David Robertson left the Yankees after he was offered $46 million from the Chicago White Sox. Although New York is still in need of a closer, it was reported they never made an offer to Robertson beyond the $15.3 qualifying offer. Who will New York have close games in 2015?
Andrew Miller's agent said the left-hander was ready to become a closer next season, but it's unknown if that will be the case in the Bronx. The Yanks signed Miller to a four-year, $36 million contract last week and also have Dellin Betances in the bullpen, both of whom had sensational campaigns in 2014. However, neither has experience as a closer and New York's starting rotation is questionable to say the least heading into 2015, which leads many to believe general manager Brian Cashman will look to further bolster the bullpen.
Fortunately for New York there remain a number of options on the free agent market. Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York suggests signing Jason Grilli or Sergio Romo to a short-term deal, but perhaps spending the extra dollars for Casey Janssen or Francisco Rodriguez might be more worthwhile. Grilli, 38, has only had one successful season as a closer and Romo lost his job as the Giants' closer last season to be replaced by Santiago Casilla. Also, both of these options would become the Yankees' third-best reliever, which makes little sense to sign them as the team's closer.
But perhaps who's left in free agency isn't appealing to Cashman. According to George A. King III of the New York Post, the Yankees have contacted the Atlanta Braves about closer Craig Kimbrel, the Miami Marlins about closer Steve Cishek and the Royals about closer Greg Holland as well as setup man Wade Davis. However, unsurprisingly, all the talks were unsuccessful. It at least makes sense for New York to chase some of the games top closers because then their 1-2-3 punch at the back end of the bullpen will be almost unstoppable, but at this point it doesn't look like they'll be able to make such a move.
What about moving Miller to the closer position and adding another solid bullpen arm such as Luke Gregerson or Tom Gorzelanny? Gregerson has only 19 career saves but has a 2.75 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 435 career games since 2009. Gorzelanny, a left-hander, has proven to be a reliable reliever over the past three seasons and shouldn't be too costly.
The good thing is that Miller is willing to take on the closer role or continue working as a setup man. This flexibility gives New York a number of options to consider as they plan for 2015.
"[Closing games] came up very briefly during negotiations when the Yankees were feeling me out to see what my priorities were,'' Miller said in this New York Post article. "For certain teams, that was what they expected me to come in and do, but I have no ego and I am ready for whatever role is necessary. My goal is to win and if I am handing the ball off to somebody, I have no problem with that.''
