It’s been a while since the New York Yankees have been to a World Series, let alone win one. Despite having one of the most stacked rosters in all of baseball, theBronx Bombershave struggled to keep up in the AL East.
That might as well change as soon as the team addresses their need for pitching. Besides Gerrit Cole, they lacked a reliable arm who could eat up innings and make things easier for their bullpen.
With that in mind, Brian Cashman and company are reportedly looking to solve their issues once and for all, which is why they targetted a leftyinYusei Kikuchi, per Jon Heyman of MLB.com.
MLB Rumors: Yankees Wanted To Sign Carlos Rodon Or Yusei Kikuchi
(Transcript via Audacy)
“Heyman also reported that the Yankees requested physicals on pitchers Carlos Rodon and Yusei Kikuchi as well. Rodon, a lefty, was one of the biggest steals of the offseason before 2021, when the White Sox brought him back on a one-year, $3 million deal. Rodon responded by adding nearly 3 mph to his fastball, and most importantly, was mainly healthy. The 29-year-old tossed 132.2 innings, nine of them coming in a no-hitter, and posted a 2.37 ERA, earning his first ever All-Star selection. He showed some wear in the second half of the season, which wasn’t too surprising considering he hadn’t thrown more than 100 innings since 2018.
Kikuchi, also a lefty, also posted his first All-Star season in 2021. He tossed 157 innings and finished with a career-best 4.41 ERA. But he fell off heavily in the second half of the season, his ERA from just before the All-Star break to the end of the season coming in at an inflated 6.22.”
Unfortunately, the Yankees failed to bring in either of them, but the fact that they’re finally trying to solve their biggest issue is at least slightly encouraging. Now, we’ll have to wait and see what they manage to do before the start of the season.