5 targets for the New York Yankees this winter
It's November and the MLB trade window is open. Yankees, as usual, are looking for free agents and trades that can make the team compete with the Red Sox for the championship in 2019. The Yankees management did an excellent job to keep the 2018 payroll below the luxury tax limit and are now free to the spend that money in the Winter.
Yankees will be looking to improve their rotation and add more firepower to the already mighty batting lineup. Here I analyse 5 players that the Yankees have to target this off-season.
For simplicity sake, I'll write briefly about the two biggest names in free agency ie., Manny Machado and Bryce Harper and not dive into the details.
Manny Machado is arguably the most notable name in the free agency. The short stop played for the Baltimore Orioles before being traded to the Dodgers in the second half of last season. With Didi Gregorius set to miss the majority of the next season due to a Tommy John surgery, expect the Yankees to make a serious attempt to land Manny Machado.
The team from the Bronx clearly showed interest in Manny last July when he was being traded. Somehow he ended up with the Dodgers. It's not very often a 26-year-old, four-time golden glove winner is a free agent. Yankees even have enough cap space to sign Machado for the next season. His contract is expected to be around 10 years and 350 million.
Bryce Harper is the other big name in free agency. The 2018 homerun derby winner and former first overall pick is expected to go for top-buck. His agent Scott Boras has requested a contract of 10 years and bidding is set to start at around 310 million dollars. Even though Bryce Harper is a strong presence offensively, his defence is definitely a concern.
The current outfield in NY looks crowded, but don't count them out yet. Yankees currently have only two lefty hitters ie., Brett Gardner and Greg Bird with the latter most likely to lose his place to Luke Voit. Bryce Harper is a southpaw and that will just be one of the reasons why the Yankees might make a move for Harper.