3 way-too-early Yankees’ offseason free agent/trade whiffs

We’re not sure what’s happened over the last decade-ish, but the New York Yankees never seem to make things as easy as they should be. Just look at this offseason. They had to “get creative” to make necessary additions that … weren’t all that necessary when they made the blockbuster trade with the Minnesota Twins.

Fans can go down the list of gaffes ever since the 2009 World Series-winning campaign, but the last couple years have particularly been frustrating. The last two offseasons take the cake, too, since there were ample opportunities to upgrade and the Yankees went for the “cost-effective” or low-risk, high-reward options.

Can’t just take the leap? Spend a little bit more money than you’re comfortable with? The Mets and Dodgers have higher payrolls and their valuations are significantly lower. Maybe figure out your cash flow issues?! I don’t know. I do not run a baseball team. But it should be a bit more seamless than how it appears.

And though we’re not even two weeks into the season, some of the Yankees’ whiffs this offseason are a bit glaring, and fans have had no choice but to overreact based on successes elsewhere and struggles at home.

So where did the Yankees potentially screw up? These are our “way-too-early” offseason whiffs for the Yankees, which are obviously subject to change since these small sample sizes won’t last for a full 162 games.

But the returns the Yankees are getting on the players they swore would be better are much, much worse than this. Either that, or their rivals got better when the Yanks had a chance to use their resources to make them worse.

3. Justin Verlander

Before we go any further, just know we did advise against a deal for Justin Verlander because of what the Yankees had just experienced with Corey Kluber. Injuries derailing a veteran’s progress for nearly two years, with the first year back likely being a “get back up on the saddle” situation? No thanks.

BUT … the difference here was that the Yankees were interested in Verlander and had the opportunity to pluck him away from the Astros, making one of their most hated rivals even worse following the departure of Carlos Correa. Instead, the Yankees didn’t budge on their offer and Houston matched it. Verlander chose the team he’s been with since 2017. No-brainer for him.

It’s not like the Yankees necessarily need the pitching help, but Verlander is already off to a hot start, logging 13 innings, a 0.69 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 15 strikeouts in his first two outings. If they had a hunch he’d be good to go the year after his elbow surgery, then why not bid a little extra or give him another year of security?

Why let the Astros keep their top-of-the-rotation presence only so they can potentially punk you again in the postseason? It seems even when the Yankees are “feeling it,” they hamstring themselves with arbitrary limitations that keep them from going over the top.

1. Matt Olson

No Yankees fan is necessarily upset that Anthony Rizzo is in the Bronx. In fact, many like him! He’s a really good baseball player. However, on top of being the third-best option available to the Yankees this offseason, there’s a question surrounding his vaccination status, which could drastically affect the Yankees when they head to Toronto play the Blue Jays nine times this year.

OK, fine, the Yankees didn’t want to invest $150 million or more in Freddie Freeman, who may not have wanted to come to New York anyway and is already in his age-32 season? Not the most egregious … but still kind of egregious since the franchise is valued at $7 billion!

But passing on Matt Olson, who would’ve only cost prospects, which the Yankees have PLENTY of, is starting to look like a massive oversight. Disclaimer: it’s very possible Olson, who is from Georgia, is very comfortable in Atlanta, which may play a significant role in his scorching-hot play. But right now he’s batting .452 with a 1.280 OPS, eight runs scored, two homers, two RBI and 11 walks in 12 games. He leads the NL in hits, doubles, average and on-base percentage. Of course, he’s playing his usual sterling defense.

Rizzo’s numbers are nothing to sneeze at, either. His defense has been life-saving at first base and he’s got three homers and eight RBI to go along with his .896 OPS. No issues there. However, he’s on a one-year deal (assuming he opts out for 2023, which is likely). The Yankees have no first base solution after this year, when they could’ve signed a 28-year-old Olson to an eight-year contract and settled the position for the next decade.

Maybe the A’s asked the Yankees for too much in a trade because the “equivalent” of the “ranked” prospects here weren’t exactly comparable (the Yankees’ farm system is much deeper and more talented than the Braves’). Or maybe Olson didn’t want a long-term deal in New York.

But we have no intel on that. The Yankees have said nothing. Insiders haven’t indicated anything of the sort. So the next natural instinct is to express outrage because … this team could’ve been either a lot better or settled elsewhere for future seasons when, once again, countless questions remain after the 2022 campaign.

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