New York Yankees: Is another starter needed?
By Jason Evans
Do the New York Yankees need to get another starting pitcher?
The New York Yankees had a relatively quiet off-season regarding the number of changes they made. Yes, I guess when you add the reigning NL MVP in Giancarlo Stanton, that doesn’t technically count as “quiet,” but other than that they added Brandon Drury recently for infield depth and brought back CC Sabathia to provide some veteran leadership in the rotation.
If there is any part of the team that has some question marks on it, it’s certainly the starting rotation. Luis Severino reached innings that he never did before. Masahiro Tanaka still has some question marks with not only consistency but his elbow. Sabathia and Sonny Gray have their own injury histories, and Jordan Montgomery is going into just his second full season at the big league level.
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The odd free agent market this off-season has caused quality pitchers like Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn to still be out there. Should the Yankees add one of these players or go out and grab a different starter?
The Yankees plan is to get under $197 million and reset the luxury tax. They have a ton of prospects they can use to make trades towards the trade deadline. They are saving some money for that time.
I understand why the Yankees don’t want to add a starter like Cobb or Arrieta. The move would cost them their second and fifth round picks plus $100k in international money, at a time when the Yankees will have some money to spend in that market after going way over in their spree back in 2014. It’s probably why Mike Moustakas isn’t in a New York Yankees uniform (that and Manny Machado‘s free agency next year)
In case of injury, the Yankees depth is either not great (Luis Cessa), should stay in the bullpen (Chad Green), or unproven (Domingo Acevedo, Domingo German, Albert Abreu, Chance Adams)
Other pitchers like Jeremy Hellickson and Trevor Cahill are still unsigned and wouldn’t require draft pick compensation just money. However, the Yankees have a full 40-man roster, so they would have to designate a player for assignment.
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If I am running the New York Yankees, I think I hold off on signing a starter right now. I’d want to give the kids a look this spring and also save that money and prospect capital for the trade market where players like Chris Archer and others could be on the market.
The New York Yankees hole right now is rotation depth. Between having prospects and cash, they will be able to add to it if they need to at some point during the 2018 season. As of now, they should hold right now, but anytime a starter comes on the trade market, expect them to be sniffing around.