The New York Yankees promised the fans they would make significant changes this offseason. They have certainly lived up to those expectations. However, for the Juan Soto deal, the Pinstripes had to sacrifice a lot of pitchers. Last season, the NY side had a good mix of youth and experience in their bullpen. Moreover, the Bronx Bombers used a lot of assets from their bullpen to land some big names this offseason. Hence, Brian Cashman would like to bring in some reinforcements for their bullpen as well. Earlier in the GM Meetings in Arizona, Cashman said that the Yankees were looking for two lefty outfielders and a quality pitcher.
But for their bullpen, the Bronx Bombers are targeting the superstar Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. However, it won’t be a cakewalk for the NY front office to land him. There are more teams with bigger cap space waiting in line to sign Yamamoto. Hence, the Yankees are also looking elsewhere for backup options. Recently, the Korea Baseball Organization posted an intriguing reinforcement, Woo Suk Go. Like the Japanese sensation, Go is also 25 years old.
Yankees Can Try To Land Korean Woo Suk Go
The LG Twins closer in the KBO has been a stalwart in the shutdown late in the game. Last season, he helped his squad win a championship as he closed out the Korean Series. Gradually, Go is getting to his prime as his fastball is creeping up to the 90s this year. The Korean closer’s heavy fastball has generated more than 60% of a ground ball rate. This ground ball rate percentage proves that it should work really well in the Yankee stadium. Last year, Woo Suk Go had his finest full campaign. He posted a 1.48 ERA but allowed 5.6 hits per inning. This year, he had a worse ERA, but he had more strikeouts with 12.1 per nine innings.
According to Sports Chooncho, LG has agreed to post Go Woo-suk https://t.co/TyiHyR1FLy
— Dan Kurtz (@MyKBO) November 22, 2023
It must be a pretty enticing number for the Yankees. He has already played for seven years in the KBO. Go made his debut in 2017 at age 18. Recently, the San Francisco Giants signed the Korean Jung Hoo-Lee for a six-year deal worth $113 million. Clearly, Lee’s signing is the biggest KBO signing this year. But Go is generating major interest in MLB teams as a righty pitcher. Both Lee and Go are, in fact, brother-in-laws. In the World Baseball Classic, they were part of the Korean roster. The Yankees can sure try to sign Go.
Why Did The Pinstripes Trade Billy McKinney To The Pirates?
Recently, for international bonus pool money, the Yankees traded their outfielder Billy McKinney to the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is pretty unusual because McKinney is 29 years old. And he just signed with the NY side last week. Moreover, the Yes Network’s Jack Curry reported that the 29-year-old outfielder had signed a minor league deal with the Bronx. Moreover, the Pinstripes needed help with quality lefty outfielders, and they got it.
They had one of the worst batting averages in the 2023 season. That’s why the NY side needed more power in their offense. Hence, they had been looking for potential targets like Juan Soto, Cody Bellinger, Alex Verdugo, and so on. The Bronx Bombers successfully landed Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo. Now, the outfield lineup of the Yankees looks pretty solid.