Bronx Bomber Ball

Entering the day, the New York Yankees had 37 players occupying their 40-man roster with an 8:00 PM EST deadline looming in which 40-man rosters across baseball would freeze ahead of the December 5th Rule 5 Draft. The Yankees had a number of top prospects outside the 40-man roster who would otherwise be Rule 5 eligible unless added, but not enough spots to protect them all.  At the start of the day, the team was looking to protect INF Gleyber Torres, RHP Domingo Acevedo, INF Thairo Estrada, 1B/OF Billy McKinney & RHP Albert Abreu. Photo Credit: MLB.com

Per Jon Heyman of FanragSports , the Yankees are viewed as the “supreme favorites” to sign young Japanese superstar Shohei Otani. Otani is just 23-years-old and has become a star in the Nippon Professional Baseball league as both a pitcher and an outfielder. As a hitter, he batted .332 with eight home runs and 31 RBI. He played in just 65 out of a possible 146 games and battled ankle problems that ultimately required surgery in October. The injury occurred in October of 2016 and affected his playing time throughout the season but it is not expected to be a problem going forward. As a pitcher, Otani made 5 starts, posting a 3-2 record with a 3.20 ERA, 29 strikeouts and 19 walks in 25.1 IP. Credit: Toru Takahashi/The Associated Press There has been considerable buzz about Otani for a long time and as Heyman reports, executives around the league view the Yankees as the leader to sign the Japanese star. One National League executive is quoted in Heyman’s report as saying “The Ya...

The Yankees come into this offseason ahead of the curve. The team wildly defied expectations in 2017 behind an MVP-caliber season by Aaron Judge and a Cy Young-caliber season from Luis Severino. The 91-win Yankees season concluded with a game seven loss in the ALCS to the eventual World Champion Houston Astros. From there, the Yankees wasted no time with their surprising that manager Joe Girardi would not return as the Yankee manager in 2018. With that, it is clear that Brian Cashman has full control of the New York Yankees, and they will look toward making some minor upgrades to field another competitive team in 2018. Unlike this past season, the Yankees will enter next year as one of the favorites in the American League, so many of the decisions made this offseason will factor into how this team can compete for a World Series in 2018, while also looking at the bigger picture of building a dynasty that is ready to begin in 2019 and run into the 2020's. Let's take a...

As November approaches, the end of the Yankee season draws near as well, thus starting the 2018 free agency period. Although most Yankee fans are looking forward to the 2019 free agency, this winter is arguably more important, as there aren’t these can’t miss type of options out there like Bryce Harper or Manny Machado. Hal Steinbrenner has stated the team will be aggressive in free agency this year but don’t expect any 2009 like deals as the team is trying to get under the luxury tax threshold for the future. The Yankees do have some questions, and it will undoubtedly be an interesting winter for Yankee fans. Photo Credit: Kathy Willens | AP Starting Pitching Overview First off is pitching. Luis Severino, Jordan Montgomery, Sonny Gray, and now Masahiro Tanka after he opted into the remaining three years of his contract are under total team control or in arbitration for 2018, so that 3/5 of the rotation right there. After that, the most prominent question is CC Sabathia. CC ...

The Yankees head into the 2018 offseason with only three locks in the starting rotation, Luis Severino, Sonny Gray, and Jordan Montgomery. Masahiro Tanaka has a player option to opt out of his remaining three years worth $67 million. The Yankees will also be losing CC Sabathia and Jaime Garcia to free agency unless they resign them. The Yankees have repeatedly mentioned that they want to be under the luxury tax threshold for the 2018 season, likely meaning that they would like to avoid large long-term contracts. With that in mind,  let's  take a look at some starting pitching free agent options for next season. David J. Phillip | AP Photo