The Yankees have been linked to a wide range of starting pitchers on both the free agent and trade markets throughout the offseason, but Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports that the team has shifted its focus to the bullpen. The asking prices for free agents Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, coupled with lofty asks from teams peddling starting pitching (e.g. the White Sox, Marlins) make it unlikely the Yankees will make another significant addition to their starting staff, per Kuty. The Yankees signed Marcus Stroman to a two-year contract last week and reportedly made an offer to Snell but weren’t close to the reigning NL Cy Young winner’s asking price.
Clay Holmes is again expected to anchor the New York bullpen after another strong showing in 2023. Acquired in what was then a low-profile deadline trade met with a collective yawn from most fans, the now-30-year-old righty has taken his game to new heights in the Bronx.
After posting a 5.57 ERA in parts of four seasons with the Pirates, Holmes has given the Yankees 154 2/3 frames of 2.50 ERA ball. The command issues that plagued him in Pittsburgh have dissipated (7.5% walk rate as a Yankee), and he’s ridden his power sinker to 44 saves and 17 holds while punching out 27.2% of his opponents. Since 2021, there have been 456 pitchers to throw at least 100 innings in the majors; none has a higher ground-ball rate than Holmes’ staggering 69.9%.
Behind Holmes, things are a bit shakier. Right-hander Jonathan Loaisiga has been excellent since 2021, sporting a tidy 2.97 ERA with a terrific 59.3% grounder rate thanks in large part to a power sinker of his own. However, Loaisiga pitched just 17 2/3 innings last year and did so with a career-worst 8.7% strikeout rate that ranked fifth-worst in MLB among pitchers with at least 10 innings. He spent the bulk of the season on the injured list (two separate stints) due to elbow inflammation. Loaisiga also had IL stints in 2021 and 2022, both pertaining to his right shoulder. He’s reached 50 innings in a big league season just once, back in 2021.
Similarly, right-hander Tommy Kahnle has been excellent when healthy … but such instances have been few and far between. Last year’s 40 2/3 innings were Kahnle’s most since 2019 and marked just the fourth time in ten MLB seasons that he’s reached even 40 innings pitched. Kahnle opened the year on the 60-day IL due to biceps tendinitis and closed out the year on the 15-day IL owing to shoulder inflammation. In his 40 2/3 innings, he turned in a sharp 2.66 ERA with a 29.1% strikeout rate against an elevated 11.5% walk rate. A healthy Kahnle is a big bullpen piece, but that’s tough to rely on, given his lengthy injury history.
Beyond that trio, things are even less stable. Right-hander Ian Hamilton had an out-of-the-blue breakout in 2023, tossing 58 innings of 2.64 ERA ball, but he’s a 28-year-old with no prior big league success. Ron Marinaccio’s eye-popping 2.05 ERA from 2022’s excellent rookie season nearly doubled in 2023 (3.99), and command continues to be an issue for him (13% walk rate in both 2022 and 2023). Righty Scott Effross will be in his first season back from Tommy John surgery. Southpaw Victor Gonzalez, acquired from the Dodgers earlier in the winter, gives the Yankees another ground-ball specialist, but his overall numbers have declined each season since his excellent 2021 debut.
Beyond the injury concern and lack of proven arms beyond the top few names, the Yankees must also replace the innings of several outgoing relievers. Right-hander Michael King, left-hander Wandy Peralta and righty Keynan Middleton combined for 132 2/3 innings of 2.85 ERA ball out of the bullpen last year. King was traded to the Padres as part of the Juan Soto deal and will open the season in San Diego’s rotation. Peralta and Middleton are both free agents (and both remain unsigned).
On top of that, each of Holmes, Kahnle and Loaisiga is a free agent following the 2024 campaign. The upcoming season will be the second of a two-year, $11.5MM free agent deal between the Yankees and Kahnle. That contract does not have an option for an additional season. Both Holmes and Loaisiga will reach six years of service time in 2024 and become free agents for the first time — with Holmes headed toward being one of the top relievers on next year’s free agent class.
It’s no secret that the Yankees are set to shatter every luxury tax barrier this season, which only further muddies their path to bolstering the team. Roster Resource projects the Yankees at around $305MM of luxury obligations, placing the team well beyond the fourth and final $297MM luxury tier. Couple that with their status as a club that’s exceeded the threshold in at least three straight seasons, and they’ll pay a massive 110% tax on any dollars spent on the 2024 payroll. Even bringing Peralta back on the same $3.35MM salary he earned last year would cost the Yankees more than $7MM — and Peralta, of course, has very likely positioned himself for a nice raise over that relatively modest mark.
That onerous tax status, to be clear, doesn’t seem likely to preclude the Yankees from making further additions. They had interest in a Peralta reunion as far back as November and reportedly had some talks with him in early December. Kuty writes that the Yankees “love” the left-hander and what he brings to the clubhouse (in addition to his obvious on-field contributions). Meanwhile, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com suggested recently that the Yankees are one of the favorites to sign veteran righty Hector Neris.
Similarly, it should be noted that while Kuty casts doubt on the team’s likelihood of making another big splash in the rotation, that doesn’t rule out the possibility of more minor pickups. The Yanks added Luke Weaver on a low-cost one-year deal earlier in the month, and he’ll provide some long relief and starting depth. Additional deals in that vein, or perhaps minor league deals for veterans who could be stashed in Triple-A, could well come together. It’s always possible that a late drop in the asking price of Snell or Montgomery could spur the Yankees to circle back to one of the market’s top remaining starters, but for now that type of splash seems improbable.
Cashman: “Well, since the market is so high, we will just go into the season with a strong sense of hope, rather than pay the cost to make the team as good as it needs to be. And of course, we will reassess at the deadline…..”
In other words, definitely good enough for anWC berth… another “competitive” season.
Fans complaining about their team spending only 300MM should perhaps start a GoFundMe to buy the team and spend their own money. Lol
I don’t think this qualifies as a complain as much as it does fact.
“Pay the cost to make the team as good”…Your commentary is the typical commentary of spoiled, entitled fans. The Yanks acquire a very expensive Juan Soto and bring in an expensive Rodon and also give the best pitcher in MLB, Gerrit Cole, $320M+ to come to NY and still spoiled fans imply they should SPEND even MORE. You can accuse the Yankees of wasteful, poorly thought out spending, but suggesting they don’t “pay the cost to make the team as good” as possible makes you sound like a lunatic who would complain if his driveway was paved in solid gold. You do realize the Yankees are historically MLB’s BIGGEST spenders by a rather wide margin?
“You do realize the Yankees are historically MLB’s BIGGEST spenders by a rather wide margin?”
You do realize that is no longer the case and we believe it should be? When the Yankees were spending like that, they were winning titles. Now that they aren’t, they’re not.
I’m mad because they stop spending at the wrong times. Using Yamamoto as an example, they made a competitive offer. In some ways it was a better offer than the Dodgers. But if they wanted him, money shouldn’t stand in the way. I understand that he wanted to play for the Dodgers but the Yankees stopping their offer where they did is something that should not happen.
Teams get big players to win. Yankees spent huge on Soto – but pitching is (has been) a large weakness, so why spend so much if you are not “all in”? It becomes wasted money. It’s like spending Maserati money on a beautiful new Maserati, but only getting a ford pinto engine inside. I goes it looks nice to everyone on the outside.
Teams get big players to win. Yankees spent huge on Soto – but pitching is (has been) a large weakness, so why spend so much if you are not “all in”?
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1-The NYY were #9 in runs against and they were #24 in runs scored. That suggests that acquiring more offense was the priority.
2-Depending on Rizzo’s health, they might’ve started with -0- lefty bats in their lineup, suggesting that they needed more lefties.
3-The NYY faced only 28 lefty starters in 2023, suggesting that teams were loading up the righties against the Yankees in view of their lack of LH hitting.
I’m a Yankees fan and this why I don’t like other Yankees fans lol. This is embarrassing.
Trotsky: so you don’t like other Yankees fans who want to fill obvious holes in the roster? That’s…. Embarrassing?
