Yankees: 3 Non-Tendered players NYY would be insane not to chase

Thanks to an influx of new free agents, the Yankees would be making a big mistake not adding these talented names off the scrap heap.

What a whirlwind non-tender day, huh? From the lows of attempting to rationalize the Yankees letting Gary Sanchez hit free agency ahead of schedule, to the highs of realizing the team wasn’t going to be that cheap after all and could probably focus on some of the big names who are now available.

And, rest assured, though it technically wasn’t a crazier day than it had been last year (people predicting a landslide of casualties were hopefully not disappointed), there are plenty of famous names who are now jobless just 2.5 months before the supposed start of Spring Training.

And we still don’t know yet if there’s going to be a universal DH. Fun!

Needless to say, more than a few of these newfound free agents are perfect fits for a Yankees team that could stand to improve at the margins.

With all apologies to former Reds catcher Curt Casali (great backup, probably not a starter, not worth replacing Kyle Higashioka), Eddie Rosario (probably too, well, good to play part-time in the Yankees outfield) and Kyle Schwarber (we’ve spilled too much ink there already), these three options feel like excellent choices for the Yanks. They’d be crazy not to pick up the phone.

3. Archie Bradley

Everyone wants Archie Bradley, but the Yankees should rectify their 2020 trade deadline mistake here.

Cut Jonathan Holder loose, and go right for the gold with Archie Bradley? Yeah, we could be convinced! Wouldn’t take much!

Bradley would’ve been an ideal 2020 playoff bridge to Green/Britton/Chapman, but alas, the Yankees couldn’t be convinced to go for it all at the slapdash 2020 deadline, and stood pat while the former D-Backs righty went to the Reds and watched a series-long shutout in the Wild Card Round in Atlanta.

Bradley has been as consistent a set-up man as you’ll find since converting to a full-time reliever in 2017. And for a Yankees bullpen that hasn’t been nearly as good as advertised over the past few years (real fans know), and definitely hasn’t been the same since Adam Ottavino went off-kilter in the 2019 postseason, Bradley would be a great, calming bridge to the three fire-breathers at the back end.

He’d also be a viable option to use in higher-leverage duty on a day where one or more of those players must rest, which has been Holder territory the past few years. This is the most obvious fit in the Bronx — unfortunately for the Yankees, it feels like every other contender has realized it, too.

Perhaps since Corey Knebel was so quickly scooped up by the Dodgers, the Yanks will act swiftly here.

2. Carlos Rodon

The Yankees have a rotation hole or two, and Carlos Rodon would be a better-than-average flyer.

Carlos Rodon, the third overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, was a rapid riser in Chicago, but has been haunted by injuries and ineffectiveness the past two years.

But now, all he costs is money. And probably not that much money, considering he needs to be helped off the scrap heap!

There’s something more that needs to be unlocked in Rodon’s nearly-28-year-old arm, and his first four MLB seasons (age 22-26) were all the same level of…well, perfectly capable. In full 2015 and 2016 seasons, Rodon posted 3.75 and 4.04 ERAs with just about a strikeout per inning, then whiffed 76 men in 69.1 innings the next season before his arm started barking. He spent time on the IL in 2017, opened the 2018 season with shoulder troubles, and underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019, only to come back for an underwhelming four starts this season.

In other words, that’s a lot of disaster in very little time, but it’s generally darkest before the dawn. Once the TJ procedure and rehab have been completed, it’s quite likely that things get easier for a pitcher from there.

Rodon is a top-pedigree talent who showed off his skills at a very early age at the MLB level, and he’s available for relative peanuts for a team that needs a few different lottery tickets to hit in the back end of the rotation — or, frankly, in the middle of the bullpen. It’s been a long time since the Yankees had a lefty there.

This makes too much sense, and is too inexpensive, not to pursue.