We already did a version of this top five with pitchers who I believe the Yankees should consider targeting, but the additions of Freddy Peralta and Michael King to their board of targets changes things.
There’s some shake-up in the order as both will be on this list, as I’m swapping out some arms at the bottom of our previous edition of this list to keep you up-to-date on who I think the Yankees should target.
Do not overlook how much of a need a starting pitcher is for this group; without injuries Ryan Yarbrough is slated to open the season as a member of the starting five.
Oftentimes teams see their depth chart get crushed during March as the ramp-up period is the most frequent slayer of UCLs and shoulders, so here are the five pitchers the Yankees should be in on; factoring in cost and production.
READ MORE: Yankees might need to offer 4 year contract to reunite with Michael King
No. 5: Taking the Flier on MacKenzie Gore
MacKenzie Gore has all of the upside and youth that could appeal to a data-savvy team like the Yankees, as they would be adding a pitcher who has put up above-average K-BB% numbers in each of the last two seasons.
He has a quality four-seam fastball with good velocity and movement, but Gore’s lack of reliable secondary pitches have left him exposed to damage contact in the second-half.
If the Yankees could help him gain more comfort throwing those secondaries then we could look at a no. 2 starter, maybe even an ace, as the ERA is where he’s been more pedestrian over the last two seasons.
FIP (3.64) and K-BB% (16.8%) would tell you this is a good starter, and those metrics have more value than the aforementioned 4.03 ERA, and that’s why I’m so into this for the Yankees.
On the final two years of his rookie contract, Gore would give this rotation a youthful boost, entering his age-27 season in 2026 with the ability to blossom away from a terrible pitching organization in Washington.
Paul Taboni, who is the Nationals’ new President of Baseball Operations, wasn’t the modern-thinking GM who oversaw his development but rather the outdated Mike Rizzo, who had an organizational infastructure that was truly rancid.
Taking good talent from a bad organization is a strong bet to make if you’re the Yankees, its an even better one when said talent has the 15th-most strikeouts for any pitcher in baseball over the last two seasons.
No. 4: Can the Yankees Finally Reel In a Big Fish?
The last two seasons of healthy Sandy Alcantara have come with a sub-20% K%, which isn’t great when trying to project how he will perform in his age-30 season.
His stuff is still elite; the movement and velocity allows him to have a deep repertoire full of above-average pitches that can put hitters in difficult situations, but they don’t have that much of an issue making contact.
Could a team get Alcantara to miss some more bats with comfort locating in and out of the zone without the rust he had to shake off during 2025?
Possibly, as evident by his 23.1% K% and 17.4% K-BB% following the trade deadline, and the Yankees definitely were involved in his market during that very July market frenzy.
Owed $17.3 million, he would be the Goldilocks pitcher in terms of projected price tag for 2026, and with a club option for 2027, only one other pitcher on this list would have a shorter guaranteed deal.
I think Sandy Alcantara is a good pitcher, but I’m not sure if he ends up producing the kind of profile this team that lacks whiffs in the rotation needs given the shaky track record as of late.
No. 3: Michael King’s Second Act With the Yankees?
When speaking to people inside the Yankees’ organization about some of the players they’ve let go, you come to understand why they didn’t retain them.
Michael King on the otherhand still has tons of fans inside that building who absolutely adore his abilities on the mound and as a competitor.
His 2.92 ERA, 3.48 FIP, and 19.3% K-BB% as a starting pitcher from 2023-2025 are the marks of a decent Game 1 pitcher and an excellent Game 2 pitcher.
The way he moves the ball looks like he’s throwing a blitzball, and while you’d have to give up draft picks and money to land King, the short-term deal he could get (3-4 years) could intrigue teams such as the Yankees.
If you were to land Michael King on a four-year deal and Cody Bellinger on a five-year contract you’d be able to clear up a sizable portion of the team’s committed payroll for the remainder of Aaron Judge’s contract.
What keeps me from ranking him higher is the age; King isn’t old, but a four-year deal would mean signing him for his age-31, 32, 33, and 34 seasons which means you could see his velocity go…at any moment.
That being said, the injuries are mostly ticky tacky things that didn’t occur due to pitching and he has under 900 innings thrown at the professional level, so there isn’t a ton of wear-and-tear in his career either.
We’re at the portion of the list where I’m all-in on the player, and I’d love Michael King on the Yankees again.
No. 2: Breaking the Japanese Market Drought With Tatsuya Imai
Tatsuya Imai has a strong foundation for his repertoire, having a good fastball from a low armslot to go with a one-of-a-kind slider that moves opposite of most sliders.
He’s the kind of swing-and-miss machine that the Yankees should be targeting this winter, and while he might not outperform Michael King in 2026, I think he’ll challenge for a stop inside the league’s top 20 in pitching WAR soon.
With a splitter to go with those two pitches and a curveball just for fun, the Yankees could get Imai to add some more weapons whether that’s a cutter or sinker to continue mixing things up.
The Yankees have not signed a player out of Japan’s Nippon Baseball League since Masahiro Tanaka, and they could break that drought (or keep it going) in the span of three weeks.
All three of the notable NPB free agents must sign before the second week of January, so we’ll see these players on new teams at any moment, which is partially what makes this so exciting.
Unlike other players on this list who could have their markets drag into late January, I’d expect Tatsuya Imai to sign before Christmas, and the Yankees would be shelling out over $150 million most likely if they win these sweepstakes.
At 27 years old, he’s the second-youngest pitcher on this list, and he has both the already-existing profile and remarkable upside to become an ace down the road.
What keeps him outside of the no. 1 spot is the fact that an addition of Tatsuya Imai has untold effects on the Yankees’ outfield pursuit, if it doesn’t change their pursuit of Cody Bellinger then I’m all in and would have him at no. 1.
No. 1: Trading For Possibly The Best Pitcher on the Market
As a rental who would be the second-cheapest player on this list towards the Luxury Tax at just $8 million, it’s hard for me to sit here and not think that Freddy Peralta wouldn’t have been in the top two.
I went back and forth on him and Tatsuya Imai, looking at them more as a 1A and 1B situation due to the upside and external factors at play here.
Peralta is still an excellent pitcher who has the strongest projections for the upcoming season results-wise, and he’s coming off a season where he recorded a 2.70 ERA in 33 starts.
My fear with him is that the underlying metrics suggest he isn’t much better than the pitcher we saw from 2023-2024, who is good but definitely falls into the bucket of a no. 2 starter than the no. 1 starter he was in 2025.
That being said, he’s the safest bet of this group for next year and would provide the Yankees with one of the best rotations in the game immediately with his addition.
Milwaukee and New York may match up better than I initially thought given their recent trade of Isaac Collins, but there’s some hurdles due to the competition that teams such as the Red Sox and Orioles would pose in a deal.
Time will tell if the Brewers move Peralta or not, but if they do, he just edges out Tatsuya Imai for the top spot on this list because of financial reasons
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