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The New York Yankees are expected to be aggressive in free agency to improve their roster after a subpar 2023 season, but they’re reportedly not in the running for the best player on the open market.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Yankees “are not believed to be in the mix” for two-time American League MVP Shohei Ohtani. However, they reportedly “are in strong on” Japanese pitching sensation Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Passan noted that the Yankees’ reluctance to pursue Ohtani “speaks to their reticence to add the biggest contract in North American sports history to the quartet of [Aaron] Judge, [Gerrit] Cole, [Carlos] Rodon and Giancarlo Stanton, who are owed more than $513 million over the next four seasons.”
New York missed the playoffs after finishing with an 82-80 record in 2023. The team struggled mightily at the plate with a collective .227 batting average, which ranked 29th in all of MLB.
The Yankees dealt with injuries to multiple key players, as Judge, Stanton and Anthony Rizzo all appeared in less than 110 games. Rodon, the team’s prized free-agent signing last offseason, made just 14 starts amid injuries to his forearm and back. When he was healthy, he failed to live up to expectations and finished with a 3-8 record and a 6.85 ERA.
It’s obvious that a two-way phenom like Ohtani would help the Yankees improve both at the plate and on the mound. However, the franchise is far removed from its “Evil Empire” days when it would shell out the most money to secure high-priced free agents.
Yamamoto would be a solid consolation prize, but there will be a ton of competition for him as he’s one of the most coveted pitchers available this winter. He has a career record of 70-29 with the Orix Buffaloes in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan and went 16-6 this past season with a 1.21 ERA and 169 strikeouts in 164 innings of work.
The Yankees are still trying to make it back to the World Series for the first time since their last title win in 2009, so it will be interesting to see what moves they make this offseason to try to get there in 2024.
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