An Early Look at the “Win Now” Yankees’ 2018 Starting Rotation
By Alex Mazer
With his trade deadline moves, Brian Cashman mortgaged some of the New York Yankees’ prospects, getting in return a brighter today and an even brighter tomorrow.
The Yankees debuted their flashy new deadline arms in Cleveland these last two days, and while this offered an exciting time for fans, we should also take a step back and look at the implications of these moves.
“The Future”. That was the shiny phrase surrounding the Yankees’ fire sale at the 2016 trade deadline and their promising 24-9 finish in Spring Training. At this point, we can all agree that the playoff contending Yankees, carried on the back of the same man who struck out nearly half of the time he stepped up to the plate last year, Aaron Judge, has come as a pleasant surprise.
Reacting to such, management has made its immediate change of course explicitly clear with the additions of Todd Frazier, David Robertson, and Tommy Kahnle, not to mention the most recent arrivals; Jaime Garcia and Sonny Gray.
Deciding to play for today, the Yankees were forced to offer up some of their prized “future” sitting in the farm system. The ingenious Brian Cashman, however, continued to impress. He managed to trade away prospective Yankees while still maintaining a strong core that would not have been possible had he opted to acquire a rental like Yu Darvish.
Contemplating Next Year’s Starters
A major concern for the Yankees this past spring was their rotation for the coming season, with next season already appearing to pose even greater uncertainties. Cashman answered many of those concerns at the trade deadline.
The Yankees have Sonny Gray, who remains tied to his financially friendly rookie deal, under their control through 2019. This will allow him to join the other starters under contract for next season; first-time All-Star Luis Severino and talented youngster Jordan Montgomery.
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CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda are both set to hit free agency after the season, while Masahiro Tanaka faces a $67 million option to stay with the team.
It has been noted that Cashman was assigned by ownership to bring this team under the luxury tax, or as close to it as fiscally possible, and that will make “affordability” the Yankees’ new key word going forward.
Jaime Garcia will be a free agent after this season, but based on how he fares under the bright lights these next few months, he very well could be auditioning for a return.
Sabathia seems to have uncovered a genie in a bottle this season as the 37-year-old boasts a respectable 3.81 ERA. His age, however, gives the Yankees the option of bringing him back on a relatively cheap short-term deal.
Pineda’s season ended early with a partial UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery so it is within reason to assume that he is at least considering the option of taking a one-year deal with the Yankees to bet on himself and ultimately raise his stock for the following year’s free agency.
As far as Tanaka goes, he basically holds the keys to his future, as Steve Contursi of Yanks Go Yard outlined.
Where We Stand Now
Regardless of the impending free agents, the Yankees have at least two top of the rotation starters locked in with Severino and Gray, and Tanaka doesn’t seem like he’s going anywhere.
After that, New York has options. Flexibility is always an asset for any team. Whether the Yankees give the nod to CC, take a chance on Pineda, or test the free agent pool that includes the likes of Yu Darvish and Jake Arrieta, Cashman has room to work some more of his magic.
Next: Jaime Garcia Pitches Well Despite Lack of Run Support
The Yankees had to part with some of their prospects to facilitate this run for October, but what lies hidden is how these deals also managed to solidify their rotation for years to come.