The way I see it (and have seen for a long time), at this point nothing is worth for NY other than a ring. Period. Not winning the division nor making the WS but winning a ring —no matter how.
They won't get a ring going like this. They can "fix" some issues here and there but the core (if there is a core at all) isn't simply a WS caliber one. It hasn't been in the last decade even whether some teams looked like it. This is what I've been saying for a long time. If they want to win a WS again, they have to rebuild the team starting at the FO while changing their philosophy and baseball operations. Baseball is a unique sport these days. Money won't guarantee championships these days as it used to anymore, and is really rare to see teams winning WSs in consecutive years as the Yankees did decades ago. It has turned very competitive mostly since technology, and plenty of teams have money as well.