Yankees: 4 upcoming free agents who can reopen NYY’s window

As things stand now, the New York Yankees are not winning the 2021 World Series, as presently constructed.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. Two months of bad offense means the offense — without a spark — is bad. There are four months left of this. With no underlying statistics indicating a turnaround, there won’t be one.

Pending a deadline addition or two, the championship window is all but closed. But next year? Oh, next year. Without a lockout that wipes out the entire campaign, the Yankees should finally triumph over the (self-imposed) luxury tax and start making winning maneuvers.

(Lockout confirmed. Great. So it goes.)

This bizarre Yankees season has been categorized by a rotation and bullpen that have ranked (through two months) among the best-performing in franchise history, though they obviously haven’t been battle-tested and their supposed No. 2 Corey Kluber has now been sidelined indefinitely.

The offense, defense and base running have been so poor as to essentially take the team out of contention. Left field has been a black hole, and center field was a minefield long before Aaron Hicks underwent wrist surgery. Without Luke Voit for much of the season, production at first base has also been so far down into the bottom of the barrel that it’s covered in barrel residue.

Though Clint Frazier might’ve been handed the keys entering 2021, he can no longer be considered the de facto starter moving forward. Center field has to be up for grabs, too; whether Hicks comes back or not, he can’t be handed a starting role after yet another major surgery, and hasn’t looked the same since Tommy John.

The rotation? I mean … we love it, but are we positive there’s a No. 2 here? This is not to mention Gleyber Torres’ long-term position-less future and the multitude of big names that are breathing down his neck this winter.

As presently constructed, this Yankees team has very little chance of winning the World Series. These four moves — once the cost-cutting measures have been called off — could help them get back to that level quickly, though.

These 4 free agent signings could reopen the Yankees window.

4. Kris Bryant

Quick, before he signs with the Red Sox, the organization his father and mentor played in!

If you’re looking for a left fielder who can also play third and float around the diamond, Kris Bryant, who fixed his ailing shoulder this offseason and was reborn, would be an excellent target.

We must caution you, though: don’t think about Bryant and his Las Vegas best friend Bryce Harper playing together in the same lineup and what they could’ve accomplished in pinstripes. Too fun. Just don’t think about it.

In his age-29 season, KB has posted a career-high OPS+ of 183 thus far, transforming once again into the transcendent slugger he was supposed to be prior to his 2018 struggles and largely-invisible 2020 campaign. He’s in the top 2% league-wide in weighted on-base average, and is posting the highest barrel percentage of his career. The power surge checks out.

If you believe Bryant is a luxury for the Yankees, fine. But “Clint Frazier can handle it” is no longer an excuse. We, too, believe Frazier is better than this, but he’s had more than enough time to show off his legendary bat speed outside of the 60-gamer in 2020, a campaign in which he found himself once again benched for the playoffs.

If a name like Bryant presents itself, you pounce, accept the good player, and try to maximize Frazier’s value elsewhere.

3. Max Scherzer

It’s what the Astros would do. Plain and simple.

Passing on signing Max Scherzer to a long-term contract after the 2014 season that would’ve taken him through age 37? Fine. We get it. But … oops, we’ve arrived at age 37, and Max Scherzer still rules. How’d that work out, Hal?

Scherzer is currently dealing for the moribund Nationals, striking out 95 men in 69.1 innings pitched. He won a World Series for the Nats after battling through traction, unable to stand due to back spasms that scratched him from Game 5, only to rise again and fight through Game 7.

Ignoring a two- or three-year deal for Scherzer that would likely take him to the end of his career is something you could hear Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner justifying in your head already, but … someone’s going to do it. That team that takes the plunge will likely be getting another year or two of ace-type performance — and if not, for whatever reason, the Yankees should be at the top of the list of teams that can weather a mistake of this nature.

Conventional wisdom tells you not to double down on a mistake by acting too late on an opportunity you’ve already bypassed … but Scherzer keeps defying conventional wisdom anyway. The Yankees bet on a backslide from age 31 to 37 and he got much, much better. If his 2023 is below-average but his 2022 delivers a World Series to Houston or Boston, certain Yankees front office members (and their Twitter defenders) will be claiming victory about Year 2 of the deal. Book it.

Just end the discussion and do it yourself.

2. Starling Marte

The Yankees can have a veteran to keep the seat warm for Jasson Dominguez, as a treat.

With Hicks’ clear regression and another troublesome injury, it’s become much easier to see how both Estevan Florial and Dominguez can potentially contribute in the next two years — in a world where the Yankees saw their prospects as major leaguers, that is.

Bottom line, the incumbent shouldn’t enter 2022 as the guaranteed starter, and they should absolutely sign Starling Marte on a two-year deal to thicken out the outfield picture this offseason. They should also trade for him in a month! Or a week. Or a day.

The last time the Yankees had the chance to select a Marlins outfielder, they picked the wrong one, taking on the onerous Giancarlo Stanton deal instead of nabbing Christian Yelich for a comparatively cheap package. This time, there’s no “other” choice to be made; even if Marte isn’t the 162 OPS+ guy he’s currently playing like, he’s been solidly 15-20 points above average in that metric throughout his career.

He has power. He plays good defense. He likely has 2-3 prime-ish years left. This isn’t the type of long-term contract that will hamstring a franchise, and it would certainly leave the Yankees in a better place than starting Brett Gardner and trying out Miguel Andújar in center while they wait (forever) for their top prospects to cool on the window sill.