December 2, was the deadline for the New York Yankees and all the other major league teams to tender arbitration-eligible players an offer to play in the 2021 baseball season. The Yankees chose to tender catcher Gary Sanchez, Luis Cessa, and Ben Heller. They did not offer a contract to Jonathan Holder who is now a free agent.
The Yankees as well as all the other teams chose what players they would let walk, some were a bit surprising. Among those are
David Dahl, 27, OF
Dahl’s non-tender was the biggest surprise of Wednesday’s bunch of non-tender releases, as he was an All-Star in 2019 and was due to make under $3 million in arbitration. His 2020 was a disaster, but it’s a tiny sample and he was injured for part of the season … although injuries are a huge part of his professional history. He missed nearly all of 2013 and 2017 due to injuries, and about half of 2015 and 2018. Those are good reasons not to sign him to a long-term deal, but for one year, he’s got the power and ability to play an average center field. If the Yankees don’t sign Brett Gardner to another year, they don’t have a legitimate centerfield backup. Dahl is one of the highest-ranking non-tenders on the list.
Kyle Schwarber, 28, OF
The release of Kyle Schwarber is almost laughable. The Yankees have been interested in Schwarber for several seasons. Now that he is available for the cheap they really don’t have much use for him. The left field at Yankee Stadium is pretty well full up with Clint Frazier, Mike Tauchman, Brett Gardner if they bring him back, and even Giancarlo Stanton in a pinch.
Archie Bradley, 28, RHP
The release of Archie Bradley a right-hand pitcher is probably the most interesting to the New York Yankees. The Yankees need to patch up a bullpen that will be missing Tommy Kahnle who will be out with Tommy John surgery and the recent failings of Adam Ottavino.
Bradley is no ace but he is a middle inning reliever that can eat up a few innings when in need. Bradley has lost some of the velocity from his fastball but has developed a very puzzling changeup to make up for it. Bradley is the kind of pitcher who can eat up to 100 innings a season. He is not a Liam Hendriks or a Brad Hand but at a salary around $5 million, he might be of interest to the Yankees.
Bradley is a 28-year-old 6′ 4″ 215-pound right-hand pitcher that has been primarily with the Arizona Diamondbacks since 2015. He pitched for both Arizona and Cincinnati Reds in the 2020 season. Between the two teams, he went 2-0 with an ERA of just 2.95 in 18.1 innings.