Yankees: Ranking their top five moves of the offseason thus far

The best move the Yankees have made so far this offseason also happens to be the first big splash they made which was the trade for James Paxton. The trade took place all the way back on November 20th and saw the Yanks top prospect LHP Justus Sheffield head to Seattle along with RHP Erik Swanson and OF Dom Thompson-Williams.

Losing Sheffield stung at the time the deal was announced but it turns out the Yankees weren’t as high on him as we all thought so he became very expendable. As I stated earlier the Yanks number one goal this offseason was to improve their starting rotation and in order to do that they had to add two front-line starters. Adding the 30-year-old southpaw was a huge get especially because it happened so early in the offseason. That allowed the Yanks to shift their focus to the free agent market to add that second starter who turned out to be J.A. Happ.

Paxton is coming off a great season where he set a career high in strikeouts (208), starts (28) and innings pitched with 160. I know that total shouldn’t be looked at as a huge accomplishment but for Paxton it was and the Yankees believe that he can increase that total over the next two seasons in New York.

There’s definitely some injury concerns with Paxton (six DL trips in five seasons) but the good thing is that none of his past injuries have been to his pitching elbow or shoulder. That’s why there’s optimism about him finally being able to put together a full healthy season because most of his DL stints have been caused by freak injuries or muscle strains.

The reason the Yankees traded such a prized prospect like Sheffield for Paxton is they believe the risk is worth the reward with him if he can make 30-32 starts a season. They know that when he is healthy he has ace type stuff and the ability to shut down any given lineup in the league.

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Paxton has the perfect combination of power stuff and plus control. Last season he had a game where he struck out 16 batters and then in his very next start he threw a no-hitter. He also struck out 11.7 batters per 9 IP and only issued 2.4 BB per 9.

This was a move the Yankees made not only to help them win the division but to help them match up with some of the best rotations the AL has to offer in a potential playoff series. If Paxton can make it through the regular season healthy he can go toe to toe with anyone and be a game changer come October with his stuff.

Again, there’s some risk that comes with this trade due to Paxton’s injury history but because the reward could be so great the Yanks couldn’t afford to pass up on the chance to acquire him. I think all the additions they’ve made up to this point have been smart but when you can acquire a guy with his talent I’d say that has to their best move of the offseason.

The goal for this Yankee team is to win a championship next season and with Paxton now in the fold he increases their chances more than anyone else on this list to help them do just that.