It’s Time for the New York Yankees to Make a Free Agent Splash

The New York Yankees have been oddly quiet during the winter meetings. Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays have made multiple moves to bolster their lineups. The New York Yankees need to make one move to put fear back in the eyes of their AL east foes. Signing Max Scherzer would instantly put the Yankees back in contention for the AL East crown.

On paper, The New York Yankees current rotation is pretty darn good. Masahiro Tanaka showed last year that he can dominate in this league with his power fastball and nasty splitter. CC Sabathia is a proven winner who competes with the best of them in big game situations. Ivan Nova and Michael Pineda are young arms that have shown flashes of greatness.

However, the one thing they all had in common last year was a trip to the DL. Max Scherzer is as durable as a pitcher can be. Five straight years the righty has started 30+ games, and in four of those years his ERA has been below 3.75. He throws a plus fastball (94mph+) that pairs extremely well with his dipping change up. He has shown great command of both his slider and curveball.

He followed up his CY Young campaign (2013) with another marvelous season last year. An 18-5 record with a 3.15 ERA earned him 5^th in the AL CY Young voting, but he was arguably a top 3 pitcher. In 5 combined starts against the other three teams in the AL East, Scherzer went 3-0 with a 2.52 ERA with 43 strikeouts.

This is the type of pitcher the Yankees are in dire need of. The numbers prove that he is an ace, but most importantly he has not lost any of his command or velocity over the years.  Sabathia is getting older,  Nova is coming off a major injury (Tommy John surgery), and a pairing of  Scherzer and  Tanaka at the top of the rotation would possibly be the best 1-2 punch in the MLB.

This move would cost the Yankees a lot of money, but they have never been the team shy away from spending more then enough for a big name. Giving Scherzer the big bucks is worth it now and for the future of the rotation.