The New York Yankees entered the offseason with several roster holes that needed addressing, and several departing players who'd need to be either quickly invited back or replaced. As of this writing, they've done a reasonably good job of recovering from their top-ranked departing player (who's name was ... I wanna say, Rhett?) turning them down. The hole in center field has been filled. Same with the closer's role. First base, check. They even added a high-upside arm to the rotation.
All that's left is an infielder and a left-handed reliever, and while the infield addition is getting complex, the other pursuit should be as simple as it gets. The Yankees have steadfastly claimed that they need to clear Marcus Stroman's money in order to add Nolan Arenado or Alex Bregman or Jorge Polanco or Brendan Rodgers or Paul DeJong and ... fine. That's fine. They don't, actually, but at least they have a "Plan A-to-Plan B" in mind and stated their goal.
On the other hand ... what is taking so long with that lefty reliever, a deficiency that could be addressed tomorrow by offering Tim Hill two years and $8 million. Is his price rising? Maybe! But it wouldn't have if they'd handled their simplest business back in November. And it can't be rising to an unreasonable place. It just can't be.
Here. Look at this tweet. It was published on December 26, and lays out a pretty plain dichotomy. The Yankees had a vacancy in their bullpen, at the time, stuck without a left-hander. They had two contrasting names in mind to fill that gap. Would they sign one? Both? The world was their oyster. One prizes soft contact. The other is all about whiffs over the top of breaking stuff. Both could fit. No matter what, they had to add one of them.
It is now the end of January. Neither player has signed. The Yankees still do not have a left-hander in their bullpen. What gives? Were they hoping CC Sabathia would get snubbed by Cooperstown and would ask to exit retirement and return as a fireman as part of his revenge tour?
That did not happen. Hill, please. Or Chafin, if you must. Just ... do the thing?
The Yankees are interested in Tim Hill and Andrew Chafin as reliever upgrades in free agency per @JonHeyman pic.twitter.com/JFI3hTmkML
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) December 26, 2024
Yankees still haven't re-signed Tim Hill. It is literally the end of January.
It seemed Hill was interested in the Mets about a week back; they nabbed AJ Minter instead, another good decision. The Yankees' decision, in that moment, was made for them even more emphatically than before.
The Yankees cannot enter spring training without an MLB-ready left-handed reliever on their depth chart. Every other team in MLB wants one too, of course (well, except the Mets, who have AJ Minter). They're a hot commodity. It's tougher to find a left-hander who can comfortably last three batters these days, after Rob Manfred invoked the minimum a few years back.
Hill's one. He's probably the least expensive one. Some things are complicated. This is simple. Without Hill, the next lefty reliever on the Yankees' depth chart is ... no one. Not a one.
The Hill/Chafin tweet was from December 26. Please.