Veteran pitching needed
With Lynn off market, Sonny Gray, Duffy are New York possibilities
While the Yankees remained quiet during the first day of the 2020 virtual Winter Meetings, waiting on their top priority DJ Lemahieu, the Angels improved their bullpen and the White Sox improved their rotation with a trade for Lance Lynn.
The veteran right-hander may not have been a star when the Yankees had Lynn in 2018, but they need to add an experienced workhorse in the rotation and trying to stay under the luxury tax threshold, at the very least, Lynn was a potential fit. The move, which sent young righthander Dane Dunning back to Arlington, hopefully signals that the offseason baseball hot stove is heating up — finally.
The Yankees have been relatively quiet in the free agent market looking for starting pitching, according to two agents, but with teams still intrigued by the bat of Miguel Andujar, the recent success of Clint Frazier and the rumors that the Yanks might listen to offers for 2020 home run king
Luke Voit, they have the pieces to make some trades.
There are interesting options, including another potential reunion, via a trade the Yankees could be working on right now.
OK, so Sonny Gray left the Bronx with the crowds cheering “don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” but after two seasons of success in Cincinnati — and a Yankees’ rotation that is largely built on promise — those fans might be willing to open the door back a bit. It’s an unlikely pairing, let’s be honest, but the Reds, who sent closer Raisel Iglesias to Anaheim on Wednesday, are in the beginning stages of a salary dump and the Yankees need veteran pitching.
In two seasons with the Reds, reunited with his college pitching coach Derek Johnson, Gray got back to his comfort zone of throwing his curveball and sinker more and relying on the slider and four-seam fastball he felt obligated to throw with the Yankees. In 42 starts with the Reds, Gray pitched to a 3.07 ERA with 277 strikeouts over 231 innings pitched. In 41 appearances, including 34 out of the bullpen after being demoted, Gray pitched to a 4.51 ERA in 195 innings pitched with 182 strikeouts. Perhaps most memorable, and the biggest red flag to a reunion, were Gray’s homeand-road splits as a Yankee. On the road, he was pitching to an acceptable .317 ERA with a .226 batting average against and .614 OPS. In the Bronx, his ERA ballooned to 6.98 with a .318 BAA and .932 OPS.
So maybe no reunions in 2021. There are two other interesting options that won’t cause anxiety flashbacks in Yankees fans.
Right hander Joe Musgrove is a solid pitcher with two years of team control who is projected to earn between $3 million and $4 million next season. Since 2018, the former Tri-city Valleycat (2014) has pitched 3251⁄ innings
3 with a misleading 4.23 ERA.HE struck out four batters to every one he has walked.
Royals’ lefty Danny Duffy is 32, and a pitcher the Yankees have scouted for a potential trade in the past. The veteran isn’t cheap; he is due $15 million next season, but with the Royals under new ownership there could be some flexibility for the Royals to eat some of that salary.
Jordan Montgomery is the only lefty the Yankees have remaining in their store of starting pitching after both James Paxton and J.A. Happ left in free agency.