Add Another Starting Pitcher
If the Yankees plan on contending, they need another arm in the rotation. Why? Because, honestly, they only have three reliable arms.
After Masahiro Tanaka (third best ERA in AL), CC Sabathia (best season since 2012) and Michael Pineda (AL Leader in K/9), you have three unproven kids under 25-years old competing for two spots.
One of those kids served up an 8.50 ERA as a starter (Luis Severino), one served up 11 home runs in nine starts (Luis Cessa) and one had his season cut short due to an elbow injury (Chad Green).
And one could argue that Pineda — who is one of six players in MLB history to strikeout more than 200 but have an ERA over 4.80 — is unproven as well, but New York needs to consider adding an arm into the crowded mix.
One arm they could possibly add is 31-year old Gio Gonzalez.
The southpaw is coming off a year in which he went 11-11 with an ERA of 4.57 but in the five combined years prior, Gonzalez won 84 games and racked up over one thousand strikeouts.
Last offseason, the Nationals talked in the offseason with the Arizona Diamondbacks but the trade fell after Arizona became stubborn about dealing Ender Inciarte or David Peralta.
The Nats also spoke to the Miami Marlins, who declined due to the asking price of Christian Yelich but both Washington and New York have what the other needs.
Washington needs a speedy leadoff guy and the Yankees could use a starter with proven success in recent times to help balance out a questionable rotation. Cashman could possibly make a deal involving Brett Gardner to obtain the lefty.
It fits directly into what New York wants to do. Gonzalez is a free agent after the 2017 season so there’s no long-term commitment while Gardner’s exit makes way for highly touted Clint Fraizer’s arrival when he’s ready.
There are two other ways Cashman can go. One being the free agent market, where 36-year old Rich Hill and 43-year old Bartolo Colon highlight the list or stick with their current situation.
Adding a starter with zero dedication beyond 2017, along with everything else listed on this list, may be the best way to go to esnure progress next baseball season.
What do you think, fans? Are these the greatest keys to success? Anything we missed? Let us know in the comments below.
