Yankees: 3 free agent busts fans should be glad NYY didn’t sign

OK, maybe every New York Yankees fan isn’t qualified to be a general manager. Because many advocated for some of these guys this past offseason, and, well, they all would’ve been disastrous signings.

The Yankees needed a lot of things heading into 2021, but general manager Brian Cashman was hamstrung by the organization’s self-imposed financial restraints. There were no blank checks this time around and it was a lot of budget shopping.

But oh man, even these once-upon-a-time cost-effective free agents would’ve been horrible had the Yankees pulled the trigger. You want to talk about a starting rotation and bullpen being completely decimated?

That’s what would’ve happened had Cashman explored these signings, which have all blown up in these teams’ faces despite the fact they looked good on paper.

For the amount of grief fans give Cashman, he’s actually done a tremendous job building this roster, and even more so under the constraints he faced over the last 10 months.

And we’re really, really glad he didn’t take a flyer on any of these players.

Yankees fans should be glad they avoided these three free agent busts.

3. Brad Hand

Brad Hand, who the Yankees completely own, is already on his THIRD team in 2021. How is that even possible?! After the Cleveland Indians rejected his team option, he signed a deal with the Washington Nationals to be their closer.

Then he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in July as the Yankees’ division rival attempted to beef up their bullpen. The lefty wasn’t spectacular in the nation’s capital, but a 3.59 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 21 saves figured to at least help the Jays, right?

Not at all. They cut him loose after he logged a 7.21 ERA in 11 games. He didn’t record a single save. And then the Mets picked him up this week! That should go well.

Maybe Hand would’ve been in a better position to succeed with the Yankees since, heading into 2021, New York’s bullpen had a lot of heavy hitters that could help take the pressure of the left-hander. Nonetheless, fans should be very glad he’s not throwing batting practice to the opposition in innings 7-9. Imagine what would’ve happened while this unit was spiraling in June and July?

1. Jon Lester

When the Yankees needed to round off their starting rotation with one final candidate, some thought Jon Lester would be the perfect match.

He’s a World Series champion who was looking for a new home and a chance at redemption after falling off with the Chicago Cubs. The Boston Red Sox lowballed him in contract talks years back, so why not come to the Bronx and stick it to them?

It wasn’t unreasonable to assume a fairly toxic environment in Chicago (a managerial change, tension with Kris Bryant, no security beyond 2021 for other cornerstones like Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo) affected Lester’s play, which featured back-to-back uncharacteristically bad campaigns in 2019 and 2020.

When the Nationals brought him on board for one year and $10 million to put him alongside Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin, some wondered why the Yankees didn’t think his experience, pedigree and well-within-reason chance to bounce back wasn’t enough for them.

Well, again, Cashman was right. Lester, after a bad start with the Nats, was traded to St. Louis, where he has also been bad, at the deadline. Overall, he’s got a 5.05 ERA and 1.58 WHIP in 22 starts. Like Minor, that would’ve been the worst the Yankees would feature in their rotation this year. Domingo German and Michael King are better options.

Now, that $11 million spent on Corey Kluber? It really doesn’t look so bad.

Yankees: Top free agency priorities for Brian Cashman after 2021 season

The New York Yankees can become a dominant team again with a few strategic acquisitions during the upcoming rich free-agent market.