Ivan Nova and the Yankees have agreed on $4.1 million, 1 year contract, which ultimately let them avoid salary arbitration.
Nova looks to have a bounce back year after missing some of the 2015 season recovering from Tommy John Surgery. He posted a 6-11 record with a 5.07 ERA in 17 starts for the Bombers.
With the recent announcement that Yoenis Cespedes and the Mets have agreed on a deal to bring the slugger back to Queens, the Yankees have successfully and smartly evaded spending money on the free agent. Reports have popped up over the last twenty-four hours or so that the Yankees have been contacted by Cespedes's camp regarding signing the free-agent outfielder and Hal Steinbrenner even made comments hinting that Cespedes could be a future acquisition for the ball club. Passing up on Cespedes was the smartest thing the Yankees could have done and here is why.
The Yankees simply do not need Yoenis Cespedes on their roster. Brett Gardner, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Carlos Beltran are set to patrol the outfield for the Yankees in 2016, with newly acquired Aaron Hicks receiving some playing time as well. You could say that if the Yankees signed Cespedes then the Gardner would be shipped off for a young, controllable pitcher. True. However, it seems as if the Yankees are comfortable with Ellsbury and Gardner at the top of the Yankees lineup. When both of them are getting on base and contributing, their lineup is like none other in the big leagues. Just look back at last year before the dynamic duo started struggling.
To add, the free agent market in the upcoming years offer some of the best outfielders in the game. Bryce Harper is set to become a free agent in a couple of years and the Yankees would sure be him. Carlos Gomez and Carlos Gonzalez are both top of the line outfielders who are much younger than Cespedes, who offered just about the same productivity, if not more on the defensive side.
The Yankees, who love to target top market free agents, have smartly passed up on signing Yoenis Cespedes. For once, the Yankees kept their money in their pockets, and rightfully so.