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Six weeks from now, pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Spring Training camps throughout Florida and Arizona, with full-squad workouts to follow soon after. For front-office executives still looking to add to their rosters before Spring Training, the turn of the calendar means the time is nigh. 

After missing out on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Yankees remain in need of pitching and are expected to be active in the weeks to come with an eye toward acquiring just that. There are still a ton of free agents available and a bunch of intriguing trade candidates, and the Yankees moved early to reshape their lineup and outfield by swinging deals to acquire Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo. 

How they go about rounding out their pitching staff will be the focus of the first few weeks of 2024. With that as a backdrop, let’s examine the shape of the market right now, breaking down the several directions the Yankees can go before camp begins.

1. The top-tier starters: LHP Blake Snell, LHP Jordan Montgomery, LHP Shōta Imanaga
After missing on Yamamato, it would make sense for the Yankees to pivot to the next-best available arm, and that’s one of these three left-handers. Snell is the head of the class coming off his second career Cy Young Award, and the Yankees have been linked to old friend Montgomery after his breakout postseason with the Rangers last year.

Neither figures to come cheap. The Yankees are far from the only big-market club to be connected to Snell and Montgomery this winter, and their prices probably shot up in response to Yamamato’s staggering $325 million deal with the Dodgers. 

As for Imanaga, the 30-year-old doesn’t have Yamamoto’s ceiling, but he profiles as a solid No. 2 or 3 starter after posting a striking 7.25 strikeout-to-walk rate (174 K's, 24 walks) in 148 innings last year for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars.

2. The trade candidates: RHP Dylan Cease, RHP Corbin Burnes, RHP Shane Bieber
The Yankees already swung arguably the biggest trade of the offseason to acquire Soto and Trent Grisham from the Padres, also dealing for Verdugo and reliever Cody Morris. With Soto signed only through this season, the Yankees are in total win-now mode. And there is an argument that they are better off swinging a deal than signing a nine-figure contract with Montgomery or Snell, both of whom are 31 years old. 

Cease, Burnes and Bieber are all younger, plenty accomplished and available -- but they would cost prospects. Burnes and Bieber are under club control through 2024, while Cease will become a free agent after the '25 season.

3. The elite closer: LHP Josh Hader
The Yankees’ top priority is finding an elite starter to fit between Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón. But if that proves not possible, perhaps they build a super bullpen instead?  

Any effort on that front would begin with Hader, whom the Yankees were recently linked to in a report by The Athletic. The five-time All-Star is coming off a rebound season during which he pitched to a 1.28 ERA with 33 saves and 85 K’s over 56 1/3 innings. Hader is reportedly looking to break Edwin Díaz’s five-year, $102 million deal in free agency, the richest in history for a reliever. 

The Yankees would be adding to a strength if they went this route, since their relief corps led MLB in ERA last season. 

Other notable available free agents: RHP Michael Lorenzen, RHP Mike Clevinger, LHP Alex Wood, RHP Noah Syndergaard, RHP Hector Neris, RHP Jakob Junis, LHP Matt Moore, RHP David Robertson