The New York Yankees are still looking for a number two pitcher to slide in behind Gerrit Cole, their ace. Last season, they had a revolving door behind the “white whale†free agent signing and couldn’t establish a cemented rotation to help them during the abbreviated 2020 campaign.
The starting rotation was significantly inconsistent, forcing the bullpen into games early and increasing their chances of fatigue.
The Yankees were reportedly targeting former Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Charlie Morton before he signed with the Atlanta Braves. This is unfortunate for the Yankees, who missed out on a one-year, $15 million contract. He had a better season than most of the Yankees’ starting pitchers, including James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka.
Morton finished with a 4.74 ERA, which isn’t viewed as quality, but dominated during the postseason and had a 3.05 ERA, 2.81 FIP, over 194.2 innings pitched in 2019. He is a solid pitcher that fell to the grip of 2020, a season that didn’t offer much in terms of readiness or sympathy due to COVID-19.
However, this leaves the Yankees with a major need, and it is one they could solve with a familiar face.
The New York Yankees could be looking to extend Masahiro Tanaka:
Tanaka spent the last seven seasons with the Yankees, earning a compiled 3.74 ERA, 3.91 FIP, and 18.9 WAR. He’s known for his ground ball rate, which totals at 47.5%, and strikes out 8.46 batters per nine innings. This past season, he finished with a 3.56 ERA, 43.3% ground ball rate, and struck out 8.25 batters per nine (Fangraphs).
Ultimately Tanaka is not worth his price tag any longer, being paid $23 million for the 2020 season. If the Yankees retain him, they can not offer him more than $17 million, considering his inconsistencies.
However, Masahiro has plenty of baseball left in his arm, considering his fastball velocity actually increased from 2018-19. He landed at 92.7 mph on average, which was higher than his 91.7 in 2019. In fact, his pitches across-the-board had more velocity aside from his cutter. However, this could be coughed up due to a lesser sample size, with arm fatigue not really taking its toll during the latter portion of the season.
Overall, it seems as if Tanaka can still pitch at a high-level and offer a great value, but he’s not exactly the number two the Yankees are seeking. They need a second-tier ace that can dominate during the postseason to pair with Cole, and that is simply a missing piece. They are expected to gain back Luis Severino and Domingo German, but who knows how they will look like during major league play.