With the New York Yankees ending their playoff hopes on Friday against the Tampa Bay Rays, we look forward to the off-season and free agency.
There will be plenty of movement for the Bombers in their pitching rotation and the batting order, especially with multiple players hitting FA. In the rotation, they have James Paxton, JA Happ, and Masahiro Tanaka all on expiring deals, so it will be interesting to see how the Yankees address the pitching unit’s bolstering.
They will also be gaining back several injured starters, including Luis Severino, Domingo German, and relief pitcher Tommy Kahnle.
Trevor Bauer sweepstakes:
One pitcher, the Yankees, could target is Reds’ star, Trevor Bauer. The former Cleveland Indian had a stellar 2020 campaign, finishing with a 1.73 ERA over 11 games. His 100 strikeouts were impressive over 73 innings, despite having a tough 2019 season, having played with Cleveland and Cincinnati, he bounced back in a big way with the Reds.
During the Tampa series, Bauer stated that the Yankees could use starting pitching, and he has been making his rounds through each team that could target him on the open market, via social media.
Kinda looks like the @yankees could use some more starting pitching. Interesting.
— Trevor Bauer (?????????) (@BauerOutage) October 8, 2020
While Cole and Bauer have a tumultuous history, pairing them together would make the Yankees one of the best teams when it comes to starting pitching. Behind Cole and Bauer, they would theoretically have Severino, German, Jordan Montgomery, and Deivi Garcia.
Home runs or death for the Yankees:
The Yankees have been knocked out of the postseason for three consecutive years, despite having plenty of talent to reach the World Series. It has now been over a decade since they’ve reached the end goal, and their issue is primarily on their analytical perspective.
The Yankees have stuck to their guns and favored home run hitting players at the majority of their starting positions. While hitting homers is the easiest way to put runs on the board, cold streaks severely dampen their potential. Getting on base and playing small ball is effective, and the Rays did that well during the series.
Adding a bit more speed and high contact hitters could be a good move this off-season. Especially since the Yankees sluggers continue to deal with injured every year.
Rays troll Yankees in celebration:
The Tampa Bay Rays made their celebration known by blasting “New York, New York†over the loudspeakers. The celebration is a representative of the hostility between the two during the regular season.
Unfortunately for the Yankees, they couldn’t enjoy the luxury of winning this time around, and as stated above, it has been quite some time since they have. Adding the necessary pieces, this off-season is essential if they wish to compete realistically for a World Series appearance of 2021.