THE YANKEES HAVE THEIR EYE ON THIS STARTING STUD PITCHER THAT EVERYONE WANTS!

The Yankees better start thinking about next season, because the Yankees have some big holes and not a lot of top end talent available. Hal Steinbrenner has promised to take a "deep dive" and really study how the Yankees operate. IF he plans to use new resources to spend money, he won't have the cream of the crop to choose from.

The Yankees have been awful offensively for a long time. They definitely need to balance out their lineup and that means adding some left-handed hitters in the lineup for sure. That has to get done for sure but.... what about the pitching?

The Yankees have at least two starters they need to replace. The writing is on the wall, Luis Severino isn't coming back and neither is Domingo German. It's time to move on but there isn't a lot of great free agents out there, assuming Hal wants to trust Brian Cashman to just throw more money into a free agent and hope it magically fixes the problem.

Every team is going to be checking in on Shohei Ohtani, regardless of the fact that he won't be pitching in 2024. The Yankees will check in because we check in on every big-name free agent, but I feel confident saying Ohtani will not be wearing pinstripes. That is the motherload of all longshots. It's out there.... he doesn't want to play for the Yankees, and he prefers to stay on the west coast. Mark this off the list.

So who is available? The other names on the list aren't super exciting, check it out HERE. Some of the biggest names out there are Blake Snell, Aaron Nola and Sonny Gray. Let's just cross Gray off the list (been there done that) and I'm not excited about Snell. Nola has finished top five in Cy Young voting twice in his career, so that top end starter potential the Yankees need is there. He was a big reason why the Phillies were able to make it to the World Series, and he could be an instant upgrade to our rotation. 2023 hasn't been a great season for him, but he is still a workhorse and should get plenty of attention this winter. The Yankees will check in on Nola too but....is this it?

No, there's another option. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is the new Japanese superstar that is on every MLB team's radar right now. The Orix Buffaloes will reportedly post their ace this off-season, and several teams are getting ready to pounce, read more HERE. There's a lot to like about Yamamoto's resume: 

"He was Japan’s Pacific League MVP in 2021 with a 1.39 ERA, including 206 strikeouts in 193.2 innings. In 2022, Yamamoto lowered his ERA to 1.65. And this year, his ERA is down to a ridiculous 1.26 as of last week, while averaging a strikeout an inning."

He could be the game changer in the rotation that the Yankees are looking for. Sure, the Yankees signed Carlos Rodon last winter thinking he would fill that role, but he hasn't yet. Maybe Yamamoto can and maybe he will. Oh and, considering that Cashman and advisor Omar Manaya flew to Japan to watch him pitch a no-hitter on September 9th, the Yankees may decide the other free agents are Plan B and go all in on Yamamoto.

Will the Yankees take another splash on a Japanese pitcher? Maybe, and maybe their success with Masahiro Tanaka could help steer Yamamoto to wear pinstripes. I hope that could be an advantage, but the Red Sox are also interested, and they have their own Japanese success stories to brag about.

I don't know what the Yankees are going to do.... but the Yankees need pitching depth and Yamamoto looks pretty enticing. Now the challenge is, can the Yankees persuade him to land here after this disastrous season? That's a real and scary question.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj