New York Post, Saturday, November 14, 2020nypost.comroll the dice on Tanaka’s charac-
ter and track record while recog-
nizing that his 2020 — during
which he took his family back to
Japan during the shutdown, then
suffered a concussion within min-
utes of spring training 2.0 start-
ing, and still turned out adequate
until the rough October — proved
especially challenging for him.
Possibly cheaper options include
Jake Odorizzi and long-ago Yan-
kees minor leaguer Jose Quin-
tana.- Trades. This goes hand-in-
hand with the DJ LeMahieu/
Gleyber Torres/Luke Voit puzzle.
If the Yankees re-sign the free
agent LeMahieu, wouldn’t it make
sense to play LeMahieu at first
base and Torres at second and
find a new shortstop? Voit could
bring back a young, high-end
starting pitcher in a trade. So
could Torres, if the Yankees
played LeMahieu at second with
Voit at first. If LeMahieu signs
elsewhere, then Miguel Andujar
could be the trade chip, obviously
bringing back a lesser return than
would Voit or Torres.
The dollars they dole out (or
don’t) for a free agent pitcher will
factor into how experienced/ex-
pensive an arm they’d get in such
a trade. Of the three young pitch-
ers The Post’s Joel Sherman (our
top talent scout) suggested in his
annual “How to fix the Yankees”
column, the Diamondbacks’ Zac
Gallen and the Marlins’ Pablo Lo-
pez are not yet arbitration-eligi-
ble, while the Rockies’ German
Marquez will make $7.8 million
next year, $11.3 million in 2022
and $15.3 million in 2023 — no
small commitment.- Internal. It would stun if the
Yankees, having exported three
significant starting pitchers, im-
ported more than two. They’ll
count on more starts from their
returning arms. There’s Severino.
There’s Domingo German, as-
suming Hal Steinbrenner lets him
back from his suspension for do-
mestic violence. Then there is the
very promising Deivi Garcia, the
highly encouraging Clarke
Schmidt and the interesting
Michael King.
The more successful the Yan-
kees are at finding the 40 percent
to join Cole and Jordan Mont-
gomery (whose 3.87 FIP projects
a better 2021), the closer to 100
percent their chances of a title
will become. The search is on.
age is just a number: Despite being five years older than
Masahiro Tanaka, 37-year-old free agent Charlie Morton may have bet-
ter upside for next season than the Yankees’ right-hander. Getty ImagesC
ALL THIS The Case of the
Missing 40 Percent.
As the Yankees stand now,
still in the first inning of this Hot
Stove season unlike any other,
they must replace 40 percent of
their 2020 starts, probably for less
than half of what they were pre-
pared to pay for that ($52.5 mil-
lion) last year before the
novel coronavirus struck.
Almost certainly for less
than the $36 million they’ve
committed to Gerrit Cole for
2021.
Masahiro Tanaka (pre-pan-
demic 2020 salary of $23 million)
made 10 starts for the Yankees
this past season, J.A. Happ ($17
million) nine and James Paxton
($12.5 million) five. Add those up
and you get 24 starts out of the
Yankees’ 60 games. That trio, all
part of the free-agent pool now,
teamed for a 4.05 ERA, considera-
bly better than the cumulative
American League starting pitch-
ers’ ERA of 4.52.
Yes, now that the Yankees enter
a winter with an undisputed ace
for the first time in a long time,
they must construct his support-
ing cast on (relatively) limited
funds. And don’t forget that Luis
Severino, who underwent Tommy
John surgery on his right elbow in
late February, will be making
$10.75 million. His return by the
All-Star break should be consid-
ered a victory.
Perhaps you’ve figured out by
now that a Trevor Bauer hookup
with the Yankees looks quite un-
likely because of the dollars he
should get somewhere before we
even dive into his unique, social-
media-heavy personality and his
frenemy-ship with his former
UCLA teammate Cole. So let’s
look into the three obvious, non-
Bauer avenues to building this 40
percent.- Free agency. Of the Yankees’
three own free agents, only Tan-
aka appears a viable option to re-
turn. I say go ahead and re-sign
him ... on the condition that you
can’t convince Charlie Morton to
come aboard. Morton, 37, is
nearly five years older than Tan-
aka, yet I’d argue he possesses su-
perior upside for next season.
Nevertheless, Morton hasn’t hid
how much he loves the Tampa
Bay area, where his family lives
year-round. If he re-ups with the
Rays, then the Yankees should
‘leveled up’: Killian
Hayes, a 19-year-old point
guard prospect from France
— but born in Florida —
said he believes his game
has changed dramatically
in the last eight months. AP
Gerrit sole
Yankees must sort out
rotation behind ace Cole
Ken Davidoff