The New York Yankees have several paths they could take in free agency this offseason.
If history repeats itself, they will be quite successful.
One of the top names floating is that of Tarik Skubal of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Do the Yankees stand a chance?
Yankees Prediction Points To Skubal Opportunity
Christopher Kline of FanSided unveiled his latest rankings of Skubal’s potential landing spots.
Of the eight teams he mentioned, New York comes in at No. 4.
This isn’t a bad spot to be for an organization that generally thrives on its perfectly imperfect starting rotation.
But that certainly doesn’t mean they’re the most likely ballclub to acquire to veteran southpaw.
“It would require Hal Steinbrenner and the front office to basically sign off on a blank check, but the Yankees’ ALDS loss to the Rays was a sobering defeat,” Kline explained. “There are cracks in the foundation. Many of those cracks are injury-related and concentrated in the lineup; Cam Schlittler, Max Fried, Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón is as strong a four-man gauntlet as any rotation in MLB. The Yankees also have Ryan Weathers, Will Warren and top prospects like Elmer Rodríguez and Carlos Lagrange for depth.
“Still, the Yankees know the importance of depth, especially as their non-Schlittler core ages and becomes more injury-prone. Skubal provides stability and instantly lends credibility to any postseason aspirations. Schlittler-Skubal becomes the most fearsome pitching duo in baseball. Never say never.”
Sobering is perhaps the best way to describe how their campaign ended.
Taking it a step further, the value of depth became all the more clear for the Yankees after their star slugger Aaron Judge was sidelined for much of the season.
This forced New York to rely on their younger stars who tend to play in the shadows.
How Could the Yankees Benefit From Skubal?
Anyone who has followed Skubal’s seven-year journey through the major leagues knows just how valuable he is on the mound.
His back-to-back Cy Young Awards stand as concrete evidence.
Simply put, any ballclub would be eager to land Skubal in its starting rotation. He’s skilled, he’s proven, and he still has plenty of fuel left after his age-29 season.
Sure, competition would be stiff and would probably come with a massive bidding war.
But the Yankees aren’t the type of organization to shy away from aggression in the offseason.
If they see a clear fit for Skubal, they will chase him. If not, they’ll move on to their next target.
Only time will tell where free agency takes New York.
New York Yankees Prediction Reveals Likelihood of Tarik Skubal Acquisition