5 star free agents Yankees can sign when lockout ends

Is there a reason to be mad at the New York Yankees? Absolutely. Is there a reason to carry that anger until the lockout ends? No, don’t waste your time. Go grab an açai bowl, breathe some fresh air, and feed the birds. Is there a reason to be absolutely hopeless about this team upgrading the 2022 roster before the season starts? Not at all. There are plenty of players out there that can still be signed and traded for in a few months as we endure a lockout.

That doesn’t take away from the fact we all could’ve used at least one impact-ish move to have us feeling good while we have nothing to follow or look forward to for quite a while, but there’s time. And plenty of it.

The bright side? The Yankees cannot disappoint us for the foreseeable future. It’s not possible. The baseball world is shut down until further notice and it’s unclear when a new collective bargaining agreement will be signed into action.

In the meantime, fans will have the luxury of dreaming of a revamped 2022 roster featuring a couple new marquee names ready to bring a World Series to New York. Who will it be? A starting pitcher? An outfielder? A new first baseman? A high-priced shortstop?

All of those options are out there. Are all of them realistic? Heavens no. But we narrowed down a group of players that make the most sense even if some of them are obvious fits elsewhere. Max Scherzer bailed on the Dodgers and went to his former division rival in the New York Mets. Everybody has a price. We won’t rule anything out.

The Yankees can sway any of these guys to come to New York if they offer a big enough contract. So keep on dreamin’! The possibilities are still alive and well.

5 star free agents the Yankees can still sign after the lockout.

5. Kyle Schwarber

This should be the last time you hear about a potential link — no matter how loose or distant it may be — between the Yankees and Kyle Schwarber. Cashman will have one final favorable opportunity to bring aboard his white whale.

Last year, Schwarber was non-tendered by the Cubs, signed with the Washington Nationals, and was traded to the Boston Red Sox. This time around, he’s looking for another contract after signing a one-year deal and has interest from the Red Sox, Marlins, Rockies, Phillies and others, per the latest chatter.

He doesn’t exactly fit with this Yankees roster given the team’s needs at the moment, but was that a problem for the Red Sox? They acquired him at the trade deadline and had no spot for him … then they figured it out and used his hot bat to get to the ALCS. Maybe the Yankees bring him aboard as another outfielder and cycle in Joey Gallo/Aaron Judge/Aaron Hicks in center field and rotate Giancarlo Stanton and Schwarber between one of the outfield spots and designated hitter. Not ideal … but not that crazy?

We don’t know. But any time you have the chance to upgrade with this kind of power on the left side of the plate, you probably just go ahead and worry about the specifics later.