The New York Yankees aren’t done making moves, despite general manager Brian Cashman going on a spending spree the past few days to acquire starting pitching talent. He also dumped $8.15 million in salary by trading Adam Ottavino to the Boston Red Sox.
The Yankees still need to fill multiple positions with quality, and by trading away Otto, they need to add a relief arm to supplement his loss. They also let Tommy Kahnle walk in free agency after suffering an elbow injury last year that required Tommy John surgery.
I can’t imagine the Yankees feel confident with their bullpen at the moment, so we should expect them to find a relief arm in the coming days. One stellar option is Trevor Rosenthal, who pitched for both the San Diego Padres and Kansas City Royals in 2020.
Rosenthal is currently a free agent, and while he’s nearly 31 years old, he could provide value for the Yankees as an experienced bullpen arm with juice left to spare.
What does Rosenthal offer the Yankees?
This past season, he finished with a 1.90 ERA over 23.2 innings. His 14.45 strikeouts per nine is significant, indicating he racks up numbers in the category — he would produce a few stellar innings for the Yankees in relief. He has been extremely consistent over the course of his career, despite having a tumultuous 2019 season with a measly 15.1 innings sample size.
His current market value is probably in the $2 million range, but the Yankees only need him to pitch a specific number of innings. He primarily utilizes a fastball, changeup, and slider—his fastball covers in the 98.1 mph range, which is exactly what the Yankees like.
Having a strong-armed bullpen option in Chad Green only benefits them, and Rosenthal would add even more power. Currently, it seems as if the Yankees will rely on Jonathan Loaisiga, Green, Zack Britton, Luis Cessa, and Aroldis Chapman as their relief options and closers.
It is clear they could use another arm after trading Ottavino, and Rosenthal would fit the bill adequately on a cheaper contract.