The New York Yankees have shown to be big spenders this offseason after signing Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann and the team may not be done yet, as the franchise is hoping to add a starting pitcher to the rotation and names like Matt Garza, Masahiro Tanaka and Ervin Santana could be in the mix for the team.
The Yankees have long been a name mentioned in the Tanaka sweepstakes and another possibility if they miss out on him is Garza, who was traded this past season from the Chicago Cubs to the Texas Rangers. According to Hardball Talk, the Yankees kicked the tires on Santana, but since he wants a $100 million contract, the team likely will stay away from him, making Tanaka and Garza the main targets for the team. The Yankees likely don't have the pieces to trade for someone like David Price, Homer Bailey or Jeff Samardzija and that is why a free agent player is more of a possibility. The YES Network reported that the Yankees want Tanaka and if they lose out on him, Garza could be the pick.
The Yankees have surprised everyone with their big spending after saying they want to keep the payroll low under the $189 million threshold and with names like Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte coming off the books, the team has some money to spend. The Yankees have also made an offer to Hiroki Kuroda and they think that he will remain with the team and that gives the Yankees Ivan Nova and CC Sabathia in the rotation with either Kuroda, Tanaka or Garza coming in as well.
Kuroda was the best pitcher for the team last season and now they come in with two of the best free agents in McCann and Ellsbury. The deal for Ellsbury was surprising and the Yankees signed him to a $150 million deal over seven years and while that's a lot, they needed to upgrade in the outfield after losing Curtis Granderson and they likely are also going to have to deal with the possibility of losing Robinson Cano. The team also reportedly is looking at Shin-Soo Choo.
