After missing out on Yamamoto, the Yankee faithful has shown frustration with the organization's lack of urgency to address the rotation. It is not just missing on Yamamoto but when you pair that with the Frankie Montas and Jordan Montgomery trades, you can see why the Bronx Bomber fans are getting restless. As of January 2nd, there are a handful of options to still address the 2024 rotation.
Sign Jordan Montgomery - Rewind back to 2022 post trade deadline, you would probably call me crazy if I said the Yankees would be considering going after Monty in the 2024 free agency class at the tune of 100-150M. After the Yankees moved on from Monty, he has become one of the premier lefties in baseball. After starting the season in St. Louis, Monty moved over to Texas where he was an integral part of their World Series run. One of the biggest issues here is whether Monty has forgiven the Yankees for giving up on him in 2022. Money may heal all wounds here but could see a premium being required for Monty to even consider a reunion.
Sign Blake Snell - In a normal year, Snell would be the big pitching jewel of the free agency class. Coming off a Cy Young performance, Snell finds himself as Plan B to most of the big spenders given Yamamoto was many team's Plan A. Some may say Snell has been inconsistent but when he's on his A-game, there are few pitchers you'd rather toe the rubber for your squad. Although Snell would be a great addition to the Yanks, many insiders believe he has little to no interest playing on he east coast making this signing a bit unlikely.
Sign Shota Imanaga - Not quite Yamamoto, but Imanaga could still be a solid piece to a good rotation. The 29 year old was pretty dominate in Japan in 2023 posting a 2.80 ERA while logging a 148 innings. Imanaga may not have a very high ceiling and is not super young but projects out as a solid mid/back of the rotation starter.
Trade for Corbin Burnes - Burnes is probably the most spoken about trade target of the Yanks. Burnes is set to become a free agent in 2025. Burnes put up 200 strike outs while posting a 3.39 ERA in 2023. Although Burnes should not come cheap, they may be able to pull this off without giving up multiple top 5 prospects. Even though Burnes seems to be at the top of the list for most Yankee fans, I think the next target is really the biggest on the market.
Trade for Jesus Luzardo - It baffles me that Luzardo is on the market. Luzardo becomes a free agent in 2027 and is coming off a year with a 3.58 ERA and logging 178 innings while tallying over 200 strikeouts for the first time in his career. A package to acquire Luzardo is going to be very pricey. Likely will need to include Spencer Jones, major league talent (Gleyber), and possibly more.
Potentially trade for Luis Castillo, Dylan Cease, or Shane Bieber - The list of candidates here are all top of the rotation type of starters, but are likely a tier below both Burnes and Luzardo. These packages would still be pricey but likely won't need to include some high-level guys such as Spencer Jones and/or Chase Hampton.
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