If there’s any single takeaway from the New York Yankees’ two consecutive losses in the ALDS to the Tampa Bay Rays, it is that they desperately need starting pitching.
In game two, the Yankees deployed Deivi Garcia and JA Happ. The combo allowed six hits and five earned runs over 3.2 innings. GarcÃa finished with a 9.00 ERA and Happ  13.50. Ultimately, this was an optimistic move from Yankees management, which backfired significantly.
Moving onto game three, the Yankees fell 8-4. Masahiro Tanaka, who the Bombers wanted to save for the most pivotal game in the series, gave up five runs and eight hits over four innings. In other words, he was simply bad, but the home plate umpire didn’t do the Yankees any favors with his inconsistent calls.
During the game, one stud pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds hat choice words for the Yankees, who will need to retool their starting rotation in 2021.
“Kinda looks like the @yankees could use some more starting pitching. Interesting,’’ Bauer wrote on Twitter.
Trevor Bauer is the player that has openly stated he would consider the Yankees in free agency. With the Yankees’ rotation heading into 2021 with major questions, it is clear that they must bring in a number two to help Gerrit Cole.
James Paxton, Tanaka, and Happ are all hitting the free-agent market, so there’s no guarantee any of them will be retained. In that case, the Yankees would save a ton of cash they can spend elsewhere.
Should the New York Yankees consider Trevor Bauer in free agency?
Bauer had an excellent 2020 season, finishing the campaign with a 1.73 ERA over 11 games. He’s 100 strikeouts were impressive over just 73 innings, and despite having a tumultuous 2019 season with two different teams, he bounced back in a big way and cemented himself as one of the league’s top arms. My primary issue with Bauer is that he only has two good seasons under his belt.
Aside from his dominant 2018 campaign, where he earned a 2.21 ERA over 28 appearances, he had never broken the 4.00 ERA mark. It seems as if he has developed well over the course of his career and consistently gotten better, but paying him number two money is how the Yankees should approach this.
It seems as if he wants a long-term deal, so I think the Yankees could theoretically approach him with a five-year deal and a team option for a sixth-year.
Would you like to see Trevor Bauer and pinstripes next season? Comment below!