There has been progress on the New York Yankees’ offseason to-do list.
Their outfield has been improved by trades for Trent Grisham, Alex Verdugo, and Juan Soto. After Gerrit Cole, Marcus Stroman fills in as a necessary second starter. An interesting arm for the bullpen is Cody Morris. The offseason is off to a great start. It is also only the beginning.
There are still gaps in the Yankees’ roster. The loss of Isiah Kiner-Falefa creates a huge void on the bench. Oswald Peraza and starting third baseman DJ LeMahieu make up the infield depth.
Nestor Cortes Jr. and Carlos Rodon are question marks going into 2024 due to their seasons hampered by injuries; adding another player to the rotation would be beneficial. There are alternatives.
Blake Snell was the target of an offer from the Yankees prior to their switch to Stroman; should he remain unrestricted, they may pursue those talks again. If they choose to go with a less costly option, Mike Clevinger and Michael Lorenzen would assist in stabilising the rotation. To provide depth to the bench, Enrique Hernandez, Whit Merrifield, or a reunion with Matt Carpenter are all viable options. Another area that needs improvement is outfield depth, which Hernandez and Merrifield would give.
It will be one month before pitchers and catchers report. The off-season is flying by, quicker than you may think. Nevertheless, the Yankees have plenty of time left to finish their to-do list. There are lots of possibilities available.
Although the Yankees’ offseason got off to a great start, there is still plenty of work to be done. Fortunately, in what has been an incomplete roster overhaul, time is on their side.
Pitcher David Wells inked a two-year, $7 million contract with the Yankees following a controversial and injury-plagued season with the White Sox. Wells won just five games for Chicago in 2001. He naturally bounced back, winning 61 games with New York, San Diego, and Boston over the following four years.
Wells was pitching for the Red Sox when the White Sox defeated him 5-4 in Game 2 of the 2005 ALDS, exacting some payback.
It was a result of both the White Sox’s tenacity and pure luck. Carl Everett led up the fifth inning with a single to right, and Aaron Rowand scored the first run for the White Sox of the game with a double that fell just feet inside the left-field line. With the team trailing 4-0 and Wells dominating, the inning began.
Rowand moved to third after A.J. Pierzynski, behind 1-2, tapped a successful ground out to second. Joe Crede scored the game’s second run with a seeing-eye single grounded up the middle, and runners advanced to first and third after former White Sox player Tony Graffanino allowed a possible double-play grounder off the bat of Juan Uribe to squeak under his glove. Following a foul pop out to third base by Scott Podsednik, Tadahito Iguchi hit a three-run line shot home run to left field with two outs and the game’s winning runs.
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