You sound like the Pittsburgh fan base. Spending doesn’t equal championships, or the Mets would be polishing their rings instead of their egos. During the last dynasty, the Yankees developed what we call “the core four” that was the foundation of those teams. Sure, they spent on FA and brought in guys to support the players that they drafted and developed, but that “spending” was not the reason for the success. The scouting and developing of players is the key to winning. Spending is a way to try to shortcut or shore up the failure to scout and draft properly.
Well said.
It’s also becoming very tiresome that the off-season belief (and I think the MLB media pushes this for some reason) is that “Highest Payroll = Championships”, ignoring the fact that the three highest payroll teams in 2023 (Mets, Yankees, Padres) all failed to make it to the post-season.
It’s getting ridiculous – I’ve been listing to MLB Radio on Sirius/XM the past few days and the various talking heads all lament how cheap so many of the teams (not just the Yankees) are – again just ignoring that higher payrolls don’t guarantee anything in MLB (I think the Mets were a much a bigger disaster in 2023 compared to the Yankees, but nobody EVER talks about that). The Diamondbacks were only two games better than the Yankees in the regular season last year (84-78) and they made it the to the World Series, but whatever. It’s just more “Why won’t. these cheap contending teams just give Blake Snell the $27oMM he wants???”
The Yankees added three outfielders making $45.2MM in 2024 through trades, to go along with their RF/CF who is paid $40MM per year. They added a second starter last off-season averaging $27MM for six years to go with the #1 starter making $324MM ($36MM per year) over nine years, so that’s $63MM per year for two starting pitchers. They’re paying the two starters on the right side of the infield $31.2MM this year. And they have an aging DH/occasional OF who seems to be declining quickly $32MM in 2024.
If only they would truly invest in this team. . .
I think the MLB media pushes this for some reason)
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They do so because they side with labor over owners, and more spending is usually what they root for. And since many aren’t deep into the stats, they usually have shiny object syndrome.
When you are over $300M, maybe the focus should be on how the money is spent, not on how much money is spent.
Joe no argument with that but the Yankees should in no way shy away from spending money. Hal picks odd times to tighten the purse strings.
“Tighten the purse strings”…I very much doubt the Yankees have dropped out of the top 5 in spending at any point in the last 30 years. Most years during that time frame the Yankees were the #1 spenders. Exactly when has Hal “tightened the purse strings”, because I must have missed it, even though I’ve watched the Yankees 4 or 5 times every week for the last 25+ years.
They were when they signed DJLM to a longer deal to keep his AAV down. They did when they sat out two years of the best SS free agents ever available. Those are just two quick examples.
So you’re saying Volpe is better than Seager, Semien, Turner etc.?
It’s not entitlement. It’s expecting the Yankees to spend in accordance with their profits. You know, the money that us fans are giving them to spend on the team
Oh, I’m sorry. All that money we give Hal, yeah, he should just keep all of that for himself. No need to put that back into the team.
I don’t understand what you’re getting at with your last sentence.
However, I don’t care what your expectations of your favorite team is. Other teams are less important to me than the Yankees are to you.
The Yankees are spending less than ever in regards to their profits. That is well documented. As someone who helps to contribute to that, I expect better.
Let’s see if I can dumb this down for you. Profits are what you have left over when your expenses have have been paid. All of this comes from the money that we fans have spent, either directly or indirectly, on the team. It is well reported that the Yankees are not spending that money on the team like they have in the past. In fact they are at the bottom of the league in what they spend on the players compared to what they bring in. They are lower than the Pirates and even the A’s.
Then again, I don’t think you’re a Cardinals fan. I think I have found either Hal or Cashman’s burner acct.
“Two quick examples”…So, you use an example of the Yankees spending near 100M dollars to acquire DJL, to make the point that the Yankees are cheap?..Do you have ANY idea how silly and ridiculous you sound or have even you stopped taking yourself seriously?
Bingo!
Each contract is different, though.
No one could have foreseen Stanton’s quick demise and Rizzo’s contract isn’t lengthy or bad.
