Additional moves the New York Yankees could make this offseason

The Winter Meetings may have ended last week, but there are still some names the New York Yankees can keep an eye on before Spring Training begins. 

The New York Yankees‘ roster is pretty much crafted here in December, but there are plenty of holes left to be filled.

The rotation, although Cashman has said he is likely going with the unit he possesses momentarily, contains only three apparent locks in Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda.

After that, there a bunch of unproven kids (given, with some serious potential) fighting it out for the last two spots. Not ideal, by any means. 

Beyond the rotation, the Baby Bombers are responsible for satisfying holes in the lineup while other aspects of the team contain glaring weaknesses — despite the additions of Matt Holliday and Aroldis Chapman.

Despite the offseason buzz being relatively quiet at this moment, here are some additional moves Cashman could pull off from now until pitchers and catchers report to Tampa. ESNY breaks it down:

Sign Tyson Ross

If New York were to take a risk on any starter on the market, it should be this guy.

In four years with the San Diego Padres, Tyson Ross went 26-35, pitched to the tune of a 3.16 ERA while striking out 9.2 batters per nine innings. His best season came in 2014 when he went 13-14 with a 2.81 ERA and represented the Padres at the All-Star Game.

From 2014-15, Ross owned the eighth-most innings pitched (391.2) among National League pitchers while only surrendering 22 home runs in 64 games.

Additionally, only one starting pitcher in baseball in that same span produced a greater ground ball rate than Ross (59.2%) did and that was 2015’s AL CY Young award winner, Dallas Keuchel (62.6%).

In the sandbox that is Yankee Stadium, that ground ball rate is invaluable, but his demands may be too high for a guy who won’t fully recover from surgery to fix symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome until May.

An incentive based contract starting at league minimum would make sense, but depending on what Ross is looking for, a deal like this would be a relatively smart investment if he recovers well.

Part Ways With Brett Gardner

While not imminent, the departure of Brett Gardner appears to be a conversation of “when” not “if.”

The 33-year-old left fielder has two years and $25 million dwelling on what’s considered to be a decently fair contract which includes a club option of $12.5 million for 2019 and a $2 million buyout.

His production — in the top-10 in walks, runs scored, hits, triples, and stolen bases among Yankees’ hitters since 1990 — and recent gold glove award justify such interest, but also means that he’ll cost the team who trades for him a decent amount.

In fact, the Yankees must be swept off their feet by a return that must incorporate young and almost MLB-ready power arms  — something Cashman seems obsessed with acquiring. Unless that’s the case, you may not see a trade happen just yet.

I’m sure New York would love to continue to employ their longest tenured player, but it makes sense to part ways.

The Yankees seemed obsessed with shaving veteran contracts and seeing what the kids have in store. If Cashman finds a partner while Clint Frazier is making his presence indisputable, don’t expect Garnder on the roster by next year’s deadline.

Sign Boone Logan

New York’s bullpen features a surplus of weapons.

They have Aroldis Chapman, who will effectively shut the game down, Dellin Betances who will retain his role as a nasty setup man and Tyler Clippard and Adam Warren will help even out a middle relief unit that was a huge disappointment in 2016.

What they are missing, however, is a proven and consistent lefty specialist.

Chasen Shreve had a fantastic 2015 campaign but fell off towards the end (4.76 ERA in the second half) and while he coped with an injury a year ago, he ran into trouble against left-handed batters.

Overall, lefties slashed .275/.383/.675 off the southpaw Shreve while hitting a home run every 10 at-bats. Tommy Layne came up huge following his acquisition and is a lefty specialist but should be complemented with another trustworthy left arm — who is also a familiar face.

Boone Logan is coming off a steadfast year where he maintained a 3.69 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 57 strikeouts compared to 20 walks ratio in 46.1 innings of work.

Plus, his .166/.265/.313 opponent’s slash line (keep in mind: he pitched in Coors Field) could bring down the seventh-worst HR/9 rate Yankees’ relievers posted throughout the second half of last season.

Lefties also slashed .142/.222/.255 against him a year ago while hitting just one home run in 82 at-bats.

In terms of what contract would attract Logan, think about a deal comparable to his previous one, which was the area of two years and $4.5-5.5 million per year. Considering his age and consistency in 2016, a settlement similar to his last could be anticipated.

Trade For Gio Gonzalez

The imperfections in the rotation, as mentioned thoroughly throughout the offseason, is undeniable and not one of them have thrown a pitch yet.

Gio Gonzalez is coming off a year in which he went 11-11 with an ERA of 4.57 but in the five combined years prior, the lefty won 84 games and has 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.

Now, Washington needs a speedy leadoff guy and the Yankees could use a starter who packs proven success in recent times to help balance out a rotation of suspect. Cashman could possibly make a deal involving Gardner to obtain the lefty.

There is some risk, as Gonzalez doesn’t become a free agent until after 2018, but with a vesting option (which means he must reach 180 innings in 2017), New York won’t have to employ him beyond next season if he were to be unhealthy during next season.

Luis Cessa, Chad Green and Bryan Mitchell are arguably entirely better suited as depth options rather than guys to hand the ball to once every five days.

Sure, they are a rebuilding franchise, but forming a team prepared to win is certainly on the front of ownership’s mind, as long as it doesn’t hinder the rebuild.

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