Yankees: Does latest Anibal Sanchez update hint at NYY signing?

Just last week, it seemed as if the New York Yankees were desperately in need of some starting rotation depth.

But we can’t live in a do-or-die world in which we’re evaluating this team every couple of days, because the rotation ended up bouncing back and providing some much-needed length.

Then again, extra arms can’t hurt. The front office has been putting that philosophy centerstage after using Deivi Garcia in a start this past Monday and Michael King in three multi-inning relief appearances.

So could the Bombers actually be serious about adding Anibal Sanchez in the near future?

Fans caught wind of this last week after learning the team had attended one of his showcases, but now there could be a more telling update.

Sanchez will throw on Friday at Cressey Sports Performance in Florida.

In case you’re unaware of the connection here, Eric Cressey, who runs that operation, is the Yankees’ Director of Health and Player Performance. Additionally, Corey Kluber, who’s been a client of Cressey’s for the better part of a decade, signed with the Yankees this offseason after what we can assume was the result of a valuable exchange of intel between the team and their employee.

Couldn’t that be the case this time around? At the very least, if the Yankees’ scouted Sanchez, they’re likely keeping tabs if they liked what they saw, and their main point of contact would be Cressey, who’s working with the right-hander.

Based on manager Aaron Boone’s hesitancy to start the season with regards to letting his starters pitch deeper into games (it hasn’t been excessive, but guys have been removed despite favorable pitch counts) and the fact the Yankees have already used an opener and called up Garcia for a spot start, could another cheap veteran arm be on the docket to preserve the pitching staff for the remainder of the season?

At first, fans thought that’s what Jhoulys Chacin was going to be used for, but he ended up being awful and was let go. Sanchez is a much more intriguing option. Just two years ago he was a member of the World Series champion Washington Nationals’ starting rotation. He may not possess the same stuff he had that year (3.85 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 30 starts in addition to 5 ER, 15 H and 3 BB across 18 postseason innings) after his awful 2020 (6.62 ERA in 11 starts), but his veteran experience and potential to eat innings could be of great value as the Yankees try to get through a marathon of a season with a rotation that’s largely on the mend.

The Cressey Connection cannot be denied, so we won’t rest here until Sanchez finally puts pen to paper on his next deal.

Yankees: Jordan Montgomery’s comments prove Aaron Boone needs to adjust

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone removed another starting pitcher from the game too early again, and Jordan Montgomery didn't seem happy about it.