The Yankees have a very strategic plan in order to improve their club this offseason, which needs to include fortifying their bullpen.
The New York Yankees have spent a majority of the offseason focusing on acquiring starting pitching and more recently have spent time focusing on the potentially acquiring Manny Machado. However, one area that hasn’t been focused on has been the bullpen. While still an area of strength, the Yankees have lost two key pieces to the pen. So, we will take a look at three potential targets to re-fortify the bullpen.
1. David Robertson
The easiest way to re-bolster the bullpen is to bring back the known commodity that is David Robertson. Robertson across two stints with the Yankees has pitched to the tune of an ERA of 2.75 to go along with 874 strikeouts in 657 innings pitched. That ratio equals 12 K/9 which measures strikeouts per nine innings pitched.
Robertson has been one of the quieter yet extremely valuable pieces in the Yankees pen over the last couple of seasons. Bringing D-Rob back on a 1-2 year deal for $6-8 million a year should be enough to reconnect the Yankees with their Houdini.
2. Zach Britton
Another former Yankee reliever that could make his way back to the Bronx is Zach Britton. Britton is coming off an injury shortened season in 2018 and maybe looking to go somewhere that he can re-establish some of his tremendous value.
Britton will no doubt want to go to a place that will be in contention and thus afford him an opportunity to show what he has. The Yankees should capitalize on this and bring Britton back. The Yanks could look to offer Britton a two-year, $12-17 million per year deal with an option for a third year.
3. Adam Ottavino
Arguably the best reliever on the market this offseason is Adam Ottavino. In 2018, Ottavino pitched to an ERA of 2.43 with 112 strikeouts in 77.2 innings. Ottavino is also a sabermetrically inclined pitcher that looks at the numbers to formulate a plan of attack and with the Yankees more analytical approach, Ottavino could find himself quite comfortable in the Bronx.
Another factor that plays into Adam’s favor is the fact that his HR/9 for his career is just 0.9. And somehow Adam managed to get below that mark by notching just a 0.6 HR/9 in 2018. Adam Ottavino makes a lot of sense for the Yankees and for others teams so he won’t come cheap. But with the Yankees being under the luxury tax threshold they can afford to pay Ottavino and even though Adam is 33 years old, he has only pitched 413 innings in his MLB career. Meaning that he should still have plenty left in the tank. And the Yankees shouldn’t hesitate to offer him a 3-4 year deal for $15-18 million per year.
