MLB rumors: Yankees’ Brian Cashman’s pitching search could include these 3 under-the-radar players

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman needs more starting pitching for 2019. Will he make a run at Boston Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, Houston Astros right-hander Charlie Morton or San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner? Are J.A. Happ and C.C. Sabathia still in the mix?

It’s no secret the Yankees need to upgrade their starting rotation for 2019.

General manager Brian Cashman needs to do more than just unload Sonny Gray (which would be addition by subtraction).

He needs to find at least one, if not two, front-line starters.

The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo has an idea who might be on Cashman’s wish list:

(J.A.) Happ, 36, could re-sign with the Yankees, who could also delve into free agency and sign someone such as Arizona free agent left-hander Patrick Corbin, who is only 29. It would appear the Yankees are moving on from Sabathia, who says he wants to play for at least another season and not necessarily in New York. The Yankees could also reacquaint themselves with Nathan Eovaldi, who will be a free agent. Obviously, the Red Sox would like to re-sign him, but it appears Eovaldi has won himself a nice four-year deal at about $15 million per year, at least.

Happ and Corbin doesn’t qualify as new information. The Yankees’ interest in those pitchers is well known.

However Eovaldi would be an interesting target. He shut down the Yankees in Game 3 of the American League Division Series for the Red Sox. Eovaldi is a former Yankees pitcher who never reached his full potential in the Bronx because of Tommy John surgery.

Cafardo also dropped this news nuggets:

Connecticut native Charlie Morton will also be a free agent. At age 35, the Astros righthander could be a short-term solution to the middle of the Yankee rotation. Morton would also fit the Red Sox rotation after they shed free agent Drew Pomeranz’s almost $10 million salary.

Pomeranz has been a disaster for the Red Sox this season, going from a 17-game winner in 2017 to a bullpen mop-up guy in 2018. So Boston, like New York, will be hunting for starting pitching. Not hard to imagine the two teams getting into a bidding war over the same player.

Yankees keep ’em or dump ’em

And then there’s the great unknown, per Cafardo:

There’s also the trade market, and one attractive lefthander would be Madison Bumgarner, who was on the block a bit at the trading deadline. The Yankees had some interest at the time. Of course, with the Giants not yet hiring a new general manager, it’s hard to tell where there’ll go with this.

Bumgarner is a proven playoff winner who would be an instant upgrade for any playoff contender. If Cashman can swing a deal for Bumgarner, he might finally have the ace he’s been looking for the last couple of years.

Mike Rosenstein may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @rosenstein73. Find NJ.com on Facebook.