I was as relieved as you when word came through that the Yankees finally signed DJ LeMahieu on Friday. Text messages came in as early as 7:30 a.m. on Friday morning and they all lauded the much needed move by the Yankees. But now what? How will signing LeMahieu and now Corey Kluber set up the Yankees for the success? What else do they need to do to position them to not only win the AL East but the World Series in 2021?
According to CBS Sports, "Hypothetically, the Yankees could spend around $25 million and avoid that additional surtax. If they wanted to save around $10 million, for in-season additions and as a general rainy-day fund, then that number is closer to $15 million. The Yankees, then, could fit another Kluber-like deal into their budget with room to spare."
Who is that Kluber-like pitcher for the Yankees? Well it's not Masahiro Tanaka unless he is going to take pay cut which is not likely. It could be James Paxton but I know I am a little sick of his lackluster performance, but maybe the Yankees take another chance on him.
"On the trade front, the most realistic option is Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Joe Musgrove. The Yankees have reportedly also had past interest in Musgrove's teammate Jameson Taillon. Beyond them, the Yankees may have to gamble on someone without a great track record, like Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Vincent Velasquez," reported CBS Sports. Who do Bombers give up for one of these pitchers? Depends. Could be some built around Clint Frazier, Miguel Andujar and even Mike Tauchman.
As far as other free agents whose salary would be inline with the Yankees' budget, you could go with "Adam Wainwright, Jake Odorizzi, Taijuan Walker, Jose Quintana or Trevor Cahill," reports CBS Sports. I am in alignment with Joel Sherman that if the Yankees are going to stay under the luxury tax, they will have to get creative. And I will give Brian Cashman credit for being creative in his role as GM.
So we got DJ, we got Kluber, what's next for the Yankees? We will soon see and hopefully whoever else the team adds, it will be more than enough to get over the World Series drought and then some.
--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof
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