New York Yankees: 2021 Replacements for Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton

Yankees starters Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton will be free agents after 2020.

2020 was supposed to be the year the New York Yankees avenged their crushing postseason exits in 2017, 2018 and 2019 to finally bring home their 28th World Series title. But then COVID-19 delayed everything and MLB fans have no idea what the upcoming campaign will be like, if there even is one. While a shortened season could benefit the oft-injured Bronx Bombers, fans can’t forget they could be losing some key members to free agency once we hit December.

Starters Masahiro Tanaka and James Paxton are two big names expected to hit the open market and it’s unclear if general manager Brian Cashman will re-sign both of them considering they’ll likely be looking for multi-year deals on the wrong side of 30.

If the Yanks decide to go in a different direction, here are some candidates they can go after in free agency.

4. Jake Arrieta

Jake Arrieta could be a solid addition to the 2021 New York Yankees rotation.

Hear us out here. Jake Arrieta was once atop the MLB and has plenty of postseason experience on the bump, which is something the Yankees are always looking for. He hasn’t had a great stint with the Philadelphia Phillies, most notably due to an elbow issue that eventually required surgery and ended his 2019 campaign, but assuming the right-hander gets back on track in 2020, he’d be a great short-term option for the Bombers in free agency. The Phillies are almost guaranteed to reject his $20 million club option for 2021, which means Cashman can try and coax the World Series champ to come to the Bronx and chase another title alongside Gerrit Cole. While Arrieta will be 35 by the time 2021 rolls around, he owns an impressive 3.08 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in nine career postseason starts.

3. Jake Odorizzi

Jake Odorizzi has AL East experience, and could join the New York Yankees in 2021.

How about a guy that’s had a TON of experience in the AL East?! Jake Odorizzi enjoyed success with the Minnesota Twins in 2019 (he earned his first All-Star nod) after a rocky start with the franchise in 2018, but before that he was with the Tampa Bay Rays for five seasons. Over that span he owned a 3.82 ERA in 127 games (124 starts), so he knows what it takes to face powerful lineups. Take out the fact he’ll be facing the Yankees — against whom he has a 4.71 career ERA — and his numbers should be even better. Plus, he’s a year younger than both Paxton and Tanaka, leaving the Yanks room to sign him to a multi-year deal, but one that won’t break the bank. The only red flag here is that he’s never eclipsed 188 innings in any of his full years as a starter, but then again, Paxton has never come close to that mark, while Tanaka has only gone over 182 innings once in his career.

1. Trevor Bauer

Trevor Bauer would be a crazy 2021 Yankee, but it could work.

Trevor Bauer in New York sounds like a disaster given his boisterous personality and loud mouth, but guess what? He previously said he wants to sign one-year deals for the rest of his career. So bring the man in for a season and try to win it all! While Yankee fans may not like him because of his antics and trash talk, they’re surely going to like when he’s doing all of that in New York — especially if it’s directed at the Astros. The only problem here is that he and Gerrit Cole don’t like each other, and famously butted heads during their time as teammates at UCLA, so Cashman might have to set up a little meeting to have these two air their grievances and move on. We know Bauer has tremendous stuff, but he’s really only had one good season, which came during his All-Star campaign in 2018. The Indians traded him to the Reds last year and he completely unraveled, posting a 6.39 ERA in 10 starts. Nonetheless, it’s obvious what he’s capable of, especially when he’s focused. He eats up innings and strikes out a ton of batters, so if he can get back on track in 2020, this pairing should be a serious consideration for Cashman if the Yankees want to go for it all in 2021.