With the Yankees’ pitching staff in tatters, a midseason import seems increasingly likely. Hal Steinbrenner strongly intimated Thursday he’d be willing to pay the import fees.
“[We’re] always willing to look at options come July. Come the trade deadline,” Steinbrenner, the Yankees’ managing general partner, said as he departed the quarterly owners’ meetings at Major League Baseball’s Manhattan headquarters. “And I think we’ve shown that. Some years we’ve done stuff, like last year with [Alfonso] Soriano. Some years we haven’t. But we’re not going to ever lay down and die. We’re going to do what we need to do to stay in.”
Of course, money alone will not open the industry to available pitching for the Yankees. They’ll need some trade chips, and while their farm system is enjoying a rebound from last year’s fiasco, there will be competition for potentially available arms like the Phillies’ Cliff Lee, the Cubs’ Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel and Arizona’s Bronson Arroyo.
Yet finances always play a factor, and the Yankees could put themselves in a position to outbid fellow suitors on the dollars, if not necessarily on the talent.
The Yankees have seen three of the five members of their original 2014 starting rotation — Ivan Nova (Tommy John surgery), Michael Pineda (right shoulder blade) and CC Sabathia (right knee) go on the disabled list.
“That’s been a big concern,” Steinbrenner said. “We’ve got to get Pineda back. We’ve got to get CC back. We’ve had some bright spots in the bullpen. We’ve got some concerns in the bullpen.”
Steinbrenner also mentioned the team’s offense as “a concern up until the last week.” One such concern has been retiring captain Derek Jeter, who carried a .262/.340/.317 slash line into Thursday’s Subway Series finale.
“He’s healthy, which is good,” Steinbrenner said. “He’s one of the guys who are swinging the bat better. I think he’s hitting the ball harder. I think you’re going to continue to see good things from him.”
When it was pointed out that Jeter’s overall numbers were down, Steinbrenner responded, “I’m sure they are. I’m sure they’re down. I haven’t looked and analyzed the way you have, but he’s Derek. Nobody’s going to try harder. Nobody’s going to give a greater effort than him. We’re glad he’s healthy.”
The Yankees’ older players have proven especially vulnerable this season; on Thursday, the team placed 37-year-old Carlos Beltran on the disabled list with a right elbow injury that ultimately could sideline him for three months.
“Age is always a concern,” Steinbrenner said. “We’ve got some bright spots that we’ve seen. [Adam] Warren, [Dellin] Betances, [John Ryan] Murphy. Going out and getting younger players like [Jacoby] Ellsbury, [Brian] McCann. …I’ve always believed in that balance between young guys and veterans. Because the veterans lead, teach. “
His endorsement of the team’s minor-league development speaks volumes, as Steinbrenner has repeatedly expressed his unhappiness with the way the farm system didn’t deliver in 2013.
“Clearly, in the offseason, we recognized we had some positions to improve. Catching was one of them. So we went out and got the guy we wanted,” Steinbrenner said. “He [McCann] is going to be great for us. He is great for us.
“… Our minor leagues didn’t provide the players that we needed, so when that’s the case, obviously you’ve got to go out on the free agent market and make your improvements there. And we did.”
More improvements very well might be needed. Though Steinbrenner essentially turned off the spigot after signing Masahiro Tanaka for seven years and $155 million (plus a $20 million posting fee to the Rakuten Golden Eagles), he’ll be ready to turn it back on when trading season arrives.
But that time won’t arrive for at least another month, so Steinbrenner and the Yankees look inward.
“Tough times. We’ve been through them before,” Steinbrenner said. “We’ve got a veteran club. They’re going to keep grinding away.”