The New York Yankees have been big players in the trade market, acquiring Juan Soto, Trent Grisham, and Alex Verdugo in trades to bolster what was a bad outfield in 2022. Now, with Soto and Verdugo playing alongside Aaron Judge, New York is poised to have one of baseball's best outfields in 2024.
Brian Cashman has made some big trades but has also struck out on the free agency market. The Yankees were seen as one of the favorites for Yoshinobu Yamamoto but watched him join Shohei Ohtani in Los Angeles.
The Yankees look better than they did last season but still have more work cut out for them. For them to put on the finishing touches to an impressive offseason, the Yankees will have to do something with the remaining free agents. Here are three they should sign, and another two Brian Cashman should be avoiding.
5) The Yankees should do whatever they can to bring Jordan Montgomery back
The question of whether Jordan Montgomery would actually entertain returning to the Bronx is a very real one. The Yankees traded him at the 2022 trade deadline for Harrison Bader because they believed he wasn't good enough to start in the postseason for them.
Since that trade took place, Montgomery has done nothing but prove them wrong. He helped the Cardinals make the playoffs in 2022 by pitching the best baseball of his career down the stretch. He did the same for Texas this past season, and once he finally got his chance in the playoffs, he wound up being a big reason why they won the World Series.
Montgomery might not be a solidified ace but he put up ace numbers this past season, posting a 3.20 ERA in 32 starts and 188.2 innings pitched. The Yankees wouldn't need him to be an ace, they'd need him to fit right in the middle of their rotation behind Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon, and ahead of Nestor Cortes Jr. and Clarke Schmidt.
The Yankees throwing Yoshinobu Yamamoto an offer worth $300 million shows that they have tons of money to spend, so any argument saying they can't afford Jordan Montgomery is one not worth listening to. For the Yankees to solidify themselves as World Series contenders they need another starter. Montgomery is arguably the best one available.