We all know what the New York Yankees lost after the season’s end. They lost Masahiro Tanaka, that is still a free agent; they lost James Paxton, who is drawing interest from the Giants, J.A. Happ, who has signed with the Twins, and Tommy Kahnle, who has signed with the Dodgers. But the Yankees holding out waiting for DJ LeMahieu to sign; what have they really done this offseason to stock the organization with players that can help this year and in the future?
11/17/20: Yankees sign free agent OF Michael Beltre to a minor league contract. Has played 6 years in the minors, last year with AA Lookouts.
11/20/20:Â Â Yankees selected the contract of RHP Alexander Vizcaino from Tampa Tarpons, selected the contract of RHP Yoendrys Gomez from Charleston RiverDogs, selected the contract of RHP Roansy Contreras from Tampa Tarpons, and selected the contract of SS Oswald Peraza from Charleston RiverDogs.
12/11/20: Yankees signed free agent LHP Lucas Luetge to a minor league contract.
12/12/20: Yankees signed free agent OF Ryan LaMarre, to a minor league contract and signed free agent C Rob Brantly to a minor league contract.
12/13/20: Yankees signed free agent OF Thomas Milone to a minor league contract.
12/14/20: Yankees signed free agent C Kellin Deglan to a minor league contract and signed free agent RHP Matt Bowman to a minor league contract.
12/15/20: Yankees signed free agent RHP Adam Warren to a minor league contract. This will be Warren’s third stint with the Yankees, previously going 20-20 with an ERA of 3.18 during seven years with the Yankees.
01/04/21: Yankees signed free agent LHP Nestor Cortes to a minor league contract. Cortes Jr. was with the Yankees during 2019 when he was 5-1 with a 5.67 ERA. With the Seattle Mariners last year, he had an ERA of 15.26.
01/05/21: Yankees signed free agent 3B Andrew Velazquez to a minor league contract.
01/06/21: The New York Yankees signed free agent LHP Tyler Lyons to a minor league contract. Lyons was with the Yankees in both 2019 and 2020. He pitched in 12 games over the span with an ERA of 6.97, signed free agent P Jhoulys Chacin to a minor league contract, signed free agent RF Socrates Brito to a minor league contract, and traded P James Reeves to San Diego Padres for CF Greg Allen.
01/15/21: Yankees accomplish their number one priority with the resigning of second baseman DJ LeMahieu. Yankees sign two-time Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber to a one year $11 million contract.
01/18/21: Yankees signed free agent RHP Stephen Ridings to a minor league contract. Ridings is a monster of a pitcher; he is 6′ 8″ and 220 pounds from Huntington, New York.
If you happen to think these are a lot of transactions, it’s not; actually, it’s among the fewest moves made by any MLB team. The Los Angeles Dodgers that arguably have the best team in all of baseball, have made as many moves as the New York Yankees in just one day. The Yankees have accomplished their main desires, re-signing LeMahieu and getting a number two starter behind Gerrit Cole. But the Yankees still have needs, possibly another starting pitcher and bullpen help.
The image accompanying this article is of Stephen Ridings. EmpireSportMedia.com’s Columnist William Parlee is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research. Follow me on Twitter @parleewilliam