With Yu Darvish off the market, what’s next for the Yankees?
By Tre LyDay
Yu Darvish is off the market after signing with the Cubs. What options do the New York Yankees have?
Yu Darvish, who had been on the Yankees’ radar this offseason, has officially signed with the Cubs to the tune of six years, $126 million dollars. Not a bad deal for him, but that still leaves the Yankees looking for one more player to sign before opening day.
The Yankees are looking for one more starting pitcher and possibly a third baseman. They’re more likely to look for a pitcher seeing as they have Miguel Andujar and Gleyber Torres just about ready to take over on the infield. The only problem is Andujar isn’t big league ready with the glove, and the Yankees may keep Torres in the minors for a few weeks to get another year of control just as the Cubs did with Kris Bryant. So what are the Yankees’ options?
#Yankees options clearer with Darvish signing elsewhere. They can be opportunistic if Lance Lynn or Mike Moustakas fall into their price range. Yankees would like to spend no more than $15M before Opening Day to maintain trade deadline flexibility. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) February 10, 2018
Andujar is clearly big league ready with his bat, but defensively he just isn’t there yet. That being said, the Yankees could go after a guy like Mike Moustakas. A left handed power bat in Yankees Stadium always plays well, and Moustakas is an above average defender over at the hot corner.
The Yankees only need one infielder because Torres is going to take one spot on the infield whether he has to spend a few weeks in Triple-A or not. Moustakas could come to New York on a one-year deal knowing there’s a short porch in right field, and put up monster numbers in hopes of getting a big contract next offseason.
As for the pitching market it’s growing thin for the Yankees. Most of the remaining starting pitchers, including Jake Arrieta, are looking for long term deals. Lance Lynn could immediately be plugged into the rotation, and would serve as the extra arm they need for this season. Lynn isn’t likely to draw a major contract like Arrieta, but they won’t get him for dirt cheap either.
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The Yankees are without a doubt trying to stay below the $197 million luxury tax threshold, and will do just about anything to stay there. So unless they manage to trade Jacoby Ellsbury and his massive contract in the coming weeks before opening day, any free agent the Yankees sign won’t be a long-term one.
The Yankees don’t necessarily need to sign someone, but it doesn’t hurt to have that extra guy that you know can contribute to your team. It will be interesting to see how things play out heading into spring training and Opening Day.