So with NY trading for Paxton and the Corbin pursuit coming up short, NY is pursuing definitely one and possibly two more #4 or better SPs to still add, so I thought I'd try to see where they stood in addition to the top 5. First three not in any real order, Severino can be the top 3 AL pitcher he was for a season and a half or the junk he was for most of the second half last year, plus they might move around for L/R balance once we see who else is added:
Paxton
Tanaka
Severino
???
CC
(Sonny Gray) (will be traded but has not been yet)
Luis Cessa (out of options and terrible, I expect him to be moved any day but I did all last winter also)
Domingo German (out of options, maybe the long guy in NY to start the season)
Jonathan Loaisiga (a couple of superb outings for NY last June, shutting down TB and PHI)
Parker Bridwell (out of options, presumably they will try to sneak him through waivers and down to AAA at some point)
Mike King (not on the 40 man yet because he was a 2016 draft pick but has thrown 149 and 161 innings in the minors the last two seasons and ended last year dominant in AAA, a 1.15 ERA in 6 starts, 39 20 5 5 6 31, the rare kid coming up these days who would not really need an innings restriction)
Chance Adams (not sure if he is a starter or a reliever now, hope he figures it out again because he had a couple of dominant seasons before last one)
Domingo Acevedo/Albert Abreu (big arms that are not big league ready but they are both on the 40 man, so maybe in an emergency)
So assuming Gray and Cessa are gone, you can see why it makes sense IMO to add two more quality FA SPs (Happ and Morton would work), that way you can juggle six guys if you need to using the DL and German/Loaisiga/maybe Bridwell/King/Acevedo are options 7-11 instead of 6-10.
Paxton
Tanaka
Severino
???
CC
(Sonny Gray) (will be traded but has not been yet)
Luis Cessa (out of options and terrible, I expect him to be moved any day but I did all last winter also)
Domingo German (out of options, maybe the long guy in NY to start the season)
Jonathan Loaisiga (a couple of superb outings for NY last June, shutting down TB and PHI)
Parker Bridwell (out of options, presumably they will try to sneak him through waivers and down to AAA at some point)
Mike King (not on the 40 man yet because he was a 2016 draft pick but has thrown 149 and 161 innings in the minors the last two seasons and ended last year dominant in AAA, a 1.15 ERA in 6 starts, 39 20 5 5 6 31, the rare kid coming up these days who would not really need an innings restriction)
Chance Adams (not sure if he is a starter or a reliever now, hope he figures it out again because he had a couple of dominant seasons before last one)
Domingo Acevedo/Albert Abreu (big arms that are not big league ready but they are both on the 40 man, so maybe in an emergency)
So assuming Gray and Cessa are gone, you can see why it makes sense IMO to add two more quality FA SPs (Happ and Morton would work), that way you can juggle six guys if you need to using the DL and German/Loaisiga/maybe Bridwell/King/Acevedo are options 7-11 instead of 6-10.