The New York Yankees have had a productive offseason, trading for Juan Soto and Trent Grisham while also signing Marcus Stroman. In most cases, adding players like Soto and Stroman to a team that already won 82 games last season would make them an instant playoff team. While the Yankees feel like a playoff team, they feel a step short of where they really want to be, a World Series team.
Friday saw their biggest postseason rival in recent memory, the Houston Astros, shock the world by signing Josh Hader to a five-year deal. While the contract could have costly long-term ramifications for the Astros, they've made it abundantly clear that they're all in trying to win in 2024. The Yankees, with only one guaranteed year of Soto, must keep their foot on the gas pedal and do whatever it takes to field the best team possible as they try to knock off Houston and other American League competitors.
New York didn't need to sign Hader, but that kind of move would've made them arguably American League favorites. Hader with Clay Holmes and Jonathan Loaisiga setting up would arguably be just as dominant as Houston's new late-game trio of Hader, Ryan Pressly, and Bryan Abreu. With Hader off the board, the Yankees need to make more moves. Here are three free agents they should target.
3) The Yankees should sign Matt Moore after missing out on Josh Hader
Hader was not only the best relief pitcher available, he was the best left-handed reliever available. With Victor Gonzalez being the Yankees lone left-hander coming out of their bullpen, the team could desperately use another one when they face star left-handed hitters like Rafael Devers, Triston Casas, and Gunnar Henderson in their own division.
With Hader off the board, the Yankees should turn their attention to arguably the next-best left-handed reliever available, Matt Moore.
Moore is a player Yankees fans are familiar with from his days as a starter with the Rays. his career looked extremely promising as he was an all-star in just his second full season, but he never quite stuck as a starting pitcher. After tons of ups and downs in his professional career which included a short stint in Japan, Moore re-established himself as a reliever for the Rangers in 2022. After another great season this past year, Moore is proving himself to be an excellent Yankees target.
The southpaw posted a 2.77 ERA in 46 appearances and 48.2 innings pitched splitting time with the Angels, Guardians, and Marlins. He's extremely versatile, showing the ability to get both righties and lefties out while also having the ability to record more than three outs in any given outing. He's not the sexiest name out there, but Moore gets the job done and would be a nice addition to this bullpen that could use another arm.