DJ’s was a trap and Rodon’s was the biggest trap of 2023. That Cashman fell into.
mlb fan the Yankees aren’t poor. I’m not going to pretend they are. And yes the way they did DJ’s contract was to save money. If they would have just ponied up and kept it at a four year deal, he would be entering his last year and not taking up a roster spot for another two.
I seem to have found a couple of owner apologists today.
Hal picks odd times to tighten the purse strings.
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But this is the largest payroll they’ve ever had. And the second highest payroll in the history of baseball.
They did when they sat out two years of the best SS free agents ever available.
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They weren’t busting the budget for a SS when they had Volpe coming up. Would you trade Volpe for Correa, Bogaerts, etc.?
Volpe IN HIS ROOKIE YEAR was better than Turner and Correa in 2023.
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Replacing the minimum wage Volpe with the $300M, 30 year old Turner would be certifiably insane.
KingofCards: I tried to think of a diplomatic reply to your repeated straw man argument; but, there is none, so here it is: my statement was directly about the Yankees being all in for a very short window. That means they acquire necessary personnel to fill clear holes on the roster.
You’re jealous because your team hasn’t spent as much (from your text talking about $300MM spent, it’s abundantly clear) and are therefore blinded by said jealousy.
Bottom line is: you don’t get to define my opinion of all-in. Not do you get to say we are “entitled” for wanting are team to win. To do so based on my team spending more than yours to win, clearly makes your response childish and immature.
Joe I would trade Volpe for Seager or Semien in a heartbeat.
As for the puse strings, Hal has cut off spending at odd times. Even this off-season (admitted it isn’t over yet) they were willing to spend another 30 million on Yamamoto and that’s before adding anything at all to the pen and additional depth. So the money is there. They should never be outbid for anyone.
So who should outbid them?
That isn’t what I asked. You made a statement and I asked you about it. If you can’t answer it that’s fine.
“Being all in means you will be all out at some point. ”
Uh, wrong. That’s exactly YOUR definition.
And I’m not complainant they haven’t spent enough, for the second time.
Last, I really don’t care “how that comes across to other fans”; or perhaps you should think about how calling a fanbase “entitled” comes across.
Again, your context (“spending more than other teams,” “ridiculous spending;” “how do other teams feel,” etc) reflects your jealousy….. it’s all about how you “feel” about Yankees spending. It’s….a terrible argument. And a terrible opinion too.
“You think they should sign everyone every offseason?”
Again, straight to the straw man. Nobody said that. Nobody implied specifically signing anybody, let alone everybody. And we are talking about right now, 2024, not “every offseason.”
Your argument is filled with unsubstantiated generalizations and assumptions, none of which prove any point nor contradict any statement, other than your own.
I am not focusing on payroll. I’m responding to YOU who is focusing solely on payroll. You’re a troll. Or your reading comprehension is extremely poor. You have a trollish habit of telling others what they say and mean, despite direct statements to the contrary.
Go……..away.
Lemahieu didn’t consistently have great numbers in the BABIP heaven of Coors field.
He was never gonna age well without the rabbit ball.
Should have let him go somewhere else.
Great points.
Hal does spend.
Cashman does waste an insane amount of money.
As a Yankee fan, I’m upset when the Rays spend 30-35% of what we do and still beat us in the standings.
MRivers I don’t worry about the Rays at all. They have no WS titles. That’s what it’s all about.
I give them credit but they also get a lot of extra draft picks too. Easier to hit on picks when you an extra first rounder each year.
KingofCards: I am fully convinced you are a troll now. And an avid Yankees-hater. It’s unbecoming sir…. Or ma’am. You can excuse yourself right outthe front door. It’s wide open, waiting for you to leave.
@Clipper – I couldn’t agree with you more!
Cashman will now have to go out and prove he is the Lord of Dumpster Diving. My question is this:
Is Cashman even competitive enough to be the general manager of the Yankees? In my opinion, he never seems to approach an off-season or trade deadline with any urgency or desire to win.
Rick Cashman is the smartest guy in the room. If you don’t believe him, just ask him.
In my opinion, he never seems to approach an off-season or trade deadline with any urgency or desire to win.
