The New York Yankees have the whole winter and part of the spring to work on improving their roster.
The human resources they had in 2022 were competitive for the most part, but when it mattered the most, they got swept by the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series.
Now, they risk losing star player Aaron Judge.
If that happens, it would be hard to see them competing in 2023.
Besides Judge, however, there are other parts of the roster demanding attention in the form of upgrades.
One of them is starting pitching.
As of now, the Yankees have Gerrit Cole, Luis Severino, Nestor Cortes, and Frankie Montas under contract plus Domingo German and Clarke Schmidt.
The Yankees Could Add A Top Pitcher
While the unit is good, it can really use another top starter.
MLB insider Jon Heyman updated the Yankees’ market on that front.
“Yankees are in on Rodon and Verlander (close Gerrit Cole relationship doesn’t hurt but NYY isn’t necessarily optimistic there). Not as much in on deGrom for what he seeks — $40M plus. Judge remains the main guy but seems to be room to add a big starter, too,” he tweeted.
Yankees are in on Rodon and Verlander (close Gerrit Cole relationship doesn’t hurt but NYY isn’t necessarily optimistic there). Not as much in on deGrom for what he seeks — $40M plus. Judge remains the main guy but seems to be room to add a big starter, too.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 2, 2022
The current Yankees rotation is good, but adding Rodon or Verlander would take the unit to top five of the league.
Verlander won the AL Cy Young this year and Rodon carried the San Francisco Giants’ rotation.
Both carry some serious strikeout potential and are good enough to thrive in the tough AL East.
On the other hand, the Yankees are not currently favorites on deGrom.
In any case, Heyman says that they will likely add a pitcher even if they bring back Judge.
Stay tuned.
NEXT: Yankees Fan Has Hilarious Take On An Aaron Judge Suitor