The New York Yankees are urged to sign a one-time All-Star starting pitcher to bolster their rotation.
New York will begin the 2026 MLB season without Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon, as they will be rehabbing injuries. With that, the Yankees could look to sign or trade for a starter or two to add depth to the rotation.
MLB insider Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com urges the Yankees to sign left-handed starter Jose Quintana to bolster their rotation.
“Back-end innings eater. Suggested target: Jose Quintana. The Yankees’ rotation has plenty of long-term upside,” Harrigan wrote. “Adding a low-risk option like Quintana to soak up innings at the back of their rotation until Cole and Rodón are back might be all they need. The veteran lefty also has experience pitching in New York after spending 2023-24 with the Mets.”
Quintana would be a back-end of the rotation starter for the Yankees and would eat innings while Cole and Rodon are injured.
The left-hander spent last season with the Milwaukee Brewers after two years playing for the New York Mets. He was an All-Star in 2016.
Quintana went 11-7 with a 3.96 ERA in 24 starts last season over 131.2 innings.
Yankees Manager Denies Need for a Starter
With Cole and Rodon out for the beginning of the season, many expected New York to pursue a starter this offseason.
However, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said the team doesn’t necessarily need to add another starter.
“Not necessarily,” Boone said. “We’ll see how the winter unfolds. I feel like we’re in a pretty good spot.”
Boone later added that the team “can never have enough” good starters. So, perhaps he’s leaving the door open to add another starter.
With Cole and Rodon sidelined, the Yankees’ rotation to begin the season will feature Max Fried, Will Warren, Luis Gil, and Cam Schlittler. Ryan Yarbrough could also make some starts or eat innings to begin the year if needed.
New York Looking to Add to Roster
The Yankees lost in the ALDS to the Toronto Blue Jays, and the team is looking to add to the roster.
New York hasn’t made a major move this offseason, but at the Winter Meetings, general manager Brian Cashman said the team will look to add quality players to the roster.
“Our division is the toughest division in baseball,” Cashman said at the Winter Meetings. “It typically is — the beast of the East. We know our work is cut out for us. We also know we have a really strong roster of quality, talented players. But the job is to try to add to it.”
Although the Yankees lost in the ALDS, Boone agrees with Cashman that the team is right there.
“Playing better against them is the real simple answer,” Boone said. “They kicked our butt. … That ended up really hurting us. … We ended with identical records last year. I don’t want to discount that they kicked our (rear ends) last year — don’t take it out of context. I would say the gap is small. We had the exact same record. But they obviously were a great team last year, an eyelash away from winning the world championship.”
The Yankees have the second-best odds of winning the World Series at +750.
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