New York Yankees pursuing free agent Raul Ibanez – MLB News
When the free agent market opened after the World Series finals, New York Yankees’ General Manager Brian Cashman prioritized pitching over any other position. There was a reason why the Yankees wanted to fix their pitching problems before anything else.
Ace C.C. Sabathia missed a large number of games last season with various forms of injuries. Starter Phil Hughes also struggled to achieve his goals on the mound.
As soon as the season ended, the Yankees struck a deal with Japanese Hiroki Kuroda, who made the most of available opportunities on the mound last season. Then the GM shifted his focus towards veteran Andy Pettitte, who took long to decide he wanted to come
back to New York for one more year. Relief pitcher Mariano Rivera has also been signed for a one year $10 million deal.
“Raul was one of our [players last year],’’ said Cashman. “I don’t want to talk about outside guys.’’
“Ibanez, who hit 19 homers in the regular season and three more in October, is drawing interest from the Rangers, Mariners and Phillies. The 40-year-old left-handed hitter would strictly be a DH if he returned to the Yankees, whose projected starting outfield
will be all left-handed hitters in Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson and Ichiro”, George A. King III of nypost.com said in his post.
After dealing with their starting issues, the Yankees are looking to strengthen up their batting lineup. In an effort to build a lineup capable of scoring runs freely, the Yankees signed former Boston Red Sox slugger Kevin Youkilis, who is expected to play
third base until Yankees’ everyday third baseman Alex Rodriguez returns from his hip injury. A couple of days ago, New York re-signed outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who produced some magical performances on the plate last year.
Now the Yankees are hoping to secure a deal with Raul Ibanez, who hit 19 home runs in the regular season and three more in the post season. Several other teams including the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners and the Philadelphia Phillies have shown interest
in the 40 year old outfielder who will add more depth and variety to Yankees’ lineup.
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