The Yankees are planning an active January, according to league sources familiar with the team’s thinking, and the industry expectation is that they will make at least one impactful addition to their pitching staff before spring training.
A team that is all in on trying for a championship in 2024 cannot trade its minor league pitching depth for Juan Soto and stop there. The Yanks know that they need to add quality innings.
For that reason -- innings -- an addition to the rotation is currently the top priority. While the Yankees are hopeful about bounceback seasons from Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes, they are working to add another starter via free agency or trade.
League sources say that two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell has privately expressed an interest in playing for the Yankees, though he has plenty of other suitors. At the moment, Snell seems a more likely fit in New York than Jordan Montgomery, with whom they have also talked.
In past offseasons, the Yankees have spent aggressively on their bullpen as an alternative to overpaying for rotation help. The most logical signing from an on-field perspective is Josh Hader, who might be the most dominant closer of all time (no, seriously: He has the lowest batting average against and highest strikeouts per nine innings of any pitcher since 1901 with a minimum of 300 innings).
The holdup is that, according to multiple other teams who have engaged on Hader, he is seeking the largest-ever contract for a closer in history -- more than Edwin Diaz’s five-year, $102 million deal with the Mets. That is a reasonable ask given his historical levels of production, but it doesn’t fit the budget of a team that needs to spend on innings.
As a Mets aside -- the same goes for them on Hader. He fits both New York teams perfectly, but both are short on starters. If Hader’s price goes down, it’s easier to see him coming into play for the Yankees and Mets, both of whom would improve dramatically by adding him.
An impactful alternative to Hader for the Yankees could be free agent reliever Jordan Hicks, according to league sources.
But again, the team is looking to add to the rotation -- aggressively, though not stupidly -- and will see if the price of a Snell floats into what they consider a reasonable deal zone.