Yankees need to get in on Liam Hendriks if Giants and Phillies are interested

If the Giants and Phillies are looking to go after Liam Hendriks, the Yankees should get involved.

Nothing has gained traction when it comes to trade/free agent targets for the New York Yankees, but that’s the case across the board because of the current market. In fact, things are so slow that the best closer available — former Oakland Athletics star Liam Hendriks — has garnered little interest.

According to the latest buzz, the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies are the two teams to keep tabs on the right-hander. If you look at both of those teams — both of which likely won’t be keen on spending big this offseason — they don’t offer much of an opportunity for Hendriks.

The Giants are pretty bad and so are the Phillies. Hendriks has been projected by some to sign a three-year deal, which would actually fit perfectly with the Yankees’ prime championship window. And if demand for the veteran is this low, general manager Brian Cashman could potentially have him at a good price.

Hendriks will be 32 by the start of 2021, but he’s enjoyed two of the best campaigns you’ll ever see from a reliever. Across the last two seasons (104 games), the Australia native owns a 1.79 ERA and 0.90 WHIP with 39 saves and an insane 161 strikeouts in 110.1 innings of work.

Jim Bowden of The Athletic projected the Los Angeles Dodgers to sign him to a three-year, $42 million contract, but one could assume he might be a bit cheaper than that given how hesitant teams will be with spending money coupled with his age.

And if it’s just the Giants and Phillies in on the bidding — Philly’s ownership already stated they won’t sign JT Realmuto because of financial concerns — the Yankees can pop right in, offer a bit more money and a better situation, and stack their bullpen.

Acquiring a player of Hendriks’ caliber isn’t a necessity, but it would go a long way if the front office can make it happen at its desired price. Adam Ottavino’s role for 2021 is unknown after his fall from grace in the 2019 postseason and throughout all of 2020, so the addition of Hendriks would give the Bombers another guy who can close games AND bridge the gap almost flawlessly with the starting rotation.

Adding Hendriks into the mix with Chad Green, Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman would give the Yankees the vision they had when they signed Ottavino. And who knows — if Ottavino can return to form, then the Yankees are pretty much settled from innings 5-9. If someone needs a breather, they’d have three closers.

We know the Yankees have many other things to take care of, but if the Hendriks opportunity presents itself, Cashman needs to make it happen.