Yankees Rumors: Darvish, Machado On New York's Radar, Shaw A Trade Possibility

The New York Yankees are lurking as the best MLB free agents remain available. Not only are the Bronx Bombers a real contender to sign an All-Star, but they might still trade for a hitter that can have a major impact on their lineup.

Both Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Yu Darvish himself have indicated that New York is in the hunt to acquire the starting pitcher. The team reportedly hasn’t given up their pursuit of Manny Machado, and the latest trade rumors indicate that Milwaukee Brewers third baseman Travis Shaw could also become an option for the Yankees.

Adding starting pitching depth appears to be New York’s top priority since they’ve already added National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton to the American League’s No.2 offense. While the Yankees have a more than serviceable rotation with Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka and Sonny Gray leading the way, the defending World Series champion Houston Astros just added Gerrit Cole, whom New York was interested in acquiring.

But it might have been New York’s belief that they could land Darvish that prevented the Yankees from overpaying for Cole. Darvish appeared to be out of New York’s price range at the start of the offseason when it was apparent that the pitcher was hoping to earn a contract worth somewhere near $150 million. It stands to reason that Darvish is unsigned because he hasn’t gotten an offer close to what he’s looking for, meaning there’s a chance the Yankees can make a competitive eight-figure offer.

The New York Daily News’ John Harper reported that the Yankees believe they could potentially sign Darvish to a five-year contract worth somewhere between $80 million and $90 million. That would still force New York to make a trade to get under the luxury-tax threshold, which ownership doesn’t plan on exceeding.

Perhaps Darvish’s two losses in the World Series have prevented teams from giving him a big contract, but all of the best free agents seem to be getting offers for much less than what they anticipated. ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that the Boston Red Sox—the favorites to sign J.D. Martinez—offered the slugger a five-year contract worth around $100 million.

New York’s plan is to avoid spending big money this year so that they can make a splash with next year’s historic free agent class. Machado might be the team’s No.1 target when the 2018 MLB season comes to an end, but the Yankees might not have given up on trading for him before then.

A few days into the New Year, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported that New York was in contact with the Baltimore Orioles about the third baseman. Baltimore isn’t expected to trade Machado, though they have explored dealing him this winter.

Former Cincinnati Reds’ general manager and current MLB analyst Jim Bowden has reported that the Brewers could sign Mike Moustakas to start at third base and try to trade Travis Shaw to New York. Shaw likely wouldn’t come cheap, considering he hit 31 home runs in 2017 and won’t be eligible to hit free agency for several years.

The Yankees traded Chase Headley and haven’t re-signed Todd Frazier, leaving them without a proven option at third base. If New York doesn’t make a trade, it could be minor-league prospect Miguel Andujar that wins the job in spring training.