It seems the New York Yankees chase to land another star pitcher in the free agent or trade markets this winter has the backing of the team’s controlling owner.
This has been an eventful offseason so far for the Yankees. After rumors of interest over the last two seasons, the organization made the biggest splash in the trade market yet by acquiring All-Star outfielder Juan Soto. The move was seen as a huge win for the team since his addition addressed several needs and did not come at an obscene cost.
However, heading into the offseason a major priority was to try and improve the starting rotation. While the team has reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole, free agent addition Carlos Rodon disappointed last season due to injuries and 2022 All-Star Nestor Cortes regressed last year.
In December the franchise made a strong push to land gifted Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Unfortunately, they came up short in their chase to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Since then there has been speculation about who they could shift their focus to and how realistic are their chances of landing a front-line pitcher.
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New York Yankees boss Hal Steinbrenner fully supportive of team making ‘significant’ pitching addition
Recent reports suggested the team was not interested in adding another big contract to their payroll to avoid hitting the next tax threshold. Plus, they did give up several notable minor-league assets for Soto. It’s unclear if they will be able to acquire top-line free-agent pitchers like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, or trade for White Sox ace Dylan Cease in the coming weeks, but if they can it is with the full support of ownership.
On Saturday night, New York Post MLB insider Jon Heyman reported that ” there’s a belief the Yankees will land someone significant to aid their rotation before the season. Managing partner Hal Steinbrenner is said to be on board with the concept of a serious addition to a rotation that’s suffered a couple of losses via trade and free agency.”
That is huge news because the cost of potential deals for the aforementioned pitchers could be too much for Steinbrenner. However, a big move seems even more likely with ownership totally behind it. Heyman claims the organization is still in pursuit of Snell, Montgomery, and Cease, with some in the front office feeling they have a better chance at landing 2023 National League Cy Young Snell.
