Is it too early to start talking about free agency for 2021? I don’t think so, considering the MLB and the players union cannot come to a resolution on differing financial opinions. The New York Yankees will likely begin their process of evaluating talent, considering several starting pitchers could be off the team in 2021.
Three starters in Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ, and James Paxton will all have expiring contracts after the 2020 season. With the season in jeopardy due to the coronavirus pandemic, looking into free agents for next season could be more relevant than you think.
Jake Odorizzi of the Minnesota Twins, will be 31 years old in 2021. Last season, he earned an All-Star appearance for the first time in his career, posting a 3.51 ERA with 178 strikeouts over 159 innings. He allowed just 16 home runs and walked 53 batters. His ability to keep homerun totals low would be an extreme benefit for the Yankees if they elected to pursue him.
Odorizzi only earned $9.5 million last year with the Twins, and he would likely be much more affordable than Happ, who was set to make $17 million this season. Some might say that Odorizzi was a one-hit-wonder in 2019, based on the fact that his previous seven seasons were inconsistent, having never reached the All-Star game. One significant change he made his game was scrapping his slider and reducing the spin on his split-finger basketball. This resulted in hitters slugging just .346 instead of .426, which gave him a solid ground-ball rate.
https://twitter.com/AugustineMLB/status/1164260372112650240
Ultimately, finding a starting pitcher who can produce ground balls and throw low homerun numbers would be a tremendous add for the Yankees. They could elect to extend Paxton and Tanaka, but I believe both will be too expensive. If they are going to retain anyone, I believe it will be Paxton, who they can likely get on a cheaper deal considering his most recent surgery to remove a cyst from his lower back.
This would give the Yankees a nice rotation consisting of Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Jordan Montgomery, Odorizzi, and a bevy of younger options in Clarke Schmidt and Deivi Garcia.