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My opinion is just the opposite. The urgency to acquire DJLM, Stanton, Donaldson, Rodon, Montas, etc., is what is holding them back.
I like adding Clevenger to the rotation and adding Wandy and Stephenson!
sadly, a wildcard birth is far from certain even with soto and stroman
Hector Gomez reported in a tweet that was taken down that Hector Neris was seeking 3/50. I assume his agent used it to gauge interest and then instantly called it false after he realized nobody is that crazy.
Neris falls under the category of “oh yeah, I remember him”.
Twins need pitchers too but at least NYY are making significant moves…
Sign Fuzzy
If they signed Hader, a power arm left to dominate the late innings with Holmes, they could shorten so many games and take away some of the short porches in the right.. Ground ball rates and swing and miss of left-handed pitching in the bullpen seem pretty crucial for the Yankees..
It’s funny, but the Red Sox bullpen is poorly constructed to play the Yankees on the road. Look at what the Braves did to prepare for the Dodgers with some of their moves and the prices they were willing to pay to SD and CHW in those trades. That’s roster construction!
Every team could use him. Texas needs him more. Consistency is premium for the closer and somewhat what the setup guy. Other innings can have inconsistent guys who guve up 6 runs and then no runs the next 8 outings since a blowout loss in the 6th inning allows you to use your worst relievers a few innings, but a bad closer doesn’t. NYY has a few elite (perhaps also consistent) guys already
Just get Josh Hader and stop pinching pennies with these minor-league players who can’t play at the MLB level
Why would the team with the best BP in BB want to add another RP, instead of adding a #5 SP?
Because the back 4 starters will average 4-5 innings per game – and bullpen will make the difference. Giving up all that bullpen to make the recent acquisitions is tough
To add to the argument (above) that this year’s Yankees are being “cheap”, here’s why they won’t be signing Hader…
“It was reported earlier this month that Hader was aiming to set a new benchmark for relievers…”
They should upgrade the old bullpen cart so that relievers don’t have to run all the way from center field. They could also upgrade the bullpen phone. It’s literally the only phone left on the planet that’s not cordless and it’d be nice to be able to get an outside line.
Players salaries are getting way out of hand. Everyone now thinks that they are worth 20 to40 million a year! The salaries need to adjust or anyone after 30 won’t get a long term contract! Look at how many mid range players that are unsigned this year, they are good players that can contribute but their asking prices are inflated and many of them will get kicked to the curb.
You realize that revenue is not stagnant, and keeps going up. Astronomically. So, you’re in favor of billionaire owners pocketing a bigger and bigger % while player salaries stagnate? I get that this money is ridiculous, but I’d rather the owners spend more of the profits on the team, not less.
yes. right now players make LESS compared to owners than they did before Curt Flood challenged the reserve clause and free agency began
Poor union leadership. They could’ve had a percentage of the gross, which likely would’ve netted them another $1B a year.
Having a difficult time why Peralta not being offered at leadt 3/15-18 million
Because the acquisition of Victor Gonzalez pretty much ended any chance of him coming back, despite the fact he is still unsigned.
I repeat. Holmes IS NOT a shutdown closer. The 2nd half of his seasons choke. What happened to the days when they multiple guys who could work the 7th and 8th and bring in the closer?
Agreed. Yanks BP gutted for Soto. I thought King would take over for Holmes.
Neris is old and not that great and Hader not worth the money.
I like putting Nestor Cortes in the BP as a high leverage guy who can give you multiple innings. He isn’t built to be a starter. He should be on a 125 inning pitch limit.
Arguably the most underrated sports team/fan base/stadium in the country. You can ask anybody.
Absolutely, buttercup. Except you said the same thing about Toronto.
It’s too early to know, but I wonder if Bellinger, Snell, and Montgomery have priced themselves out of jobs. I understand that they have the highest upside of the remaining free agents, but none of them is a sure thing, either. They’re going to be looking for something like 30-40 times the price of a league minimum salary, but there’s no chance they provide 30-40 times the value of a replacement-level player. When you think about it that way, why would any team shell out the kind of money they’re asking for, especially without any consistent track record?
