The New York Yankees could look to acquire some starting pitching help, and one of the names they’ve been linked to is a familiar face. Jameson Taillon, who signed with the Chicago Cubs after the 2022 season and departed from the Yankees, is apparently a player of interest according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. He reported this morning that both the Yankees and Red Sox have had talks with the Cubs about the veteran starter, and with two more years under contract after this season, they could be looking for an innings-eater having a strong season in the middle of their rotation.
Across 16 starts, he has a 3.10 ERA and 3.81 FIP with 75 strikeouts, and he could be an interesting option for the Yankees this deadline.
Jameson Taillon Is on the Yankees’ Radar This July
There are some red flags with Jameson Taillon despite an excellent ERA, and that’s mostly with his subpar strikeout numbers. He ranks in the 10th Percentile in Whiff Rate (19.4%) and the 29th Percentile in Strikeout Rate (19.6%), and that creates some serious concern about whether he can hold this up. Every underlying metric suggests he’s due for regression, and his fastball velocity is down over 1 MPH from last season, which doesn’t bode well for his long-term success.
Both the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have had talks about acquiring Jameson Taillon, but the Chicago Cubs have yet to commit to whether they’ll sell or not. The National League is a disaster thanks to the third Wild Card since teams are in it despite being multiple games below .500, but the Cubs have really stumbled after April and could find themselves shipping off some pieces.
After an ugly start to his tenure with the Cubs that saw him put up a 6.93 ERA across 14 starts last season, Jameson Taillon has settled well into Chicago. He’s posted a 3.23 ERA in his following 31 starts (including a relief appearance where he earned the save), but the lack of strikeout numbers concern me. I’m not sure he’s the kind of pitcher you trust in a postseason setting, although he did hold up well in his playoff debut in the 2022 ALCS against the Houston Astros.
With the struggles from Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes, and Marcus Stroman over the last month, the Yankees need rotation help, but Jameson Taillon may not be the kind of support they’re looking for.