New York Yankees Could Pursue These Free Agents to Replace Gerrit Cole

The New York Yankees don’t have many options if they intend to go the free agency route to find help in their starting rotation.

Sep 14, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Gibson (44) delivers a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning at Rogers Centre. | Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

There is no replacing New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. But the Yankees will have to figure something out as the 2023 Cy Young winner undergoes Tommy John surgery.

With the right-hander out for the 2025 season and likely part of the 2026 season, the Yankees will do a lot of looking inward to figure out their rotation without him and Luis Gil, who will miss three months with an injury.

In-house, the Yankees are looking at veterans like Carlos Rodón, Max Fried, Marcus Stroman and Clarke Schmidt, who are already on the depth chart. Will Warren is a possibility. So is Carlos Carrasco.

But, as the Yankees are showing, you can never have enough starting pitching.

New York could seek a trade. It’s more likely, at least for now, that the Yankees might go after a veteran to give them more depth. It’s March, so there is no Cole or Gil hiding anywhere. The Yankees would be getting something flawed, but perhaps useful under the right circumstances.

Here are five free agents worth looking at if New York opts to sign someone.

Kyle Gibson

The 37-year-old is still interested in pitching. The Chicago Cubs may be kicking the tires. He’s one of those pitchers that stays healthy, takes the ball and eats innings, all of which are useful from a fifth starter.

Last year with the St. Louis Cardinals he went 8-8 with a 4.24 ERA in 30 starts. The year before he went 15-9 with a 4.73 ERA with the Baltimore Orioles.

Patrick Corbin

The 35-year-old left is still out there for a reason. He has a lifetime record of 103-131 and he led either the National League or the Majors in losses for three straight seasons (2021-23). He was 6-13 with a 5.62 ERA last season with the Washington Nationals.

Again, he’s durable. He made at least 30 starts for four straight seasons and seven of the last eight. His availability is his strength.

Lance Lynn

The soon-to-be 38-year-old was effective in 23 starts with the Cardinals last season, going 7-4 with a 3.84 ERA. Even at this stage of his career, he finds ways to be effective. His ERA last season was his lowest since his 3.99 ERA in 2022. He was also an All-Star as recently as 2021.

Zach Davies

He didn’t pitch in the Majors last year, but he’s a lifetime 60-58 with a 4.36 ERA. His workload decreased each of the last three seasons, but in small sample sizes he can provide a low ERA. For instance, in 2020, he had a 2.73 ERA in 12 games.

Domingo Germán

The former Yankees starter is still on the market. New York fans remember him from his 18-4 season in 2019, during which he didn’t even get a Cy Young vote. That was the high-water mark.

Last season with Pittsburgh he went 0-1 with a 7.84 ERA in seven games (two starts). His last full season as a starter was 2019.

There isn’t much out there and the Yankees might better served waiting to see how the internal options develop. But, as of this writing, these are the best possibilities.