The Yankees think upside down when it comes to starting tossing in 2021. Because clearly they don’t rely on certain things.
They’ve already reached an agreement this month with former two-time Cy Young prize winner Corey Kluber, who threw one inning in 2020.
Now they talk to the Pirates about Jameson Taillon, who didn’t throw up at all last year after his second Tommy John surgery.
The Pirates, perhaps more in rebuild mode than any team in the majors, already traded a starter, Joe Musgrove, to the Padres and their best slugger, first baseman Josh Bell, to the Nationals. They are open to business and have notified teams that they would move another starter.
A manager of neither the Pirates nor the Yankees whose team was involved in the starting pitching market described the Bombers as strong front runners for Taillon. An officer who does not represent Taillon said he heard talks with the Yankees were progressing. Still, no Yankees or Pirates official responded to questions about the status of a transaction.
If the Yankees could get their hands on Taillon, they’d put another question mark behind Gerrit Cole, but it would be another talented question mark. The theory is that a few from that collection will do well for the Yankees to put together a strong rotation over the course of the season.
Kluber is the most accomplished of the group, but has made just eight starts in the past two years, just one in 2020 before a shoulder tear sidelined him. Luis Severino has to come back a few months into the season after Tommy John’s surgery. Domingo German should be available from the start after missing out on last season following a suspension under the MLB domestic violence protocols. The Yankees see that Jordan Montgomery has the skills to be a number 3 starter, and that Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt may be climbing to the same level.
Taillon’s stuff has never been questioned. In 2010, he was drafted second overall by Pittsburgh, sandwiched between Bryce Harper and Manny Machado (Pittsburgh won Cole with the No. 1 overall pick in 2011). But Taillon is plagued by a series of ailments. When he was healthy in 2018, the right-wing was 14-10 with a 3.20 ERA in 32 starts. Nonetheless, he needed Tommy John surgery in August 2019 and that kept him out in 2020 as well.
Taillon has to pay $ 2.25 million by 2021, so he fits in with the Yankees calculations to stay below the $ 210 million luxury tax threshold at least at the start of the year and he can’t be a free agent until after the 2022 campaign . Taillon turned 29 in November 2020. He tried biomechanical changes to his delivery during his rehab last year, including a shorter arm swing, to try to relieve injuries.
He is talented and worth the gamble depending on the price. The Yankees already have to free up two 40-man selection places to make room for Kluber and DJ LeMahieu. So if this trade continues, will anyone from the realm of Miguel Andujar, Estevan Florial, Luis Gil, Luis Medina be involved? Opponents say the Yankees were looking for partners to move as much of Adam Ottavino’s $ 9 million luxury tax number as possible by 2021. For example, would the Yankees give up better prospects if Pittsburgh included Ottavino as well?