Yankees are petering out on Jacob deGrom and prioritizing another ace starter

The Yankees are moving focus away from one starting pitcher to focus in on two others.

Pick any number of star MLB free agents and it’s reasonable to assume the New York Yankees might be in play to sign them. With deep pockets and an edict to win (from the fans, anyway), the Yankees are always expected to at least pursue massive upgrades, even if they don’t always follow through.

Aaron Judge is priority 1, but 1a might as well be just about any other star they can get their hands on. We’ve got some info on where the Yankees are searching these days to fill their roster.

Yankees free agency pitching priorities revealed

They’re moving away from one though in Jacob deGrom, and focusing in on two other pitchers instead.

Justin Verlander and Carlos Rodon are next up in the Yankees’ sights according to Jon Heyman:

Recently, it’s been rumored that Jameson Taillon is getting a ton of interest from several teams, and his deal is going to be massive. The Yankees loved having him, and it was a heartwarming story to see him revitalize his career in the Bronx. He’ll leverage that into a paycheck the Yankees can’t justify paying.

So, the Yankees will need to stack their rotation elsewhere, and either Verlander or Rodon would be good. Both had an ERA of 3.0 or lower last season with Verlander’s 1.75 ERA leading the American League. He went an incredible 18-4.

Verlander would be the bigger name, but Rodon, previously of the San Francisco Giants and Chicago White Sox, might be the better long-term play. Rodon would be entering his ninth year and seems to be in the midst of his prime, achieving his second consecutive All-Star appearance in 2022.

Fans might want the Yanks to secure deGrom, who has been tearing it up cross-town for a few seasons now, but it looks like they won’t be going that direction. Now, they have to hope that Judge won’t walk that way.