Though Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, and J.A. Happ are all free agents, most of the speculation surrounding the Yankees has focused on position players (chiefly DJ LeMahieu) rather than pitching this offseason. In an appearance on “The Front Office” on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio today, GM Brian Cashman said the Yankees “definitely feel like we need to try to address more certain innings because you don’t want to be in a position where you’re scrambling” for pitching due to injuries or other absences. Whether those additions could come in the near future, however, is in question.
Cashman likes the Yankees’ in-house rotation candidates and suggested the team might wait beyond Opening Day to see what they really have in their current mix before exploring external pitchers. This doesn’t appear to be their ideal scenario, as Cashman described this route as being a “way we’re forced to go because we don’t have the proper matches” in the marketplace, though the Yankees are “prepared” for such an event: “If I can add to what I have sooner than later, all the better. If I have to wait to do it in season, so be it. But we also might have enough right here before us that’s just untested.” It would seem like a risky tactic for New York given the number of apparent holes in its pitching staff, but if Domingo German can return to his past form after a suspension, or if Jordan Montgomery or Deivi Garcia are ready for regular turns in the rotation, what looks like a major need for veteran pitching could be reduced to perhaps one starter at most.
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