General manager Brian Cashman might be making decisions for the New York Yankees at the executive level, but the influence of Hal Steinbrenner cannot be overlooked. The owner of the Bronx Bombers stated that the team doesn’t need to add to their starting pitching rotation with Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery returning in featured roles next season.
“For the most part, I think our starting pitching was good this year,’’ Steinbrenner said. “Even missing [Luis] Severino and [Jordan] Montgomery [for most or all of the season due to injuries].”
However, the reality is that the Yankees need a bonafide starter that can dominate when the postseason rolls around. A player like Gerrit Cole would undoubtedly give them a significant edge, but at a severe cost — upwards of $30 million per season.
Steinbrenner might not be keen on spending that type of money on a premium talent, but he must then ask himself why his team hasn’t won a World Series in a decade yet consistently makes the playoffs without avail. Then again, he allowed Cashman to splash the cash on Giancarlo Stanton, who barely played a lick in 2019. The Yankees need to add players with healthy track records, and Cole is one of those proven commodities.
The New York Yankees brass thinks their pitching is in a good place:
Both Cashman and Steinbrenner agreed that the pitching was stable during the postseason, and they are right for the most part. Spending $17 million on J.A. Happ to feature as a relief option, though, is ludicrous, and the Yankees need to do a better job evaluating their pitching talent, especially in free agency.
Alternatively, they can save themselves the hassle of guessing on pitchers and paying top dollar for premium arms that rarely falter. It’s easier said than done.
Steinbrenner also stated that any deals Cashman brings to his attention he will always consider, which is the right thing to do. However, giving his general manager the autonomy to make his own decisions seems like the right thing to do.
EXTRA:
“If the 2020 season was to start tomorrow, I would feel considerably more confident than I did a year ago at this time,’’ Steinbrenner said. “We will have both Severino and Montgomery back. We now know that [Domingo] German can pitch effectively at this level. And we know [James] Paxton can be the guy that we were hoping for when we made that trade. We have [Masahiro] Tanaka, [J.A.] Happ, [Jonathan] Loaisiga, and perhaps [Deivi] Garcia at some point. A very good rotation.’’