During the 2016-17 offseason, the New York Yankees made several moves to bolster their roster for the upcoming season. Now, they must clear cap space in hopes of adding a few more players, while staying under the $197 million luxury tax threshold.
If New York hopes to remain competitive in the AL East, they’ll need to part with a pair of contracts that total $50 million: those of Brett Gardner and Chase Headley. Their divisional rivals, the Boston Red Sox, are loaded with All-Star talent, and as of now, are the favorites in the American League to make it to the World Series.
Yankees Need Cap Space for 2017
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has been actively shopping both Gardner and Headley. The veteran third baseman has not been as appealing to other teams as Cashman might have hoped, and he has since begun to focus more of his attention on trying to move their veteran speedster in left field. There’s also a real possibility that the Yankees will try and move center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury if teams start to show interest.
Gardner, 33, signed a four-year, $52 million deal in 2014. He is now in the third year of the contract, which will pay him $23 million over the next two seasons. The Yankees also hold a team option on Gardner for the 2019 season that is worth $12.5 million. In nine seasons with the Yankees, Gardy has hit .264 with 63 home runs and 342 runs batted in. He also has 599 runs scored, to go along with 950 hits and 218 stolen bases.
Headley, 32, signed a four-year, $52 million deal before the start of the 2015 season, and is in the third year of his contract as well. The veteran third baseman is owed $26 million over the next two years. Over the past two seasons, Headley has batted .256 with 25 home runs and 113 runs batted in. Needless to say, the Yankees haven’t gotten the bang for their buck they were hoping for when they signed him.
The Youth Movement Continues
With the Yankees organization continuing with their youth movement, these are two contracts that the Bronx Bombers would like to part with. Both Headley and Gardner are in their early 30s and don’t exactly fit into New York’s plans, but they might very well be a perfect fit for a team looking for stable veteran help. Trading Gardner, and possibly Ellsbury as well, would help clear the logjam in the outfield. The Yankees currently have six outfielders on their major league roster, including Gardner, Ellsbury, Aaron Judge, Matt Holliday, Aaron Hicks, and Tyler Austin.
The Yankees have had numerous talks with several teams about the possibility of trading Gardner for a prospect or two, but haven’t gotten far. The interested teams include the Baltimore Orioles and the San Francisco Giants. The Orioles were very interested in acquiring Gardner, but wanted New York to pick up most of his salary, which put an end to those negotiations for now.
A Thin Rotation Needs Help
If the Yankees could move both contracts, it would give them more financial flexibility this winter to go out and make additional moves, particularly to address their pitching staff. Except for Masahiro Tanaka, Michael Pineda, and CC Sabathia, their starting pitching is exceptionally thin. The Yankees traded away Ivan Nova halfway through last season to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite Nova’s potential, he was at best inconsistent during his time in pinstripes. The Yankees also had extremely high expectations for flame-thrower Nathan Eovaldi. Hitting 100 mph on the radar gun came as naturally to Eovaldi as chewing gum, but earlier this month the Yankees unconditionally released him.
A former Miami Marlins pitcher, Eovaldi’s 2016 season came to an abrupt end when he tore his flexor tendon and partially tore his ulnar collateral ligament. Eovaldi will miss the entire 2017 season and perhaps part of the 2018 season. Since New York felt there was a real possibility that Eovaldi wouldn’t pitch again until 2019, the front office choose not to waste a roster spot on someone who might not be the same when, and if, he came back.
The Yankees could really use another starting pitcher, especially if they want to contend with the juggernaut that is the Red Sox. They’ve reportedly reached out to Jason Hammel, who made 30 starts last season for the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs. As of now, nothing has materialized. George King of the New York Post has reported that the Yankees have also approached the Detroit Tigers about Justin Wilson.
Moves Already Made
The Bronx Bombers already moved one massive contract this offseason, that of catcher Brian McCann, in a trade with the Houston Astros to make room for last year’s rookie sensation, Gary Sanchez. The trade allows Sanchez to become the Yankees everyday catcher.
New York also signed former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday to a one-year, $13 million contract. Recently, they re-signed their closer from last year, Aroldis Chapman, for five years and $86 million.
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