Harper and Machado signed in March,,,
Most of the big names left are all big money Boras guys with noticeable flaws… This isnt uncharted waters in FA…
1-They will all be signed.
2-Monty is one of the most consistent SPs in BB. His FIP over 5 years is 3.64, and the standard deviation on that is probably the lowest I have ever seen.
You’re right about Monty! Shouldn’t have included him in there. And I agree that they’ll all be signed, though I doubt it will be at the prices they’re hoping for. Reminds me of Conforto or Profar wildly overestimating their market value and having to take less-than-ideal contracts later on.
If I was a GM there’s no chance I’d sign either Bellinger or Snell long term. They would be enjoying their success/inconsistencies elsewhere. With Montgomery, idk his price, but he’s been a very good, consistent starter since entering the league. As a Yankee fan I actually liked the Stroman signing. Idk if I’d let it stop me from also adding Montgomery though.
Looking a the depth charts for the Yankees, they don’t actually look terrible. Is this a team that’s guaranteed to win the WS? No, but they look like they could be competitive this year. Assuming Rizzo is back to normal health, he should be more productive than last year and Soto will at least provide more presence on the bases and another threat in the lineup. Rotation looks a bit better but still vulnerable if someone gets injured, though. Makes sense to get some more bullpen help and wait to see how the first half plays out. If they’re in contention and have the pieces for a trade, why not.
I am surprised Loaisiga is mentioned in the article, He had a breakout year in 2019 but other than that year he is always hurt.
Good article, but when it comes to Holmes numbers don’t tell the full story. There’s been times he’s been completely unreliable and I’m sure the FO knows that. Right now as it stands this bullpen is not good. I’d put Hamilton in back of Holmes and then major questions in regards to health and effectiveness. The subtraction of King especially is huuuge. I’d definitely start with a simple reunion with Wandy and then look to either complement (Neris, Stephenson) or supplant (Hader) Holmes. While costly, if I’m Cashman I’m looking at it like this: either way, we’re going pay double for these guys, so do we want to pay double for a plug that may be faulty or get a proven commodity? No guarantee they bring back Holmes next season either so signing Hader may be a good investment.
The Yankees are still playing moneyball. They are not looking to win a WS. They are just trying hard enough to finish minimum 1 or more games over .500 and hopefully make a wc spot. The financials that are needed to put together a World Series team doesn’t net anywhere near the profit they Yankees bring in with a sub par team that limps towards the post season.
The Yankees real problem comes from past disastrous trades and signings…money spent, talent traded for no real return. They need time to work those terrible contracts off. The signings the make now just bridge that at great expense. Stanton gets $116M, Donaldson another $6M, Rodon $140M, DJ $45M, Hicks $20M. Dead weight, non performing money. They can’t go forward without spending more, but spending more doesn’t make them good. And the Soto trade….
Cashman only cares about the bullpen. They’ve had one one the best bullpen for a decade. It doesn’t matter if you can close a game if you’re losing.
You can make a case for that, starters aren’t pitching as long today. The pen finishes every game, as they go so does most teams.
Cashman only cares about the bullpen.
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They spend virtually nothing on the BP.
When they did spend on Britton and Chapman, 30 million, they came up short. This pen looks good to me.
They actually gave Chapman a lot more than that and it was actually Ottavino who got the deal that Britton did.
Big mistake. This team absolutely needs another starting pitcher. Doesn’t have to be Snell or Montgomery, but they definitely need another one. Too many injury prone pitchers on that staff to try to make it through the season without another starter. But this is typical Cashman. He always constructs a very top heavy roster. He hands out exorbitant contracts to the top 5-7 players on the roster and pinches Pennie’s for the last 5-7 players on the roster. Then, he’s dumbfounded when injuries happen and they don’t have the quality depth to overcome it.
And what/who would you suggest that wouldn’t cost a kings ransom going from the Yankees (starters plus an already depleted far system) to the team sending a second tier pitcher over…..first line pitchers already have established unreasonable acquisition costs…….they can wait until the trade deadline if they are actually short on starters….
