The New York Yankees will likely have to approach this off-season with financial limitations in mind. Despite the Steinbrenner’s opening up their checkbook to extend a few big-name players, last season for general manager Brian Cashman was a struggle. He had to settle on players who are making minimal salary’s coming off serious injuries to try and piece together the starting rotation.
Holding back on spending, it’s an unfortunate reality as the Steinbrenner‘s peak over at their rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays. Cashman traded for Pittsburgh Pirates starter Jameson Taillon and signed Corey Kluber to a one-year, $11 million deal. With Tampa having a minuscule salary cap compared to the Yankees, management doesn’t understand why their young prospects aren’t contributing as much as others around the league.
However, that could lead the Yankees to a more frugal approach this off-season, and one pitcher who could present a cheaper opportunity on a short-term deal is Noah Syndergaard.
Joel Sherman of the NY Post suggests that the Yankees could target Noah Syndergaard on a short-term deal, which could be a wonderful idea:
He has much in common with Verlander: He is coming off Tommy John surgery, has hardly pitched the past two years, and the Mets likely will put the qualifying offer on him. He might just be a tease, but he is one talented tease. If he takes a multiyear deal, the Yanks should be out. But if Syndergaard were willing to take a big one-year pact to re-establish himself for next year’s market, he becomes more attractive.
Syndergaard hasn’t pitched in over five games since 2019, when he hosted a 4.28 ERA over 200 innings pitched. In 2018, he hosted a 3.03 ERA, collecting 13 wins and a 49% ground ball rate. If Syndergaard can return to health, there is no question he could be an adequate pitcher at a solid price point. There’s little chance he finds a suitor willing to pay him on a multi-year deal with significant money allocations.
With that being said, the Yankees might be able to take advantage of his recent injury history and land him on a cost-efficient contract for one season, similar to Kluber. With money needing to be spent at shortstop, Cashman is going to have to cut a few corners, and Syndergaard understands the market and is a talented starter when healthy. The question is, how long can he be dependent on before he starts missing games in 2022?