Yankees Rumors: NYY pursuing helpful swingman with local ties, Dodgers reliever

It's just about the time of the offseason when Yankees fans are forced to deal with their annual double-edged sword. After seeing Cody Bellinger's surprisingly high tax number, it seems impossible to believe that Hal Steinbrenner would go this far financially without being willing to continue to add and complete the roster picture. In for a penny, in for a pound, right?

And yet ... we thought the same when the Yankees added Ryan McMahon last summer, and then they paused. We thought the same when they signed Gerrit Cole, then made Brett Gardner their only other remaining MLB free agent signing for the rest of the offseason. We thought they had something "bigger than Rodón" cooking. Anyone want to guess whether they did or not?

Despite past evidence to the contrary, though, it really does seem like the Yankees might be considering pushing their current $330 million luxury tax payroll an additional $15-20 million. The Paul Goldschmidt interest (as a part-time player) feels real. They've also been connected to two very different arms on opposite sides of the bullpen depth spectrum.

According to Jon Heyman, the Yankees are checking in on both flamethrower Michael Kopech, recently of the Dodgers, and Fordham University product Nick Martinez, the textbook definition of the gamer. No word yet on whether they're pursuing Martinez to pitch or to follow in the proud Fordham tradition of hosting the pregame show on the jumbotron.

Yankees targeting Nick Martinez in recent rumor push

Kopech would certainly represent a nice "known quantity" to be paired with recent wild card addition Angel Chivilli. The artful Dodger's biggest flaw is his disappearing command, but his stuff is booming. Depending on the price of the one-year commitment, it could be an interesting direction for the Yankees.

Objectively speaking, Martinez is a more exciting possibility, though. Simply put, the right-hander is a dawg, willing to absorb whatever role the Reds and Padres have required over the past four years since his return from overseas. His 2024 season (42 appearances, 16 starts, 3.10 ERA) was exemplary; his 2025 campaign was a little more pedestrian (40/26/4.45), but he still racked up 2.3 bWAR while inducing soft contact with excellent control (90th percentile hard-hit rate, 84th percentile walk rate).

The only oddity of his fit would be the presence of Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn. Martinez could slide seamlessly between the rotation and 'pen, and his presence could entice the Yankees to get even more comfortable with the idea of surrendering Will Warren. The reality that his stuff has played up in both roles contrasts nicely with Yarbrough (better as a starter) and Blackburn (oddly, the Yankees like what they saw from him in relief).

Would the Yankees expand their budget by $5 million for Goldschmidt the part-time player and $10-12 million for Martinez the swingman? And would Martinez take that, after he accepted the near-$20 million qualifying offer last year in Cincy? Expect more rumbles in the Bronx, even if the payroll looks capped out at first blush.