ANNOUNCED DEAL: The Yankees have formally announced that they have signed two players to improve the team.

Two Signings To Make Yankees Better

The New York Yankees have a list of things to do this offseason. But, with the Philadelphia Phillies making the first big move of free agency in re-signing pitcher Aaron Nola, dominoes are bound to start falling. The Yankees are usually the ones making dominoes fall. But if they could only make two significant deals this offseason, what would they be? ESPN took a look at two deals that every team could make this offseason to get better, deals that would make an impact in 2024. What are they?

The first was for a Japanese pitcher — but not Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the superstar everyone is chasing. It’s Shota Imanaga, a pitcher ESPN believes could be signed for $68 million over four years. Imanaga should be posted shortly by his Japanese team, the Yokohama DeNA Baystars. While Imanaga doesn’t have Yamamoto’s name recognition, he started and earned the win for Japan in the World Baseball Classic championship against the U.S. He is also two-time Nippon Professional Baseball All-Star with a career 3.18 ERA and has struck out one-quarter of hitters faced in 1,002 career innings.

The second player would address the Yankees’ needs in the outfielder — Jung-Hoo Lee, which ESPN projects could be signed to a five-year, $63 million deal. Lee plays in South Korea for the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization and should also be a free agent soon. Lee did not have a great 2023, as he saw his season end in July due to a left ankle injury as he only hit six home runs in 86 games.

But, in 2022 he was the KBO MVP with a slash line of .349/.421/.575. He’s also produced a .900-plus OPS for three straight seasons from 2020-22. He’s also a career .340 hitter. They’re not major splashes, but both would address key needs for the Yankees in 2024.