, Houston geared themselves for a postseason run with multiple notable offseason acquisitions, and Seattle came up a mere three games short of the second wild card in 2016.

With five teams destined to win close to 90 games, the Yankees will need to go above and beyond to smell October baseball.

Numerous question marks will continually point the team in the opposite direction.

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