Yankees Sent Scout To Watch Justin Verlander's Workout
It is no secret that the Yankees are in need of starting pitching upgrades this offseason. And that’s why it should come as no surprise that they were one of several teams that attended two-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander’s workout on Monday morning.
According to Joel Sherman of The New York Post, the Bronx Bombers had a scout on-hand Monday at Cressey Sports Performance in Florida, which is owned by current Yankees employee Eric Cressey.
Sherman went onto note that an executive told him that Verlander threw all of his pitches and “looked good.” And, as Harold Reynolds of MLB Network reported, Verlander has hit 95-96 mph on his fastball in recent bullpen sessions.
Verlander is set to turn 39-years-old prior to the start of the 2022 regular season but has made it clear that his goal is to pitch until he is 45.
The righty underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020, which has knocked him out for the past two seasons.
However, he notched the second Cy Young Award of his career back in 2019 while pitching for the Houston Astros.
Now, he is out to prove to the rest of the league that he is still capable of pitching at a high level and staying healthy across a full season once more.
Ken Davidoff of The New York Post also predicted the Yankees to sign Verlander to a one-year, $20 million deal in free agency this offseason.
Signing Verlander not only comes with a health risk, but he is tied to a one-year, $18.4 million qualifying offer. This means the Yankees would also have to give up a draft pick to the Astros if they were to bring in Verlander.
And the Yankees already took a risk on another aging former Cy Young Award winner with injury issues in Corey Kluber last year and it didn’t exactly work out all that well.
The Yankees inked Kluber to a one-year, $11 million prove it deal last winter. Although his numbers on the mound were solid—5-3 record, 3.83 ERA, 82 strikeouts—he was only able to log 80 innings across 16 starts due to a shoulder injury.
So, essentially, the Yankees would be giving up more in salary, along with a draft pick if they decided to take a chance on Verlander.
They’d also once again be relying on a former ace and aging Cy Young Award winner to stay on the mound for a full season.
When you factor in having to send a draft pick to Houston for a question mark in Verlander, the Yankees might be better off looking elsewhere on the market for starting pitching.
Especially since Brian Cashman already tried a similar method last offseason, which didn’t pay off.
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