The New York Yankees have an interesting starting pitching predicament on their hands.
Two of the Yankees’ top three arms, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón, will begin the year on the injured list. Cole underwent Tommy John surgery in March, while Rodón had a bone spur removed from his elbow in October. Both are expected to come back somewhat early in the season, but how early is still a mystery.
Should the Yankees add a starter in free agency? And if so, how much should they be willing to spend on that starter to build the most dominant rotation possible once Cole and Rodón are back in the fold?
One baseball writer believes New York will go full-throttle in its bid for the most coveted international pitcher of this year’s free-agent class.
On Friday, Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter predicted that the Yankees would acquire Tatsuya Imai, the 27-year-old Japanese right-hander who has until Jan. 2 to sign with a Major League Baseball club before his posting window closes.
“With an electric fastball and plus secondary stuff, (Imai) fits into the top tier of available pitchers this winter alongside Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez and the already-signed Dylan Cease,” wrote Reuter
“After telling reporters he wants to “take down” the Dodgers, Imai’s most obvious speculative landing spot is far less likely than expected. With Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt all sidelined to start the year, the Yankees need rotation depth and are viewed as one of the favorites.”
Whoever signs Imai may be paying a premium for his age, as he’s a couple of years younger than just about all his free-agent peers. The Athletic’s Tim Britton projects him for an eight-year, $190 million contract, which would be the sixth deal worth over $150 million that the Yankees would have on their books.
The payoff could be massive, but it’s unclear whether the Yankees will have the bandwidth to sign a deal like that and still bring back free-agent outfielder Cody Bellinger. They’re the Yankees, though, so they can never be counted out of a bidding war.
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