TopJimmy: You’re right. A big part of the problem is that the Yankees (Boone) burns the bullpen out by August.
Rocky: Excellent question and it brings us to the big conundrum: is SP ever going to be less? I say, no. But, next offseason we will see many more good pitchers in FA. The problem is that the market is *always* too high for Cashman – it’s why he keeps acquiring players with injury histories at a cheaper price, and then they get injured again.
If he said, “next season we are going to address our SP needs” I think it would appease a large number of dissatisfied fans. There are only a couple years left for any viable window though.
More iffy Cashman signings. Weaver was terrible last year in Cincinnati resulting in his release.
And he pitched pretty well in the 3 Yankee starts down the stretch…..just another example where a change of scenery and pitching coaches changes results…..happens all the time…….
Yanks have the highest WAR in the A:L right now at 48.3 with Fangraphs under rating Rizzo and DJ. Let’s be honest here, every year Cashman gives the Yanks the players to contend, it’s now up to the players on the field to perform. I’m talking about Stanton, Rizzo, DJ, and most of all Rondon and Nestor. If they do they will be champions.
I don’t really understand why there is so much worry about the bullpen. There are enough guys on the roster and enough depth options in the minors to not have to spend big money there.
Holmes, Loaisiga, Hamilton, Kahnle,
Effross, Marinaccio, González, Ramírez and Weaver are likely the 9 initial guys.
There’s some depth with Morris, Poteet, Gomez. There’s also some likely starters that could help in pinch as relievers/swingman like Beeter and Gil. Trending relievers like Neely and Watson. And plenty of Quad A reclamation projects for the Yankees to find one useful guy from among Burdi, De Los Santos, Miesiwicz, etc.
Use that money for starting pitching improvements/depth.
Ageed, their pen is better than it’s rank. Effross was a closer for the Cubs before he hurt his arm.
They’re spoiled.
And to an extent Cashman is also.
Easier to press the money button than to build an organization that finds and develops players. But Yanks are getting much better–finally.
Spending only really worked well in 2009. Otherwise, it has been hit or miss.
Yankees should just resign both Peralta and Middleton and call it a winter. No sense over doing it as they have the trade deadline to add additions permitting they have a commanding hold on a playoff spot cause if they don’t rest assured Torres, Soto, Holmes and others will be available via trade to contenders to reload the farm! Trading Soto and Torres will be offered qualifying offer of $20 million only to be rejected but will bring better players back via trade.
I think those two would be good additions but the problem with Cashman is: he doesn’t want to pay the requisite prospect price to improve the SP right now….it’s only going to be worse at the deadline, thus causing him to overpay even more…..a la Joey Gallo, etc.
I guess I just don’t see Cashman making a good move now, or then.
Bring back Wandy and sign Neris. The starting pitching market closed faster than expected due to the Dodgers signings (ruining baseball), that the remaining pitchers are looking for a ridiculous amount of money. Stroman was a decent signing, but relying on Rodon not to be absolute dogshit like he was this past year, and Nestor to regain his form from 2 years ago is a bit much! It’s a typical Yankees problem, we spend amongst the leagues highest, but yet our roster is always flawed in some way. We traded away our pitching depth for Soto. Resign him immediately or trade him at the deadline for a boatload of pitching! Oh, and also get rid of Stanton…. My 93 year old grandmother could hit .194 against major league pitching…. Stanton is literally robbing the MLB right now with his abilities and availability!
The Yankees have a lot of holes for a team with a monster payroll.
They have now passed on Josh Hader, what, 3 times??? Ridiculous that they let him go to the Astros for 95M! When Hader sets them down in October, maybe Hal will finally see that it’s time to Let Cashman go…..but then Boone is still there, and the P&L will likely look pretty good, so we should just brace for the worst…..
if they were focused on “bullpen upgrades” why did they not sign Harder but let him go to the stros?
same old yanks . they just want the seats filled & hoping they make the playoffs . if they wanted to win the World Series they’d go all in .
its all about money to them . not wining the big one . they will be what they have been in the past……….. mediocre.