What's next for Yankees after missing out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto?

The Yankees lost out on this winter’s ideal free agent pitcher — a young, ace-level starter — so where do they go from here now that Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a Dodger?

There are options, though none of them just turned 25 years old and also profiles as a potential Game 1 postseason starter into the next decade. Do they reunite with an old friend? Grab a two-time Cy Young award winner who has never gotten a Cy vote in any other year?

Or do they accentuate a pitching strength from the past few seasons by constructing a flamethrowing super bullpen? Maybe they add run prevention at the hot corner instead.

Here’s a look at what could be next for the Yankees in what has become a crucial winter. After all, they traded for one year of Juan Soto earlier in the offseason. They can’t stop improving their flawed team just because the ideal pitcher chose the opposite coast.

Top end pivot

It’s rare for the Yankees to lose out on a free agent they so obviously covet. Was Greg Maddux-to-the-Braves the last time?

Blake Snell, who won the NL Cy Young this past season, is the top free agent starter remaining on the market, and ex-Yank Jordan Montgomery is next. Either would represent a needed upgrade in a Yankee rotation that is currently populated by ace Gerrit Cole, two lefties who had tough 2023s (Carlos Rodón and Nestor Cortes) and Clarke Schmidt. Question marks abound, no?

Snell was 14-9 with an MLB-best 2.25 ERA for the Padres in 2023. He allowed just 5.8 hits per nine innings, best in baseball. But he also led the majors in walks. While he also won the AL Cy Young with Tampa Bay in 2018, he’s never gotten even a single vote in another season.

Montgomery was dealt away for Harrison Bader, in part, because the Yankees did not believe Montgomery would crack their 2022 postseason rotation. We’ll see if that lack of faith might impact his free agency, especially since he might have an attractive spot to return to – the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers.

Montgomery crushed the postseason for Texas last year, going 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA in six games (five starts). He got two wins against the Astros in the ALCS, a nugget that might have some currency in Yankeeland, considering how Houston has owned the Yanks in the playoffs.

Both lefties will pitch at 31 next year and both will likely require long, expensive commitments. Is that enough to give the Yanks pause on either?

Trade winds

It’s easy to suggest another megadeal to boost the Yanks’ rotation. But they already sacrificed young talent for what could be just a one-season cameo in the Bronx for Soto. Can they really plunder their system again for a pitcher such as Dylan Cease, Shane Bieber or Corbin Burnes, righties who potentially could be available?

They got Soto without trading Jasson Dominguez, who should be healthy again by midseason at least. And they kept Spencer Jones, the big outfielder with power who some dream of as an Aaron Judge sequel, too. They still have prospects such as infielder Oswald Peraza, outfielder Everson Pereira and pitchers Chase Hampton and Will Warren if they want to deal.

Go for the runner-up

Shota Imanaga, 30, is the second-best Japanese import in this year’s free agent class and notched a 2.66 ERA last year for Yokohama. In eight seasons in Japan, the lefty had a 3.18 ERA. He’s deceptive and had more strikeouts than Yamamoto last season, so he may fit snugly into a Yankee rotation.

There’s this, though: The last time the Yanks signed the next-best Japanese free agent pitcher, it was the year they lost out on Daisuke Matsuzaka, who signed with the Red Sox. The Yanks’ impulse buy on Kei Igawa did not work.

But scouting Japanese players is much better than it was in the mid-2000s. Teams get more looks at the players, both in Japan and in scouting chances against MLB hitters in events such as the World Baseball Classic. There’s pitch-tracking data to evaluate and clubs know better how to ease their transitions to pitching here.

Dig deep

Not every transaction has to be a blockbuster, you know. Maybe the Yanks can hit on a reclamation project pitcher. Is that as sexy as signing Yamamoto would’ve been? Heck, no. But teams can build rosters in so many ways.

Here’s our list of favorites from the non-marquee names from the free agent pool: Hyun-jin Ryu, James Paxton and Michael Lorenzen.

Ryu, who only made 17 starts over the past two seasons because of injury, and Paxton, an oft-injured lefty, are risks. But they both have stuff upside. Lorenzen threw a no-hitter last year for the Phillies and had a 4.18 ERA over 29 games (25 starts) for the Tigers and Philadelphia.

No bull on relief

Over the past three seasons, the Yanks have built terrific bullpens, finishing fourth in MLB in relief ERA in 2021 (3.56) and then third (2.97) and first (3.34) over the next two years.

So maybe they wallpaper their bullpen with elite arms to keep other teams from scoring and sign Josh Hader (1.28 ERA with San Diego last year) and Jordan Hicks (81 strikeouts in 65.2 innings over two stops) to add to Clay Holmes, et al? Old pal David Robertson is a free agent, too.

Glove, actually

There’s more than one way to prevent runs. What if the Yanks signed Matt Chapman, a four-time Gold Glove winner, to play third base? He would add defense. Dingers, too, since he has four seasons of 24-plus homers in the majors, including a high of 36 in 2019.

Chapman is not coming off a platform season with the Blue Jays – he batted .240 with 165 strikeouts and 17 homers, his lowest longball total since 2017. Maybe that keeps the contract palatable. But Chapman still hit the ball hard last season, holding the fifth-highest average exit velocity in MLB. Maybe that leads to bigger numbers in 2024. And the Yanks have made moves designed to improve their defense in recent years – that’s what the Montgomery-Bader trade was about.

Chapman’s presence would mean DJ LeMahieu transitions to a super-utility role and that would also lessen the need for Peraza to be on the big league roster, so he could be trade fodder for pitching.