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3 surprise Yankees non-tender candidates ahead of deadline

By Thomas Carannante |
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 14: Isiah Kiner-Falefa #12 of the New York Yankees barehands a ball before recording an out during the seventh inning of the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on June 14, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 14: Isiah Kiner-Falefa #12 of the New York Yankees barehands a ball before recording an out during the seventh inning of the game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium on June 14, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
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The non-tender deadline is approaching fast. Didn’t realize it was the evening of Nov. 18, did you? To be honest … we didn’t either! But New York Yankees fans need to be dialed in, because there are some surprise candidates the team might cut bait with in the name of upgrading or saving money.

If owner Hal Steinbrenner is serious about upgrading elsewhere after re-signing Aaron Judge, then the Yankees will need to create some more space on the 40-man roster. They can still do that with trades — particularly with Gleyber Torres, who is set to earn ~$10 million in his second year of arbitration eligibility — but those are always tough waters to navigate when you’re the Yankees and no other team wants to make you better.

Truth be told, the front office needs to be a bit more ruthless. For example, whether you agree with the Toronto Blue Jays’ decisions or not, they just released Raimel Tapia because he was bad and then traded Teoscar Hernández to free up money and potentially improve their outfield situation. The Rays DFA’d Ryan Yarbrough. New York holds on to unproductive players/non-contributors for far too long, and it needs to stop.

If general manager Brian Cashman were to surprise us, there are a few players he could ditch early on in the offseason to paint a clearer roster picture moving forward and make it more efficient for the Yankees to build a true contender in 2023.

3 surprise non-tender candidates for the Yankees ahead of Friday’s deadline

Kyle Higashioka #66 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Kyle Higashioka #66 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

3. Kyle Higashioka

Even though Kyle Higashioka is only projected to make $1.7 million in arbitration for the 2023 season, the Yankees, if they wanted to, could add far more pop to the catcher position on the open market.

Spend more on Willson Contreras? Probably not, but maybe. Bring in Mike Zunino or Omar Narvaez as slugging backups? Probably more likely. And those guys should barely be double the cost of Higgy, who lost his starting job to Jose Trevino, regressed a bit on defense, and, after a hot spring training, completely disappeared offensively for most of the year. He was even worse in 2021.

The only reason the Yankees might want to keep him is for continuity. He’s clearly an asset in the dugout/clubhouse and is willing to take on whatever role is asked of him (and, yes, heated up in September). At $1.7 million, you’re not going to find that elsewhere, but the Yankees could spend more for a better backup, which some might say is needed.

Lucas Luetge #63 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
Lucas Luetge #63 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images) /

2. Lucas Luetge

Lucas Luetge, for some reason, was a rumored non-tender candidate last offseason. Then he was a rumored trade casualty before Opening Day … and then at the deadline. Why? Our guess is as good as yours.

If the Yankees needed anything these last few years, it’s someone who can eat innings in both high- and low-leverage situations. Luetge, for as underwhelming as he might be, can accomplish that. But there are some younger, more intriguing options the team could use in his place (Greg Weissert, new 40-man add Matt Krook, Will Warren, Matt Minnick?).

Additionally, there’s an overall desire to improve the product in the bullpen now that the payroll isn’t being weighed down by Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman. Perhaps that’s where some of the offseason money goes. And fans can’t rule out the classic Cashman trade for a diamond-in-the-rough reliever.

This would be a penny-pinching move, but every dollar is going to count after Judge is (hopefully) brought back. Subtracting millions and adding others on minimum/pre-arb salaries with higher upside might be a worthy solution in the front office’s eyes.

Isiah Kiner-Falefa #12 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Isiah Kiner-Falefa #12 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

1. Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Perhaps the most polarizing Yankee of 2022, Isiah Kiner-Falefa is entering his final year of arbitration eligibility and is due $6.5 million. If he’s used as a utility player, he’s 100% worth it. If he’s mis-utilized as a full-time player anywhere on the diamond, it’s a colossal waste.

And, honestly … that’s a pretty expensive utility guy.

The Yankees will first and foremost explore the trade market here, because non-tendering IKF would represent another failure from the Donaldson-Sánchez-Urshela trade, which is something this prideful front office would be unwilling to swallow.

Then again, non-tendering these three players frees up $10 million and hardly affects the roster. The complaints about IKF in 2022 were valid, but were also a direct result of the front office/Aaron Boone putting the 28-year-old in an impossible situation.

The other reason for an outright non-tender for IKF is, if the Yankees opt to move forward with Josh Donaldson as their starting third baseman, they have DJ LeMahieu as the multi-faceted infielder who can play first, second and third. With Oswald Peraza and Oswaldo Carbera (and hopefully Anthony Volpe) in line to make the Opening Day roster, the Yankees would have multiple shortstops, rendering IKF useless.

Plus, DJ costs $15 million per year and isn’t going anywhere. You’re really going to pay ~$22 million for two utility players, one of whom clearly didn’t make the desired impact? You’re stuck with one. You’re not stuck with the other.

If IKF can’t be traded before Nov. 18, he should be non-tendered, because the Yankees need to stop waiting around for every last thing to transpire in the exact manner they desire.

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