Getty Reliever Josh Hader was one of the most highly-sought free agents after the 2023 season before agreeing to a $95 million contract with the Houston Astros
The New York Yankees have been linked to nearly every premier free agent pitcher this offseason, including Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jordan Montgomery.
But their pursuit of Josh Hader, a five-time All-Star and three-time National League Reliever of the Year award winner, was particularly interesting as landing him would have completely reshaped the Yankees’ bullpen and seen the team make a major investment in the kind of shutdown closer they haven’t had since Mariano Rivera.
Shortly after agreeing to a record five-year, $95 million deal with the Houston Astros, Hader revealed exactly how far negotiations with the Yankees had reached.
“I’d say the Yankees were talking, it just never came through,” Hader said during an appearance on “Foul Territory.”
Hader added that he was focused on joining a team that could contend for a World Series in the near future, implying that he saw the Yankees as a potential fit for that reason. But he clarified that the Astros were much more direct with an offer, suggesting that the Yankees never made an actual contract proposal.
“Houston, they were straight up, they were like, ‘Hey, you’re the guy we want, alright, this is what we’re going to give you, this is our plan,’ and they made it happen,” Hader said.
In addition to the Astros and Yankees, Hader named the Los Angeles Dodgers as the third team who he had been “talking to” in free agency, sharing that they “were in the room but never fully stepped in.”
Without Josh Hader, New York Yankees Bullpen Faces Some Questions
Without making a competitive offer for the best reliever on the free agent market this offseason, it seems the Yankees will be sticking to a bullpen strategy that served them well in 2023.
The Yankees relief corps had the lowest ERA in all MLB last season, along with the 11th most saves and 12th most strikeouts. And this was accomplished with a bullpen of relatively-cheap, under-the-radar hurlers.
Adding Hader would have dramatically changed that, but instead it looks like the Yankees are going to once again pursue a soft-contact strategy, rather than a swing-and-miss, flamethrowing one.
As several members of its pitching staff from last season have departed, the team recently padded its depth by trading for relievers Caleb Ferguson and Victor Gonzalez.
“Since the end of last season, Wandy Peralta and Michael King are gone — both to San Diego — as are Albert Abreu (Japan), Keynan Middleton (St. Louis) and Greg Weissert (Boston),” Dan Martin reported for the New York Post. “But the philosophy that’s made the Yankees’ pen a strength in recent years should remain a constant… Both Ferguson and Gonzalez have high ground-ball rates, something that the Yankees clearly value.”
The New York Yankees Might Have One Big Pitching Move Left Before Opening Day
With Spring Training on the horizon, it seems likely that the Yankees’ roster is set for Opening Day. But you can never count New York out from landing a premier free agent.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post noted that “they still have rotation questions,” and Snell, Montgomery and a slew of other free agent pitchers are still out there for the Yankees to get.