Yankees: 3 free agent standouts NYY clearly missed out on
Unless you’re an avid reader of The Ringer, a publication that apparently believes the Yankees “sucked up big free agents and leveraged their financial might” this offseason, you were probably left a bit cold by New York’s cost-cutting.
Did the Yankees get better? I’d say yes, and the risks on Jameson Taillon and Corey Kluber were well-calculated.
But, excepting the DJ LeMahieu deal (which you could argue came in below market value), New York didn’t out-muscle anyone for anybody. In fact, they’d have been better served by doing so a few times instead of paying the Red Sox to take on Adam Ottavino AND a prospect just so they could sign two cheaper relievers.
All this is to say: the Yankees let some free agents float by, and those free agents are making them regret it entering Opening Day.
Remember how there was never any real competition for Tyler Wade? Well, there could’ve been! Remember how the “will they/won’t they” over the Mike Tauchman trade became the dominant storyline instead of a completely irrelevant narrative? After all, the Yanks could’ve … signed a better outfielder.
Money shouldn’t be a concern — for any MLB team, not just the Yankees — and if you disagree, you probably also think Steve Cohen shouldn’t pay Francisco Lindor what he wants, even though the Mets’ owner uses hundreds for sauce napkins.
The Yankees improved this offseason, but these three free agents they whiffed on are already making the Steinbrenners choke on their wadded-up cash, and it’ll only get worse.
Apologies to Jake Odorizzi, whose inexpensive contract and migration to Houston made him a perfect fit for this list — except he was utterly terrible this spring. So jury’s still out.
The Yankees will regret passing on these 3 free agents.
3. Kiké Hernández
Carrying a clutch utility man who plays shortstop, second base and the outfield instead of a redundant Mike Tauchman and/or Tyler Wade? What a novel concept! Which MLB team figured it out and signed Kiké Hernández to a $7 million AAV deal, per chance?
Oh, you’re kidding.
Obviously, this was out of the Yankees’ should-be-nonexistent price range, but they should have at least acquired some sort of intriguing minor-league FA who replicates Hernández’s skill set. They did not do that.
The Yanks didn’t need to sign a clear backup shortstop to caddy for Gleyber Torres and put undue pressure on him in a huge offseason, but it would’ve been nice to add the versatility that someone like the new Red Sox slugger provides (11 games at short in 2019, 22 the year prior). At the very least, it would’ve made more sense than cramming Gio Urshela in there, or, like we said, gifting Wade the position despite him being the clear worst hitter (worst player?) on the 26-man roster.
It certainly didn’t hurt his case that, after being handed some semblance of a starting job for the first time, Hernández tore the cover off the ball at Sox camp, hitting .340 with three homers.
Spring stats are not the be all, end all, and should not blind you here, though. The bottom line is that many of the Yankees’ redundancies and roster decisions could’ve been solved by adding more versatility at the margins of free agency.
2. Freddy Galvis
It’s not that we have a vendetta against Tyler Wade. We just want him off the roster, due to badness.
In this instance, we broke our credo a bit. Freddy Galvis, who was signed by the Orioles for just $1.5 million (and will surely be traded by July), is hardly a career backup, having played 162 games in both 2017 and 2018. In our scenario, he’d very much be New York’s backup shortstop, though, directly pressing Torres — though he also plays some second and the outfield.
A slick-fielding semi-power bat, Galvis brings everything Wade theoretically does, both tangibly and intangibly. Better bat, excellent glove, more power, solid speed. Can he book it like Wade? Well, not quite. But is he on base more often? Uh, yeah.
The exceedingly pesky Galvis also popped 23 homers in his last full season in 2019, split between Toronto and Cincinnati, and each trade opportunity since then, he’s seemed like a prime candidate for the Yankees to acquire. So why’d they pass on him at the expensive price of half a Justin Wilson this offseason?
As things stood, Wade skated onto the roster because he was pressed by an out-of-position shortstop and a DH-type who rocked a 50-pound chain to BP everyday. It would’ve been nice to try the excessively cheap Galvis on for size.
1. Joc Pederson
Rest assured, the Yankees will not be the only team that regrets missing out on Joc Pederson for their outfield vacancy.
But that doesn’t make it hurt any less.
In need of balance and lefty power in the lineup, the Yankees opted only to keep lefties in their bench outfield spots, re-signing Brett Gardner while carrying Mike Tauchman. Gardner can hack it. Tauchman showed renewed pop this spring, leading the team in homers with three.
But Pederson? Pederson, for just $7 million, could be out there stomping the yard from the left side right now, secure in the knowledge that some injury would surely be gifting him consistent playing time.
This spring, Pederson smashed the baseball, clocking an almost impossible eight home runs in just 51 plate appearances. Are spring stats dogma? By no means. But does everything about Pederson’s power profile indicate his totals would only increase at Yankee Stadium? Yes and yes.
New York got an obvious bargain when Gardner agreed to come back for such a paltry sum, but there’s much less “redundancy” in carrying two backup outfielders when one’s a speedy fielding specialist who can also put a charge into a baseball, and the other one’s instant offense, Raul Ibanez-style.
Pederson is going to be a great Cub, and he could’ve been ours.