The New York Yankees are in the market for a starting pitcher, but all the better options continue to be plucked in free agency.
Nonetheless, the Yankees need to replace James Paxton, Masahiro Tanaka, and JA Happ. It seems as if they are taking their time in the process, looking for the perfect fit and trying to save as much money as possible.
General manager Brian Cashman isn’t used to having a cap to his spending, something he will have this off-season — keeping the team under the $210 luxury tax threshold is the goal.
Nonetheless, one name that represents a potential upgrade is reliever Archie Bradley. Kicking the tires on him would make a lot of sense for the bombers, and while he only pitched 18.1 and then this past season, he recorded 2.9 5 ERA with a 39.2% ground ball right. The sample size is simply too small to consider, so let’s take a look at his 2019 statistics for a better idea of what he brings.
Bradley pitched 71.2 innings in 200019/66 games. He recorded a 3.52 ERA, 45.2% ground ball rate, 10.93 strikeouts per nine, and 87 strikeouts in total (Fangraphs).
The Diamondback had a solid 2019 campaign, and the Yankees might want to consider bringing him in after losing Tommy Kahnle to Tommy John surgery last year.
Manager Aaron Boone was forced to utilize Chad Green, Zack Britton, and Aroldis Chapman as his primary relievers. The issue, Green was inconsistent, and Jonathan Holder was a liability at times. In addition, Jonathan Loaisiga and Luis Cessa were questionable in high leverage situations, so the Yankees need another reliever to utilize.
At 28 years old, Bradley utilizes a few different pitches, but his primary two are his fastball and curveball. He uses his four-seam on average 65.9% of the time and curveball 22.5%. He also sprinkles in a sinker and changeup but really is a two-pitch thrower that hovers in the mid-90s with his four-seam.
New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez started his winter league with more strikeouts:
Gary Sanchez enjoyed his winter league debut on Friday night, and while he did earn one solid single, it was a lot more striking out than one would hope for. His one hit was a soft liner over the second baseman’s head, showing solid patience at the plate and contact. This was against Yankees’ Prospect Albert Abreu, who made his major league debut this past year.
Nonetheless, Sanchez finished the night 1-for-5 with three strikeouts in the victory. It is fair to give him some slack after not playing for a few weeks, but considering this level of competition, there’s no way this was a confidence-boosting performance. He is still looking to revitalize his offense and provide more value for the Yankees down the line, especially since they’ve offered him a new contract for the 2021 season.