The baseball season is finally over and it’s time to get the offseason underway. The New York Yankees will put the large majority of their focus into starting pitching, with three members in the Yankee rotation entering the open market themselves in J.A. Happ, C.C. Sabathia and Lance Lynn. With these vacancies, the Yankees will go all out to add reinforcements to their bare rotation. Thankfully, they won’t have to look very far, as there’s a market stocked with mid-range to very above average starting pitchers. Without further adieu, these are the top 5 starters the Yankees can pinpoint this offseason.

5. Nathan Eovaldi, Boston Red Sox

We begin our list with a former Yankee in Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi was traded to the Yanks prior to the 2015 season and had varying degrees of success in ’15 and in half of 2016 before his Yankee career ended with him getting Tommy John Surgery. Overall with New York, Eovaldi was 23-11 with a 4.45 ERA. However, Eovaldi came back like a ball of fire this year, pitching to a 3.81 ERA in 111.0 innings. He averaged 97.5 MPH on his fastball in 2018 (according to Fangraphs), the third-best of his career. He was also superb in the postseason, going 2-1 with a 1.61 ERA.

Eovaldi is 28 now and would likely get a 3-4 year deal that isn’t too costly. If the Yankees can get one of their ex-Yanks to return, it could help in the long run.

4. Hyun-Jin Ryu, Los Angeles Dodgers

After Clayton Kershaw signed his extension with the Dodgers, the focus now turns to fellow southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu. Ryu has dealt with a lot of of injury issues since his nice rookie season back in 2013, where he posted a 3.00 ERA in 30 starts. Since then though, those injuries bogged him down for years. In 2014, he made 26 starts, which is solid, but nothing spectacular. However, he missed all of 2015 and made just one start in 2016. In 2017 he made 24 starts and pitched in 25 games overall to which he had a 3.77 ERA. Ryu wouldn’t be on this list, however, if it wasn’t for what he brought to the table in his 15 starts in 2018.

Ryu had an incredible 1.97 ERA in 82.1 innings. Yes, that’s an abbreviated sample, but still impressive nonetheless. Matter of fact, Ryu’s contract would’ve been bigger if he avoided all the injuries he’s had, which could play in the Yankee’s favor in signing him to a short-term deal. He’s also 31, which doesn’t bode well for him in terms of getting a long contract either. The lefty could help stabilize this rotation and the Yankees should at least consider paying for his services.

3. J.A. Happ, New York Yankees

Next up, we have a current Yankee where a reunion may be in play. The Yankees wanted Happ from the start of the season and eventually got him before the July 31st trade deadline. He pitched superbly in his month and a half with New York, going 7-0 with 2.69 ERA in 11 starts.

Overall, Happ went 7-6 with a 3.65 ERA in 31 starts in 2018. He’s a lefty, which plays well to Yankee stadium and has shown the ability to step up when needed. The only question is whether or not his age will slow Happ down. He’s 36 now and the Yankees need to be wary that his age could be a problem in the future. If the Yankees can get him on the cheap, though, they should consider pulling the trigger.

2. Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros

Dallas Keuchel has given the Yankees fits for years. Could the former Cy Young winner shave the beard and find himself in the Bronx? Keuchel is coming off a solid season in Houston, going 12-11 and posting up a 3.74 ERA. Keuchel is 30, so he’s not terribly old either. Him being a lefty could help better his stats with the short porch behind him, rather than righties facing him in Houston with the crawford boxes up in left field.

Keuchel is a solid pitcher overall. His career ERA is a very respectable 3.66 and his worst season since 2014 was when Keuchel had a 4.55 ERA in 2016. Besides that, his ERA has been in the 2.00-3.00 range with the exception of this year, which was still solid. If I’m the Yankees, I’d look into picking up the lefty. He could help next year and beyond and provide the Yankees with a solid start every five days.

1. Patrick Corbin, Arizona Diamondbacks

This player is the guy the Yankees have coveted for years and appears to be on a very good trajectory to land in the Bronx. I did a feature on this player recently to which I made my case for the Yankees signing him. Corbin is coming off his best season to which he hurled to a 3.15 ERA in exactly 200 innings. He’s expressed his interest in pitching for the Yankees before, too, as he was a Yankee fan growing up.

Corbin, a lefty, gets a ton of strikeouts as well, tallying 246 of them this season. He’s 29 now and will be 29 when the season starts in March. The only question is his contract, which will likely be in the $120 million range over the course of 4-5 years. The Yankees are desperate for starting pitching, though, and considering they’re under the luxury tax this offseason, money should not deter them from getting their man.