MLB Free Agency 2017: 5 potential teams for Rich Hill

New York Yankees

The Yankees sat out free agency entirely last offseason. One name that many felt should have been of interest to Brian Cashman and the front office was Jordan Zimmermann. The Yankees passed on Zimmermann — possibly the right call given his struggles in 2016 — but were left with another sting of mediocre performances behind ace Masahiro Tanaka. Luis Severino was one of the biggest disappointments of the season.

New York should have money to spend for the 2016-17 offseason, assuming they’re not saving all of their money for Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Mike Trout some point down the road. With CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira coming off the books, the Yankees should add to the starting rotation this winter before filling out the infield.

With the sell-off of Aroldis Chapman, Carlos Beltran and Andrew Miller at the trade deadline, the Yankees were able to rebuild their farm system with exciting prospects like Clint Frazier and Gleyber Torres. Gary Sanchez had the greatest rookie season ever by a catcher in less than half a season, and Aaron Judge has outstanding raw power. Greg Bird will return to play first in 2017. The system is much better going forward, but it is still short on MLB-ready starters. Too much was expected of Severino in 2016, and he could not live up to the pressure.

Adding Hill would give the Yankees an arm to fall back on if Tanaka’s worrisome elbow finally buckles. At the worst, he is another chip to flip at the trade deadline in 2017 or 2018 if the retooling of the farm system doesn’t pan out.