35 New Free Agents Enter the Fold

As you have already learned the New York Yankees lost future reliever Jacob Lindgren to the Atlanta Braves after the team non-tendered him a contract making him a free agent. Lindgren will likely miss all of the 2017 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery so I feel it is safe to presume that the Yankees felt like they could sign him to a new minor league deal while getting him off the 40-man roster before the Braves swooped in and gave him a cool million bucks to rehab down in Atlanta. This such scenario, or a similar one at least, happened for 35 players before the deadline adding 35 new free agents into the fold, let’s take a look at them.

Tyson Ross likely headlines the pack of new free agents after becoming an All-Star just two seasons ago with the San Diego Padres. Joining Tyson Ross are other notables including Washington Nationals outfielder Ben Revere, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Cody Asche, Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Welington Castillo and pitcher Rubby De La Rosa, Baltimore Orioles starter Vance Worley and Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen arm Louis Coleman. Chris Carter, formerly of the Milwaukee Brewers, and Jeff Locke, formerly of the Pittsburgh Pirates, were also non-tendered but only after being designated for assignment last week.

Ross is likely the most intriguing for the Yankees followed possibly by Vance Worley only because they are starting pitchers, an obvious need for the Yankees. Ross is still just 29-years old and is coming off a season in which he posted a 13-14 record with a 2.81 ERA in 2014 before slipping a bit to 10-12 with a 3.26 ERA in 2015. 2016 was a different scenario for Ross though posting just one MLB appearance due to a thoracic outlet syndrome surgery he had in the offseason. Ross earned $9.625 million in 2016 for that one appearance and will look to latch on with a team despite his four-to-six month recovery time for the surgery he had in October. He may or may not be ready for spring training but on a one-year deal with incentives, he isn’t going to take a minor league deal at 29-years old, I don’t see an issue with taking a waiver on him whatsoever. Do it.

Worley would be a fifth starter with the Yankees and an innings eater, nothing more unfortunately. He is AL East trained after pitching with the Baltimore Orioles last season but he should be a clear Plan C or below. I’d take him personally but only after a lot of names and a whole lot of arms came off the board. That’s just me. It’s Ross or bust in my opinion. What say you?

Nathan Eovaldi, Non-Tender Candidates & the Yankees

MLB Trade Rumors does an absolutely fantastic job on their site not only bringing you rumors, whispers and news but also they do a wonderful job at their original and unique content. One of those such articles I read over the weekend was an article titled "8 High-Priced Non-Tender Candidates" and it originally caught my eye because Nathan Eovaldi was one of the eight. What made me want to write this article was the other seven candidates and whether, assuming they are indeed non-tendered this offseason, any of them would make sense for the 2017 Yankees. 

The seven non-tender candidates according to the above linked article include the New York Mets first baseman Lucas Duda, Colorado Rockies RHP Jake McGee, Arizona Diamondbacks RHP Shelby Miller, Minnesota Twins RHP Tommy Milone, Minnesota Twins third baseman Trevor Plouffe, Washington Nationals outfielder Ben Revere and St. Louis Cardinals RHP and closer Trevor Rosenthal. The names that obviously stand up off the page above the rest are Shelby Miller and Jake McGee (not because he is nearly as talented as Miller but because of his power arm, the fact that he is American League East tested and the fact that the Yankees could use another power arm or two in their bullpen).

If the Yankees could get Shelby Miller, and trust me I cannot see in a million years the Arizona Diamondbacks giving up the #1 overall draft pick for Miller only to non-tender him a season later, you have to jump on that every day of the week and twice on Sunday. He's struggled but he is healthy and so damn talented. Sign him up. Jake McGee is another I think the Yankees will look at after seeing so much of him with the Tampa Bay Rays. He was a great arm for them but he has struggled in Colorado and on the road as well. He has battled injuries this season and effectiveness as well but he would immediately slot in as the 6th inning guy for the Yankees if signed. No pressure, just flaming fastballs.

I can't see the Yankees signing any of these seven guys although I can see them working out a multi-year deal with Eovaldi essentially making his 2017 season a wash while they hope for his recovery in 2018. If not it may be bust for the Yankees as far as non-tenders go but that isn't exactly the worst thing in the world anyway, is it?


Oh and in case you were wondering here is what the crew at MLBTR had to say about Mr. Eovaldi:

Nathan Eovaldi, SP, Yankees (5+, $5.6MM): 

Despite his struggles, Eovaldi seemed for much of the year to be a fairly sure thing to be tendered a contract. He continued to show signs of promise in spite of the inconsistencies — a career-best 9.3% swinging strike rate, for instance — and at worst would appear to be a late-inning pen candidate with a fastball that sits at 97 even when he’s starting. But a devastating elbow injury means that Eovaldi won’t pitch next year. The Yankees aren’t likely to pay up just to prepare the righty for free agency, so the only way he stays in New York is through some kind of multi-year arrangement.

Early prediction: Non-tender, barring multi-year agreement