The big boys are starting to come off the free agency board
from the starting pitching department and most of the huge checks have been
handed out. The Boston Red Sox have already given David Price the largest
contract for a pitcher in Major League Baseball history and the Arizona
Diamondbacks gave the two largest contracts in the history of their franchise
to Zack Greinke, who also has the highest average annual value in MLB history,
and Johnny Cueto but that doesn’t mean all the big names are gone. For every
Jeff Samardzija taken off the board there are two or three guys left to replace
him, do any of them intrigue the Yankees?
By my unofficial count at least 10 teams are still looking
for top of the rotation type starters and want to contend in 2016. That list
includes the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Miami Marlins, the St. Louis Cardinals,
the Baltimore Orioles, the Boston Red Sox (as scary as that is for Yankees fans
to hear), the Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Seattle
Mariners and New York Yankees. There are probably another ten or so teams that
are still looking for another starter to fill out their rotation before spring
training while teams like the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee
Brewers to name a few will let their prospects battle it out in spring training
competitions. That’s a whole lot of competition for New York who are said to be
in the market for another starter, the good news for Brian Cashman is there are
still plenty to choose from.
It was almost a foregone conclusion that the Yankees would
acquire Mike Leake at the trading deadline last season. That didn’t happen and
he ended up going to the San Francisco Giants where he pitched well despite an
injury. Since Leake was traded he will not be linked to draft pick compensation
and he’s still on the right side of 30-years old. Leake is not your ace and is
not likely going to lead your team to the World Series but if you need a
durable guy that can keep an offense like the Yankees in every single game and
give you 200 innings over the course of a season, Leake is your man.
The same can be said for the free agent market, the Yankees
and former Baltimore Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen. Many linked the Yankees to
Chen and expected them to sign the lefty away from their AL East rivals but New
York seems willing to hold onto what they have in order to keep their
(currently) 20th overall draft pick in the 2016 draft. Chen was the
ace of the Orioles and according to reports he wants to be paid like an ace
both in terms of years and dollars but he wouldn’t be the ace in New York. At
best, at very best mind you, he is a #2 starter with the Yankees. No thank you,
not for five or six years and not for $100 million plus a draft pick.
Scott Kazmir is the left-handed starter that the Yankees
have been coveting the past couple of seasons. The starting rotation has become
very right-handed heavy, especially when (not if) CC Sabathia is injured, and
Kazmir could be the perfect complement in the rotation. Kazmir would not
require draft pick compensation and would likely lead the second-tier of
available starting pitching. He’s been durable with the Houston Astros and
Oakland Athletics but I wonder if pitching in traditionally pitcher-friendly
ballparks may have been inflating his stats just a tad. I worry about him
inside Yankee Stadium, but he may be a risk worth taking if the Yankees are
willing to open up their purse strings just a bit.
Ian Kennedy, the former Yankees farm hand turned 20-game
winner with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Kennedy has not been able to replicate
his 20-win success with either the DBacks or the San Diego Padres but he has
been durable and has given his team consistent innings over the years at the
top of every rotation. Kennedy is not an ace though, not lately and definitely
not in New York, but he would be intriguing back in the Bronx. Kennedy was
thought of as the 3rd best starter in the group with Joba
Chamberlain and Phil Hughes and may have turned out to be the best of the
three, it may be time for Brian Cashman to right a wrong here.
Cliff Lee has been cleared to pitch in 2016 and his elbow
has finally been donned as healthy. Brian Cashman and the Yankees have coveted
Lee for quite some time now and almost acquired him multiple times during his
career either in free agency or via the trade market. There were hiccups along
the way, Lee worried about him and his wife in the New York environment and
Cashman didn’t want to part with certain prospects in another trade but Lee is
a free agent once again. The Yankees have a tendency of getting their man a few
years too late, see Carlos Beltran, and lightning may strike twice with Lee.
Mark Buehrle is likely going to retire but until he does he
remains an option with all teams. How ironic would it be for Buehrle to join
the team that has kept him up at night for his entire career? Ironic, yes, but
likely? No.
I’m going to be frank and honest here, I never saw the
fascination for some with Yovani Gallardo. He’s consistent but he’s never
great. He’s durable but overall has been unreliable. Despite it all he received
a qualifying offer from the Texas Rangers this season. The fact that he is linked
to a draft pick is an automatic “no” for me. I’ll happily give up the pick for
an ace, Gallardo just isn’t an ace to me.
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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)