New York Yankees Wise To Target Max Scherzer
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Yankees have yet to respond to the Boston Red Sox‘s recent pre-Black Friday spending spree. There’s no doubt they will, but they must think before they spend their cash.
Boston busted out their checkbook earlier this week. They signed Pablo Sandoval to a five-year, $95 million deal to match with their signing of Hanley Ramirez to a four-year pact worth $88 million. So far, the Yankees have just watched from the dugout. Both teams struggled to score runs in 2014. Boston ranked 18th in the league, and the Yankees ranked 20th. The Red Sox opted to address hitting first, but the Yankees’ issues extended from home plate to the mound.
The culprit for the Yankees’ pitching woes in 2014 was injuries. Four of the five Yankees starters on Opening Day, C.C. Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda and Masahiro Tanaka, all went down at different points during the season. Only the 39-year-old Hiroki Kuroda, now a free agent, was a dependable starter.
With the exception of Tanaka, who went 13-5 before his season ended, the three other injured starters went put up a record of 10-11. Kuroda ended the season with a record of 11-9. Sabathia, 34, the ace of the staff who suffered from right knee inflammation, ended his season after posting a record of 3-4. He had surgery later in the season and will be ready for 2015.
As age and injuries mount for Sabathia, the Yankees need a new ace, and the best place to start looking is in Motown.
Two-time All-Star Max Scherzer is the right man for the job as the Yankees’ ace. The Detroit Tigers‘ right-hander has compiled a career record of 91-50 and an ERA of 3.58 over his seven-year career. In 2013, he won the AL Cy Young Award, and he has led the AL in wins for the past two seasons.
Scherzer will come at a premium, but that’s a fact that comes with signing stellar pitching. Prior to the 2014 season, the Tigers offered Scherzer a six-year, $144 million deal, which he declined. The Yankees are certainly willing to throw around cash, especially after the Red Sox started monetarily taunting them this week.
Sure, the Yankees could use even more starting pitching help. By signing a pitcher who has proven that he can pitch successfully in the AL, however, the Yankees will receive maximum value.
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