Pitchers and catchers have reported to New York Yankees
spring training camp as well as a few positional players, the rest of the
positional players are required to be in camp by tomorrow morning, but that
doesn’t mean it’s too late to add talent to this team. It wouldn’t be the first
time a nice complimentary piece was added to a team during spring training
either via the free agent market or via trade and this year would be no
different if the team were to add a starting pitcher to the rotation, a veteran
catcher behind the dish or a left-handed reliever to compliment Aroldis
Chapman, Dellin Betances and company in the bullpen.
The New York Yankees were linked to Jose Quintana all
offseason long and as of the time of this writing the left-hander is still
sporting a Chicago White Sox uniform. Reportedly talks took place between the
two clubs but if I were a betting man I’d say the Chicago White Sox, who don’t
tend to lose out on trades like these very often, are simply asking for too
much or more than the Yankees are willing to give up. The closer we get towards
though the more likely the price tag is to come down for Quintana which could
work out in the Yankees favor. The White Sox want to maximize their return for
Quintana so trading him now rather than in July could be the difference in a
good prospect or two. Is a good prospect or two worth taking a little less than
what they originally asked for or wanted? Well unless you have a crystal ball
we will have to stay tuned for that one.
If Quintana does remain in Chicago a pitcher from that other
Chicago team is still sitting out there on the free agent market in Jason
Hammel. Now Hammel, unlike Quintana, is not going to be a game changer at the
top of a starting rotation and the signing of Hammel would not leave many
Yankees fans planning their 2017 World Series Champion tattoos just yet but he
would be a solid pickup for the back-end of the rotation if healthy. The
Yankees have a ton of question marks in their rotation, and admittedly adding
Hammel likely adds another question mark to the pile, but if Hammel is healthy
he can add a ton of stability and 200 innings out of the fifth spot that the
team simply just doesn’t have right now with their current crop of players.
Finally the team may not be completely sold on having Austin
Romine as the team’s backup catcher and the good news for the Yankees is that
even this late in the offseason there is always a veteran catcher or two just
sitting around hoping to get a call for a try out. Some of those names include
Matt Wieters and AJ Pierzynski most notably. I’ll be completely honest here
when I say that Wieters is not going to come to New York to be a backup, or
anywhere for that matter, so it’s looking like it’s going to be Romine,
Pierzynski or bust. I am about as excited by the idea of adding Pierzynski to the
club as the next guy, the guy is a total tool bag if we’re being honest, but
the amount of knowledge and experience he would bring with him you simply
cannot overlook. What Pierzynski would do on the field is irrelevant when you
consider what he could do for Gary Sanchez’s development. I’m about as excited
as you are about the idea but for that reason alone I’d at least consider it.
Would any of these moves turn the Yankees into instant
contenders in 2017? Well aside from Quintana, who absolutely would, I honestly
don’t think so. Would it make the team better not only next year and beyond
though? Well that’s hard to argue against.
