MLB Rumors: Yankees Dylan Cease backup plan, Bieber trade concern, Red Sox letdown

MLB Rumors: Yankees pivoting to new starting pitcher after missing out on Dylan Cease

The New York Yankees are set to be without Gerrit Cole for the first month or two of the season, at least. Dylan Cease was seen as a realistic replacement option after the White Sox showed more of a willingness to trade him but the Yankees keeping Spencer Jones off the table meant that simply wasn't happening.

Cease is now with the Padres, and the Yankees are still without their Cole replacement. They could turn to an in-house candidate like Luke Weaver, Cody Poteet, or Clayton Beeter, but adding a veteran arm from outside of the organization probably makes more sense for a Yankees team trying to win now.

Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery remain the dream targets, but all signs seem to indicate that the Yankees won't swim in those waters thanks to how much it'd cost with where they stand in relation to the luxury tax. New York could potentially turn to a trade target like Bieber, or the next tier of free-agent starters. Jon Heyman of the NY Post suggests that the Yankees are doing the latter, as they've reportedly checked in on Michael Lorenzen.

Lorenzen makes sense as an arm for the Yankees to target if they think Cole will make a midseason return. The right-hander struggled to finish last season with the Phillies but was solid in the first half with the Tigers, posting a 4.03 ERA in 15 starts and making the All-Star team. He'd be a solid fifth starter and at this point of the offseason should come on a fairly cheap short-term deal.

It's not the arm Yankees fans want, but he'd undoubtedly make the team at least marginally better. When playing in such a tough AL East, every win matters at the end of the day.