Yankees: Abandoned offseason moves that could’ve saved NYY’s 2021 roster

The New York Yankees had their chances this offseason. They really did. And we told you. How many times did we tell you? We don’t want to be those guys, but there are a number of players elsewhere we had suggested that are, of course, doing better than most players on the Yankees right now.

With all of the injuries (which were to be expected!) and continued struggles (which were also kind of to be expected!), the Yankees are really hurting for reinforcements right now and fans are calling for heads despite the fact New York still has a winning record.

But it’s not good enough. It’s never good enough, unfortunately. For what’s projected, prognosticated and expected of this team, possessing a bottom-of-the-league offense and lack of depth in the starting rotation just isn’t acceptable.

OK, so Hal Steinbrenner has general manager Brian Cashman under a strict budget, huh? Well guess what?! There were plenty of free agents out there who didn’t carry a prohibitive price tag. And even if they did, all that meant was trimming the fat elsewhere.

But some of these decisions would’ve meant cutting ties with players the organization still believed in or didn’t want to judge based on the shortened 2020 campaign. Unfortunately, the Yankees aren’t bold like that.

Maybe sometimes it’s good to be bold! Hopefully this serves as a lesson for next time around … whenever that may be.

These four offseason signings the Yankees passed on could’ve saved the 2021 roster.

4. Michael Brantley

The Yankees have now missed out on Michael Brantley twice. They could’ve signed him after the 2018 season to add another lefty and heavy contact bat the lineup, but instead they let him sign with the Astros at just $16 million per season.

Think that’s too much? Well, it’s not. In 235 career games with the Astros during his age-32 to -34 seasons, he’s slashing .308/.366/.489 with 137 runs scored, 30 home runs and 127 RBI. This year, though he’s just hit the IL, he’s hitting .305 with an .801 OPS. Twenty-five runs scored, three homers and 15 RBI.

Guess where his average would rank on the Yankees? First. Guess where his OPS would rank? Third. And most importantly, he would’ve offered versatility since the Bombers are struggling to find lefty at-bats after Aaron Hicks’ season-ending injury in addition to the lackluster play from Brett Gardner and Rougned Odor. Remember Jay Bruce? HA! Mike Tauchman is in San Fran. Mike Ford is back at Triple-A.

Once again, Houston re-signed Brantley to the same two-year contract this offseason. And they have the top offense in MLB.

3. Taijuan Walker

It’s not that we don’t like Jameson Taillon, but the Yankees decided to go after two lottery tickets in the former Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander and Corey Kluber. Both of those guys had hardly pitched since 2019 and dealt with some troubling injuries … ones we don’t need to get into yet again.

Taijuan Walker was out there for the taking, and though he isn’t exactly a guy who will change the complexion of your rotation, he provides valuable depth. You can call us out here, though. Walker’s dealt with injury issues of his own. He’s never made 30 starts in a season and heading into 2021 he had made just 15 starts since the beginning of 2018.

But everyone’s seen what he’s capable of when he’s fully healthy. And he’s reminding MLB of that this season with the Mets. He’s 4-1 with a 1.89 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 49 strikeouts in nine starts (totaling 49 innings). He’s allowed just one home run on the year. That’s way better than Taillon’s 5.10 ERA on the season.

As for his contract, it’s not bad at all! He signed a two-year, $20 million deal ($3 million of which is a buyout), which could end up being three years for $23 million if he exercises his player option in 2023. Between Kluber and Taillon, the Yankees are paying those two $13.25 million this year. If they wanted another quality arm to cope with potential injuries and/or roll with a six-man rotation, they could’ve given Walker the money he wanted and just paid less in 2021 and more in 2022/2023.

Wouldn’t that be better than bussing Deivi Garcia and Michael King back and forth from Triple-A or bouncing them from the bullpen and rotation?

2. Carlos Santana

The Kansas City Royals surprised us all in the month of April. Though they’ve come back down to earth, they’re still a solid squad, and it’s thanks to the shrewd moves their front office made this offseason — one of which was signing Carlos Santana to a two-year, $17.5 million contract.

He’s a switch-hitter, an on-base machine, and an iron man. Sounds like an asset the Yankees could use for under $9 million per year, right? Why sign a proven commodity though when you can just toss a few million at Jay Bruce so he could retire after a couple weeks or continue forcing Mike Ford on everyone? All the while knowing Luke Voit is a ticking injury time bomb.

Santana has played in at least 152 games for seven out of his eight seasons before the shortened 2020 campaign. That year, he played in all 60 games. In 2021, he’s slashing .251/.387/.441 with 33 runs scored, 10 home runs and 34 RBI through 53 games.

He’s not the best defender in the world, but he can play first and third base, which would’ve given the Yankees some versatility in the event of injures, which, again, happen in excess every year. Perhaps he wanted to be a starter, which is why he signed with the Royals. Then again, if a championship-caliber team approached him and guaranteed he’d appear in 120 games, don’t you think that could’ve changed his mind?

Another miss here. And again, all of the numbers were right in front of you.