The Yankees are not done.
“It’s not going to be just him,” GM Brian Cashman said of Juan Soto. “We got to continue working at what else we can add to this roster.”
The biggest need, Cashman acknowledged, is pitching of all kinds.
Trading for Soto removed three pitchers who combined to cover 232 ²/₃ major league innings last season in Michael King, Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez. The inclusion of top prospect Drew Thorpe in the trade will hurt, too, as will the losses of prospects Mitch Spence, Matt Sauer and Carson Coleman, who were taken in Wednesday’s Rule 5 draft “where we got slammed,” Cashman said. A day prior, it took three more pitchers (Greg Weissert, Richard Fitts and Nicholas Judice) to land Alex Verdugo.
The Yankees’ biggest strength — pitching depth — has become an area of concern.
“We’re in the market for pitching,” Cashman said over Zoom on Thursday. “Rotation, bullpen, combo, all of the above.”
The rotation projects as Gerrit Cole and a bunch of question marks that include Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes and Clarke Schmidt.
The No. 5 starter at the moment might be Luis Gil or a prospect such as Will Warren or Clayton Beeter.
The most significant addition would be Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto, with whom the Yankees are visiting Monday.
The competition for Yamamoto will be stiff, though, and will include Steve Cohen’s Mets.
Other top free agents include Jordan Montgomery and Blake Snell.
Cashman declined to comment on how high the Yankees’ payroll could go.
The Yankees’ bullpen is in a better spot than the rotation. The Yankees will look to add more depth but should return Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle, Ian Hamilton, Jonathan Loaisiga and Ron Marinaccio.
The Yankees and Red Sox coming together to make a trade this week was a rarity — but the trade discussions between the two were not.
The Yankees had been trying to pry Verdugo from Boston for several years.
“There were so many conversations prior that we had with Boston the last two years on Verdugo,” Cashman said. “We were both able to find something we could live with this time around, and we didn’t blink there.”
Verdugo likely will be the Yankees’ usual left fielder and hits righty pitching well (against whom he holds a career .807 OPS). He was a polarizing figure with the Red Sox and got benched twice last season, once for arriving late for a home game and once for not hustling.
Cashman said the Yankees did a “deep dive” into Verdugo’s makeup and found “he’s a gamer.”
“We’ve seen him obviously within the rivalry,” Cashman said of the 27-year-old. “I don’t think this New York situation is going to be a problem for him. I think he embraces the big stage. Had a lot of conversations [with] a lot of people that had been [in Boston] or currently are there or passed through there.”
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