Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees Could Target Top Non-Tendered Free Agent on 'Buy Low' Bargain

The New York Yankees could pursue a compelling pitcher who was non-tendered by his former team on Friday.

Grant Young

Sep 14, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Kyle Finnegan (67) delivers a throw during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
Sep 14, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Kyle Finnegan (67) delivers a throw during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images / Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images
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MLB's non-tender deadline arrived at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, November 22, and is therefore now in the rearview mirror.

This deadline required teams to decide whether they wanted to offer players who are either arbitration-eligible or entering pre-arbitration contracts for next season. The players are then either given "tendered" contracts or are non-tendered, with the latter meaning they immediately become free agents without going to waivers.

Some intriguing players were non-tendered on Friday and have therefore entered free agency. And a few of them could make a lot of sense for the New York Yankees.

Perhaps the best option is former Washington Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan, who Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter deemed the best non-tendered free agent in a November 23 article.

"With 38 saves and an All-Star selection to his credit in 2024, Finnegan was far from an obvious non-tender candidate," Reuter wrote. "However, he had a 5.79 ERA and served up a .337 opponents' batting average in 24 appearances after the All-Star break, and that downturn in effectiveness made his steep price tag difficult to swallow.

"Despite the ineffective second half, Finnegan still has 88 saves over the past four seasons, and that type of late-inning experience will generate interest. The 33-year-old should at least be able to find work in a setup role, though he could be a nice buy-low target for small market teams looking for a bullpen upgrade and a potential deadline trade chip," he added.

While the Yankees certainly aren't a small market team, adding Finnegan to their relief corps on a "buy low" deal could be a great way to bolster their roster while still saving enough money to pursue Juan Soto.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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