4 offseason free agent deals Yankees should have matched

The 2023 New York Yankees used a great deal of their offseason budget to bring back Aaron Judge and name him captain, outbidding the Giants for his services once the right fielder’s intentions had become clear.

Don’t sell this offseason short, though. Signing Judge for life was a monumental task and never a given, based on the way the Steinbrenner front office has operated for the past decade-plus, nickel-and-diming fan favorites from Dellin Betances to Gleyber Torres this past weekend.

Add in a team-friendly Anthony Rizzo deal (that lines up with Munetaka Murakami’s eventual posting), a Tommy Kahnle reunion in the bullpen, and the much-needed signing of Carlos Rodón, and the 2023 Yankees look secure and more well-rounded than last year’s outfit (and add more Oswald Peraza/Oswaldo Cabrera/Anthony Volpe, too).

Still, this team is … incomplete. They need a left fielder. They could use a third baseman/utility figure with more pop and consistency than Josh Donaldson has to offer. Their bullpen could always use reinforcements. Following the Frankie Montas injury update that dropped Saturday, it’s overkill to say the team needs another starter, but … cheap swingman depth would be nice.

As the offseason approaches pitchers and catchers reporting (seriously), the Yankees would’ve been wise to sign these four relatively low-cost free agent deals.

4 2022-23 MLB free agents Yankees should’ve signed at their prices

4. Brandon Drury

Brandon Drury, one of the least-beloved former Yankees (whose previously-undiagnosed vision issues sank his career in the Bronx), would’ve been a preferred option to Josh Donaldson.

This, of course, also presumes Cash could’ve worked some magic and found a new home for his $25 million man — Mets on Line One!

If DJ LeMahieu is going to enter spring training perfectly healthy, as is rumored, and has a chance to supplant Donaldson in the starting lineup, then that’s fantastic. But if LeMahieu’s going to remain a question mark, Donaldson is going to keep his stranglehold on the spot, and Torres is going to be on tenterhooks, potentially sacrificed for pitching (please don’t), then Drury’s two-year, $17 million deal seems completely in rhythm with the Yankees’ parameters.

Drury, now a Los Angeles Angel (of Anaheim, don’t forget it), broke out with a 2.6-WAR season with a 122 OPS+ in 2022, moving from the Reds to the Padres at the deadline (and plummeting in value once he got to Ocean Beach, sadly).

The 30-year-old isn’t make-or-break for the Yankees’ plans, which some people sold him as when he stayed on the west coast last month. That said, the AAV would’ve been a drop in the bucket, especially if the team had been able to clear even a third of Donaldson’s salary.

2. Corey Dickerson

Entering mid-January, following a wide swath of arbitration settlements (but not Torres!), the Yankees’ projected tax payroll is alllllll the way up at $291,229,921, under $2 million short of the Steve Cohen Tax.

That means, as presently constructed, the only signings they would realistically be willing to absorb are of the $1-2 million variety (again, unless they can swap out a fraction of Donaldson’s money).

Within those confines, the best left fielder they probably could’ve signed to supplement Aaron Hicks/Oswaldo Cabrera was Corey Dickerson, a left-handed bat who recently went to the Washington Nationals for $2.25 million.

The good news? That means he’ll be very much available at the deadline, for half that price, as an alternative to Ian Happ and Bryan Reynolds.

Considering that upside — the relationship might not be over! — it’s worth noting that the unheralded Dickerson with the long, loping swing was an above-average hitter every season from 2014-2019, posting an OPS+ of 131 split between Pittsburgh and Philly in that final season. He wasn’t just a Coors Field product after all, though he did rake with the Rockies in 2014-15.

In 2021, Dickerson thrived in the AL East in the second half with the Blue Jays, hitting .282 with a .779 OPS. Last season, he was exactly league-average offensively with the Cardinals, though his average exit velocity was an unimpressive 87.7 MPH.

That’s been Dickerson his whole career, though. He’s never topped an average exit velo of 89.7 MPH since 2015, and hasn’t topped 88 MPH since 2017. Somehow, he’s always made it work. He might be a rotational bench player/platoon bat at this point, but at his cost, the Yankees would be wise to pull a ’21 Jays and get him in August.

1. Ryan Yarbrough

No, the Yankees should not have paid Ryan Yarbrough $3 million to occupy a rotation spot.

That said, without Montas, they’re going to need innings eaten. Adding Yarbrough to Domingo Germán and Clarke Schmidt would’ve made that backup unit a bit more formidable.

Without Luetge, they’re going to need a low-leverage swingman, as well as someone who can secure three-inning saves, from time to time. Yarbrough can provide that type of length and more.

Yarbrough may no longer have the Yankees on the other side of the diamond from him, which could slice his effectiveness down just a bit. Think we’re kidding? Career against the Yankees, he has a remarkable 1.99 ERA in 54.1 innings, surrendering just 35 hits.

That may be his best career split, but he also acquits himself well against the Blue Jays (9-3, 3.53, 89.1 innings pitched) and Orioles (3.72 ERA in 84.2 innings, though that lineup is changing). Red Sox? Eughhh, don’t look (7.68 ERA in 68 innings, eaten alive by Fenway).

Against every other team but the Bombers, Yarbrough is a mid-leverage and low-leverage beast (career 98 and 92 OPS+ against in those scenarios across MLB), but struggles in high-leverage spots (a brutal 132 OPS+ against).

All the team needs is a mid-leverage, alt-sided alternative to Germán for the time being, though. Maybe it’s Matt Krook. Should’ve been JP Sears. But Yarbrough is battle-tested, and was available for cheap.

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