The New York Yankees will be watching the MLB playoffs from the comfort of their own homes as the team begins to plot a way to get back into contention in 2016. The Yankees did not end up having the season they were hoping to have and now critical additions must be made as some veterans might not be returning in the upcoming season. With a second baseman and an elite starting pitcher in need, just how big will the Yankees go for help?
The first question the Yankees must answer is who returns in 2016? According to Andrew Marchand of ESPN.com, Ivan Nova, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira are facing doubts with the future. Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports the Yankees intend to tender the contract of Nova for 2016. The starting pitcher struggled to come back after having Tommy John surgery making his trade value not great, but the Yankees are confident his season can get better with rest and healing.
Sabathia is likely to stay put as he ended his season entering a rehab clinic. Teixeira could stay put as well as he has just one more year on his high-priced contract. However, Teixeira has plenty of value on the open market and if the Yankees opted to make him available, they could get something good in return along with clearing pay roll commitments as they remain saddled to giant contracts to Chase Headley, Brian McCann, Brett Gardner and Andrew Miller.
So just how big do the Yankees go in re-tooling their roster in 2016? Wallace Matthews of ESPN predicts that a second base upgrade and a pitcher are the priorities for New York because that is where they have flexibility. Daniel Murphy with the New York Mets is the most attractive option while Howie Kendrick and Ben Zobrist remain available. The Yankees also have youth in Rob Refsnyder they can take advantage of.
For starting pitchers, several big names hit the market. Zack Grienke can make himself available along with Johnny Cueto, David Price, Scott Kazmir and Jordan Zimmermann. The Yankees took serious looks at all of these players during the in-season deadline, but opted not to make any moves and hold on to their assets. Now they can freely pursue them in the winter.
The biggest question will be how bloated do the Yankees want to make their payroll. The team could easily push for a $189 million limit which would open the door for a lot of spending. The Yankees have plenty of contracts coming off the pay roll after next season which will factor in to what they do this offseason.
