Steinbrenner likes his staff, but will spend
After another year without a title in The Bronx, Hal Steinbrenner told The Post he’s “obviously disappointed” with coming up short in the postseason and didn’t rule out making significant free-agent additions this offseason, but made it clear he is confident the Yankees’ starting rotation is already solid.
“I am obviously disappointed that we did not accomplish our goal of winning a World Championship,’’ the team’s managing general partner said in an email on Thursday. “That is what we set out to do every October, and we clearly failed in that endeavor. No one is denying that.” But Steinbrenner doesn’t consider the season a complete waste.
“The failure in October, however, does not erase the accomplishments and successes of the season as a whole,’’ Steinbrenner said. “Winning the division for the first time since 2012, for one. I am proud of the team for many reasons, and we will most certainly be in the thick of things next year.’’
The Yankees have already started planning for 2020, holding their organizational meetings this week.
The biggest free agent headed to the market will be right-hander Gerrit Cole, who ended his season in Houston wearing a hat representing agent Scott Boras’ company following the Astros’ Game 7 loss to Washington on Wednesday night.
The 30-year-old is almost certain to leave the Astros, with the Yankees, Angels and Dodgers figuring to be the front-runners once he hits free agency. Cole is expected to get a deal worth at least $250 million.
Asked if he would consider handing out a deal worth over $200 million this offseason, Steinbrenner would not comment on any prospective free agents.
“Having said that, we are always looking to improve. And have never been shy about participating in the free-agent market,’’ Steinbrenner said. “In whatever areas we feel we need improvement. While I won’t comment about prospective free agents, I will say that any deal [GMBrian Cashman] and his people put in front of me I will consider seriously. I always do. My family has always done what we can to field the best possible team. Year in and year out. Our payrolls the last ten plus years are a testament to that.’’
The Yankees went over the $206 million luxury-tax threshold last season, and Cashman pushed back last week on the notion that he “passed on” starting pitchers in the recent past, noting the Yankees made an offer to Patrick Corbin last season before the lefthander took a higher offer from Washington.
On Thursday, Steinbrenner said the Yankees have a “very good rotation’’ moving forward.
“For the most part, I think our starting pitching was good this year,’’ Steinbrenner said. “Even missing [Luis] Severino and [Jordan] Montgomery [for most or all of the season due to injuries].”
He agreed with Cashman’s belief that pitching is not what ended their playoff run.
“I also think they did a good job in the postseason,’’ Steinbrenner said of the rotation. “In the end, it was primarily a lack of timely hitting that was our downfall, resulting in too many guys left on base. My opinion.’’
And Steinbrenner already likes how the rotation looks for next season.
“If the 2020 season was to start tomorrow, I would feel considerably more confident than I did a year ago at this time,’’ Steinbrenner said. “We will have both Severino and Montgomery back. We now know that [Domingo] German can pitch effectively at this level. And we know [James] Paxton can be the guy that we were hoping for when we made that trade. We have [Masahiro] Tanaka, [J.A.] Happ, [Jonathan] Loaisiga, and perhaps [Deivi] Garcia at some point. A very good rotation.’’