3 veteran free agent fits that would greatly help Yankees clubhouse morale

2. Jon Lester

It depends how much he costs, but Jon Lester could be a great addition for the Yankees.

Nobody knows what’s next for Jon Lester. He had his player option declined by the Chicago Cubs and he’s a free agent again for the first time since 2014. His time with the Cubbies wasn’t overly impressive, but he helped deliver that elusive World Series, and that’s all that matters. The man has three rings and, while he’s fallen off the map pretty hard over the last two seasons, he could still be a valuable back-end rotation piece for the right price.

The Yankees need a left-hander, veteran, and insurance policy for their cast of starters, so could Lester be a fit on a cheap one-year deal? The Cubs tried to relieve him of pressure in trading for Jose Quintana and signing Yu Darvish, but Quintana never worked out and Darvish was a late-bloomer, not performing until this past season.

Cashman can clearly communicate to Lester that the Yankees want him as a mentor alongside Gerrit Cole for the young arms (Jordan Montgomery, Deivi Garcia, Clarke Schmidt) and will help him work to get back to his innings-eating self, which hasn’t been the case since 2016. Perhaps a bit of a rediscovery could see the 36-year-old regain some value since it’s now the lowest it’s even been … by far.

Lester could be intrigued to take on a different role while also playing for a bonafide World Series contender. And what better way to stick it to the Red Sox for trading him and lowballing him with contract offers? Sign us up for the southpaw getting ~25 starts in the back of the Yanks rotation, which could prove to be an invaluable addition come October…

1. Yadier Molina

We know we’ve talked about this a lot, but the Yankees and Yadi are a perfect match.

We don’t want to beat the dead horse … but Yadier Molina is perfect for the Yankees in so many ways. He’s one of the most decorated veterans in the sport right now. He would solve the team’s problems with Gary Sanchez behind the plate. He’d be able to play a huge role in mentoring the young rotation. His desire to play two more seasons fits the Yankees’ championship window.

Yadi has very clearly been the outspoken leader on the Cardinals for years now, which is why they paid him big bucks over the last few seasons. But now that he’s a free agent at the same time the Cardinals largely lack an identity, perhaps Molina wants a change of scenery and one last shot to win a World Series before he hangs up his cleats in two years.

A pairing with Molina would be the priciest one out of any of these by far, but it’d be worth every dollar for the Yankees. He also provides an aggressive, contact bat as well as ample postseason experience, which are two other characteristics this roster desperately needs.

While he’s not the defensive force he once was, he’s still worlds better than Sanchez and has logged only ONE year with a negative DRS, which came in 2018 (-1, not even bad!). Any semblance of consistency behind the plate is a marked improvement for the Yankees, and many believe this is one of two moves that need to be made in order to really make that World Series leap. His winning attitude and competitive edge in the clubhouse would speak volumes.

It almost makes too much sense, which scares us.

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