New York Yankees options after not getting Gerrit Cole

The New York Yankees aren’t getting Gerrit Cole. He’s been traded to the Houston Astros. The Yanks must now pivot to other options.

Gerrit Cole to the New York Yankees once seemed like a done deal. It seemed like just a matter of time. The Pittsburgh Pirates wanted Gleyber Torres. The Yankees wanted the trade to center around Clint Frazier. As he did with the Sonny Gray and Giancarlo Stanton trades, Brian Cashman would wait until the price for Cole came down and the Pirates were willing to accept Frazier as the headliner.

Instead, the Pirates found another suitor willing to meet their demands. Pittsburgh shipped their ace to the World Series champion Houston Astros. In return, the Pirates received right-handed pitchers Joe Musgrove and Michael Feliz, third baseman Colin Moran, and outfielder Jason Martin.

Cole to the Astros hurts the Yankees two-fold. One, obviously the Yankees missed an opportunity to further bolster their starting rotation and two, the defending American League champions add to an already stacked roster. If the Yankees weren’t going to get Cole, the best case scenario would have been him staying in the National League.

Cashman and the Yankees must now find their next move. They won’t be getting Cole and must pivot to other options.

What are those options?

LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 01: Yu Darvish (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images) /

Yu Darvish

The New York Yankees have already expressed interest in Yu Darvish this offseason. There was even a report that the Yanks offered Darvish a long-term contract which he originally denied but later confirmed while disputing the details of the contract offer.

Signing Darvish and staying under the $197 million luxury tax threshold could be tough but the Yankees are hoping Darvish’s asking price will drop. The issue here is that with Cole being traded, the free agent starting pitching market may finally pick up which will only drive Darvish’s price tag up. One of Darvish’s suitors was the Astros, however, so they’ll bow out now.

Darvish posted a 3.86 ERA in 2017 with 209 strikeouts between the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers. Darvish did, however, struggle in the World Series, posting a 21.60 ERA in two starts.

If the Yankees are going to sign Darvish to a long-term deal, they’ll likely need to find a way to shed Jacoby Ellsbury’s contract which won’t be easy considering the size of the contract and Ellsbury’s full no-trade clause.

HOUSTON, TX – JULY 31: Alex Cobb (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Alex Cobb

Another cheaper free agent option is Alex Cobb.

The New York Yankees were rumored to be in the lead for Cobb along with the Chicago Cubs all the way back in November and then were connected to Cobb again in early December.

Cobb knows his way around the AL East, having pitched for the division rival Tampa Bay Rays for the past six seasons. He pitched well in 2017, going 12-10 with a 3.66 ERA.

Cobb is not as talented of a pitcher as Darvish, but for the price, he may be the better deal.

One wrinkle is that Cobb was extended and rejected a qualifying offer from the Rays, meaning if the Yankees were to sign Cobb, they would lose their first-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft.

DETROIT, MI – AUGUST 24: Michael Fulmer (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Michael Fulmer

The New York Yankees have expressed interest in Michael Fulmer. They even submitted an offer to the Detroit Tigers that was rejected.

Fulmer is a young starting pitcher with five years of team control. He won AL Rookie of the Year in 2016 and was an All-Star in 2017.

The problem is that the Tigers have understandably set the asking price extremely high. They too would likely want Gleyber Torres to headline the deal as well as Chance Adams.

Fulmer has a career 3.45 ERA and with an offense like the Yankees’ behind him, he could win a lot of games.

Is he worth Detroit’s high asking price? That’s up to Brian Cashman to decide.

BALTIMORE, MD – AUGUST 22: Manny Machado (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) /

Manny Machado

After not getting Gerrit Cole, perhaps the New York Yankees will abandon the idea of adding another starter and instead add to an already potent offense. They’ll just win games 10-8.

More from New York Yankees

The Yankees can take the prospects they won’t be sending to Pittsburgh and send them to the Baltimore Orioles for Manny Machado.

New York checked in on Machado again just after the New Year and aren’t ready to give up on the idea of putting Machado in pinstripes.

Machado is a free agent at the end of the year but the Yankees would have the money to re-sign him and make the trade more than just a one-year rental.

If they don’t trade for him, the Yankees could still sign Machado next offseason, but why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?

Machado is a Gold Glove third baseman who has hit at least 30 doubles and 30 home runs in each of the past three seasons while driving in at least 86 runs. He would turn an already dangerous Yankees lineup into downright scary.

Next: Jacoby Ellsbury starting in CF isn’t as crazy as it sounds

Brian Cashman may have waited too long for the Pittsburgh Pirates to cave and he missed out on Gerrit Cole. The New York Yankees, however, still have plenty of alternatives.

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