RUMOR TRADE: Yankees Predicted to Land 3-Time Cy Young Winner in Free Agency

Getty Yankees linked to signing Max Scherzer.

The New York Yankees will likely land a starter or two in free agency and one prediction has them landing a future Hall of Famer.

In MLBTradeRumors’ annual Top 50 MLB free agents and predictions, Anthony Franco has the Yankees landing Max Scherzer to a one-year $16 million deal.

“Despite all the health concerns, Scherzer was still good when on the mound. He posted a 3.95 ERA, 22.6% strikeout rate and 5.6% walk rate,” the article said. “He won’t be able to get the massive $43.33MM average annual value he got on his last deal, but plenty of late-career veterans have secured solid one-year deals lately. Zack Greinke got $13MM from the Royals a few years ago to serve as a veteran innings eater. He didn’t have health flags like Scherzer but his effectiveness was waning. Scherzer has an elite track record and can still compete at a high level when on the hill.”

Scherzer is 40 years old and has been in the MLB since the 2008 season. He is an eight-time MLB All-Star and three-time Cy Young winner, last winning the award in 2017.

The right-hander dealt with injuries last season as he made just 9 starts with the Texas Rangers going 2-4 with a 3.95 ERA over 43.1 innings. In his MLB career, Scherzer is 216-112 with a 3.16 ERA.

How Would Scherzer Fit in With the Yankees?

If New York does sign Scherzer to the one-year deal he would be the team’s fourth or fifth starter in the 2025 MLB season. Scherzer is also a winner as he’s a two-time World Series champion.

The Yankees ace is Gerrit Cole who signed a four-year extension with New York. Behind him, the Yankees have Clarke Schmidt, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil, Nestor Cortes, and Marcus Stroman all competing for rotation spots.

However, the future of Gil, Cortes, and Stroman has been up in the air, so adding Scherzer would give New York another veteran starter.

Although Scherzer is no longer the ace he was, he could be a solid fifth starter who could give New York five innings per start.

Yankees Bring Back Cole

New York signed Cole to a four-year, $144 million contract, the same deal that he opted out of.

Cole opted out of the deal in hopes the Yankees would add the one-year $36 million extension to his contract, making it a five-year, $180 million deal.

However, the sides decided to stick to the original four-year $144 million deal which general manager Brian Cashman says was ideal.

“It was something at the moment we weren’t necessarily comfortable doing, but we wanted our player and our ace back, and he certainly didn’t want to go either at the same time,” Yankees GM Brian Cashman said at the general manager’s meetings in Texas, via ESPN “And so we had a lot of healthy dialogue about trying to just thread the needle and just keep it in play…

“It felt like we were going to be in a safe harbor where we were both willing to move forward with the four years that was in play and continue obviously to have conversations,” Cashman added. “But there’s no pressure point with any conversations. We’re always open to talk about future years, but right now we don’t have to because it’s a four-year locked-in commitment, and it’s on to our next focus.”

Last season, Cole went 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 17 starts.

Cole Shelton covers the NHL for Heavy.com. He has covered pro and college sports since 2016, including bylines at BJ Penn, USA Today, SB Nation, Rotowire, Canadian Baseball Network and more. More about Cole Shelton