Yankees: 3 free agents NYY must avoid this offseason

1. Jose Quintana

Remember when the Yankees ‘let Quintana get away’ to the White Sox? There’s no reason to rectify that mistake now.

The Yankees need Jose Quintana like I need a Greg Bird reunion.

Quintana has grown more frustrating over the past few years ever since he crossed Chicago in exchange for Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease — that really happened, and helped usher in the end of the Cubs’ window.

He hasn’t been the same high-strikeout lefty since 2017, surrendering 25 and 20 homers in his past two full years with diminishing stuff. And when a regressive fastball isn’t hitting the corners anymore, that’s how you end up with 4.03 and 4.68 ERAs in ’18 and ’19, coupled with scary whiff totals (158 in 174.1 innings in 2018, 152 in 171.0 the next season). Is this really going to be someone’s multi-year deal target?

Let teams like the Red Sox aim for regressing soft-tossers like Quintana. This is such a high-floor, low-ceiling potential acquisition, and isn’t the kind of (semi-expensive!) move that supposed contenders should make right about now.

Signing Quintana this offseason is what the 17th-best team in baseball does to ensure they can maybe recoup someone’s 26th-best prospect at the deadline. Yippee. We’re out.

Yankees: 3 players who’ve likely played their last game in New York

These three Yankees (and, OK, fine, many others) have probably played their final games in New York following the 2020 MLB season.