New York Yankees: 5 free agent options for the final starting rotation spot
By Sean Dyer
Andrew Cashner
Contrary to Jhoulys Chacin, after spending his entire career in the National League, Andrew Cashner had one of his best seasons with the Texas Rangers in 2017.
Cashner went 11-11 with a 3.40 ERA despite his strikeout numbers going way down. He struck out only 86 batters in 166.2 innings.
Playing for $10 million in 2017, Cashner seemed to improve his stock. However, spotrac.com expects him to make just over $10 million per year with his next contract.
At that price, he would make a great back-end starter for the New York Yankees. He would come cheaper than CC Sabathia while being six years younger.
The downside to signing Cashner over Sabathia is that Cashner does not yet have the chemistry that CC already has with this Yankees team. Sabathia was one of the veteran leaders in that clubhouse.
If CC decides to sign elsewhere, however, Andrew Cashner could be one of the better alternative options. His decreased strikeouts seemed to turn into increased production and he would be a solid back-end starter.