With Spring Training only a month away, the relief pitching market is starting to heat up, and a former New York Yankees pitcher is drawing significant interest in his free agency.
Former Yankees reliever Tommy Kahnle drawing significant free agent interest
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, reliever Tommy Kahnle has received interest from eight different teams. Heyman did not specify which teams expressed that interest, but it is likely that contending teams in need of relief depth will have the most interest.
Kahnle was a crucial part of the Yankees’ bullpen last season and was one of their top high-leverage arms. He pitched to a 2.11 ERA in 42.2 innings pitched and recorded 46 strikeouts. Impressively, Kahnle had a 58.6% ground ball rate and threw his changeup 73% of the time.
The Yankees have done a complete retool of the bullpen this winter
The Yankees would love to have him back in the bullpen, but he is not as much of a necessity as before. They have acquired a new closer in Devin Williams, brought back Johnathan Loaisiga, and traded for Fernando Cruz.
One of the bullpen’s biggest problems last season was their inability to generate whiffs. The Yankees are focusing on bringing in arms that can strike batters out and limit contact, thereby preventing damage from their opponents.
Their bullpen is much deeper now, and the priority for them should be a high-leverage lefty arm to give them more depth. Tim Hill and Andrew Chafin are two options that make perfect sense for them.
As for other teams, it is no surprise that Kahnle is drawing great interest. He has shown to be impactful in big games as well, as he was instrumental to the Yankees’ run at the World Series. Teams that need to address their bullpen will be the hottest pursuers of the 35-year-old right-hander.