Five Ways the Yankees Can Shore Up the 2017 Pitching Staff

Add a Veteran Innings Eater

If the team truly wants to make a serious run at the playoffs in 2017 without surrendering their prospect depth, they may be best served by looking on the free agent market for a solid number two or three starter so solidify the middle of the rotation.

That is easier said then done given the thin crop of pitchers and the number of aspiring contenders expected to be bidding for starters this winter. Jeremy Hellickson might make some sense. He’s on the right side of 30, coming off a strong season, and has had some success in the AL East with the Rays a few years back. The question is whether the team wants to invest the four years $60 million it is likely to take to land him.

Guys like Doug Fister, Bartolo Colon, Andrew Cashner, Brett Anderson, and Scott Kazmir represent the next tier of the market. Maybe the Yankees can land someone like that on a pillow contract? It’s not clear any of those guys represent much of an upgrade over their internal options, however.

Next: Yankees Could Look to Arizona for Pitching Help

The real wild card here is Rich Hill, but he hardly qualifies as an innings eater with 139.1 IP combined the last two years. As the only ace-caliber pitcher on the market, it will probably take something in the vicinity of three years $75 million to sign the 36-year-old lefty. It would be a fun move for the Yankees to make, but probably not a smart one.