The New York Yankees made several big moves this season, and recent reports suggested that the deep-pocketed club is not yet done dealing.
The Yankees made one of the biggest splash this offseason after winning the bidding war for Masahiro Tanaka, who opted to take the seven-year deal worth $155 million offered by the Yankees.
Tanaka filled one of the two vacancies on the pitching rotation of the team that also include CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, and Ivan Nova. The remaining spot is tipped to be filled up by someone from within the organization, but recent rumors indicated that they could add another big name in the rotation - Ervin Santana.
Sources said that the Yankees are still willing to throw money to the remaining big-name players on the free agency market in hopes of capturing the World Series title in the 2014 MLB season.
"After signing Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka to a seven-year, $155 million deal last week, the New York Yankees do not seem to be done trying to improve their pitching rotation. With Ervin Santana still on the market, the Yankees could be one of many teams gunning for him as he is the last major prize left on the market," a RantSports source indicated.
Similar to their pursuit of Tanaka, the Yankees are expected to be challenged by other deep-pocketed teams, particularly those who lost out in the bidding war for the Japanese pitcher - the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, and the Chicago Cubs.
Reports indicated that the Cubs have already inquired about Santana, but they are currently weighing their options since signing Santana will force them give up a draft pick compensation.
The Toronto Blue Jays are also in the mix as reports indicated the club is high on Santana and Ubaldo Jimenez. The Blue Jays are expected to make a move soon as they are still currently waiting whether or not the asking price of both free-agent pitchers will go down.
"Source notes that the Blue Jays are the "most obvious fit" for Santana, and that "the fans in Toronto will be very disappointed" if the team fails to sign either Santana or Ubaldo Jimenez. There is a belief that the Jays will try to wait for Santana's price to come down before making a serious pursuit," MLB Daily Dish noted.
