Yankee Offseason Priorities

MLB's Winter Meetings (which, like everything else this year, are being held virtually) begin on Monday.  This is typically when the offseason really gets going and the top free agents start coming off the board.  Of course, after such a strange season and another strange one ahead in 2021, nobody knows how much movement there will actually be at this year's Winter Meetings. 

Simply put, it's a bad year to be a free agent.  Because of the financial situation a number of teams find themselves in, a lot of owners will probably be reluctant to offer big-money contracts.  Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon last year notwithstanding, the trend had already been moving away from big free agent splashes during the Winter Meetings.  The big names will all sign somewhere, of course.  It just might not be for the money/years they'd otherwise want or expect.  And it might not be at the Winter Meetings.

That doesn't mean there won't be any movement at the (virtual) Winter Meetings, though.  All 30 teams have their offseason priorities, and the Winter Meetings are really the first chance they'll have to improve their clubs.  You don't want to get caught waiting, either.  Because if you're holding out for Plan A and he decides to go elsewhere, you might miss out on Plans B, C and D, too.

Take the Yankees.  Their offseason priorities are probably pretty obvious.  Priority No. 1 is re-signing DJ LeMahieu.  Priority No. 2 is the starting rotation.  But Plans B, C and D are just as interesting.

Let's start with LeMahieu.  When he first signed with the Yankees in the winter of 2018, it was as an extra infielder.  He was gonna play all over the place to give the other guys a break.  Two years later, LeMahieu is the regular leadoff hitter and coming off back-to-back top 5 MVP finishes.  Simply put, he's been the most important guy on the team over the last two seasons.  And losing LeMahieu would be significant.

LeMahieu wants to stay, and I'm fairly certain he will.  But, if he doesn't the Yankees have a potential Plan B that's a very, very good one--trading for Fracisco Lindor.

Lindor is going to be a free agent after next season and unlikely to stay in Cleveland.  The Indians know this, which is why they were shopping him hard last offseason.  He's only 27, a switch-hitting leadoff guy, and a solid defensive shortstop.  Simply put, Francisco Lindor is one of the Top 10 best players in the game.  In other words, he'll command a hefty free agent contract in the winter of 2021-22.  And anytime there's a free agent who'll command a lot of money, the Yankees will be in the discussion. 

If LeMahieu leaves as a free agent, I can easily see the Yankees asking the Indians what they'd want for Lindor and Brian Cashman pulling the trigger.  They aren't giving Clint Frazier back, and there's no way Deivi Garcia is going anywhere, but there's some common ground to be found.  And you're not giving up a king's ransom unless you know you'll be able to sign Lindor to an extension.  My guess is the package would be something like Miguel Andujar, a young starting pitcher (Michael King perhaps) and a prospect.  It's also worth noting here that Francisco Lindor's best friend is Yankees third baseman Gio Urshela.

Losing LeMahieu and adding Lindor would simply be swapping one leadoff hitter for another.  And, by bringing in a switch hitter, they'd address another glaring need and add a left-handed bat to an incredibly righty-heavy lineup.  Trading for Lindor would also allow the Yankees to move Gleyber Torres back to second base.  Gleyber handled himself fine at shortstop last season, but he's better defensively at second.

Other than LeMahieu, the in-house free agent that the Yankees would most like to keep is Masahiro Tanaka.  Tanaka is one of three free agent starting pitchers the Yankees have, but he's the only one they're even remotely interesting in bringing back.  James Paxton and JA Happ will almost certainly be gone.  A Yankee rotation without Tanaka, though, takes a completely different look...and isn't nearly as good as one with him.

I also expect Tanaka to re-sign.  He's been a Yankee ever since coming over from Japan and seems to love New York.  More importantly, Tanaka lived up to the value of his contract.  No one regrets that contract, and nobody would complain if Tanaka signed another one to remain in Pinstripes.  He'll likely have other suitors, but if he wants to come back (and all indications are he does), he probably will.

Re-signing Tanaka gives the Yankees a rotation of Cole, Tanaka, Severino when he comes off the IL in July, Jordan Montgomery and Deivi Garcia, with Domingo German also coming off his suspension.  They'll probably be in the market for a veteran starter anyway, but if you take Tanaka out of that, the need for another veteran starter becomes even greater.

Is Trevor Bauer a potential Plan B?  The NL Cy Young winner is without question the best starting pitcher available, and he's made it know that his preference is to sign a short-term deal.  Do you offer him two years and see what happens?  The good thing about a short-term deal is that you can get out of it pretty quickly if things don't work out.  But if they do work out, you're in the same situation as they currently are with LeMahieu and you're doing the full-court press to keep one of your best players.

The Yankees will most likely be in on Bauer.  But so will every other team that needs a starting pitcher.  If Tanaka does go elsewhere, though, that increases the urgency to sign Bauer.  Because the alternatives aren't great.  Keeping Tanaka and adding Bauer would be ideal.  Just keeping Tanaka would be fine too.  So would adding Bauer and losing Tanaka.  But they can't afford to not sign either one.

Then there's Brett Gardner.  He's been a Yankee so long and is so beloved by the organization that he's basically free to sign a one-year contract every offseason until he decides it's time to retire.  Gardner isn't an everyday starter anymore.  And he won't be expected to be (Frazier in left, Hicks in center, Judge in right, Stanton at DH).  As a fourth outfielder, though, he's worthwhile.

Gardner also balances out all of those right-handed bats.  That's one last area that needs to be a priority for the Yankees.  They need another left-handed hitter.  A lefty first baseman to back up Luke Voit and give Stanton a break at DH every once in a while would be ideal.  Because without one, the World Series drought could easily extend to 12 seasons.