3 Pitchers Yankees Can Sign if Gerrit Cole is Out of Their Price Range

The New York Yankees are poised to make a splash this offseason, and something tell us that general manager Brian Cashman will be keen on signing another pitcher or two to polish off his average rotation.

Gerrit Cole is obviously the cream of the crop, and to make his potential signing all the more mouth-watering is the fact that he grew up a Yankees fan. Unfortunately for New York, however, Cole's contract demands might be more than the club is willing to spend.

With that being said, there are a plethora of arms in the free agent market this offseason, and Cashman could easily make do in 2020 by signing these three hurlers.

3. Jake Odorizzi

Lost in the Twins record-breaking offense in 2019 was the utter brilliance of Jake Odorizzi, who will turn 30 in March. He pitched to a 15-7 record while compiling a 3.51 ERA, numbers that saw him named to his first All-Star team. He struck out more than 27% of batters he faced and has made at least 28 starts in each of his last three seasons. If Cashman opts to go cheap again in terms of pursuing starting pitching this offseason, Odorizzi absolutely fits the bill.

2. Zack Wheeler

The narrative surrounding Wheeler across his first five big league seasons has been his struggle to find consistency. Anybody who watches him can tell he flaunts top-of-the-rotation stuff, and perhaps a change of scenery from Queens to the Bronx can be what gets him over the hump. The 29-year-old right-hander posted a 3.96 ERA and struck out 195 batters across 195.1 innings in 2019. That's one year after he logged a 3.31 ERA. Wheeler won't sniff Cole's price tag, and Yankees fans should be more than content if their club manages to poach him in free agency.

1. Madison Bumgarner

To everybody's surprise, the Yankees' starting pitching proved more productive than their offense in October. If there was one flaw to point out, however, it was that they struggled to go deep into games. Aaron Boone's bullpen burnt out by the time the Astros eliminated them in the ALCS. Signing Madison Bumgarner would immediately alleviate that problem. He may be past his prime, but we're talking about one of the best postseason pitchers in MLB history. The 30-year-old southpaw has an NLCS and World Series MVP to his name. Not to mention, he's twirled three complete games across his playoff career. He boasts invaluable experience on an otherwise inconsistent Yankees pitching staff.