Major League Baseball

Yankees sought medical records on Carlos Correa, others

Updated Mar. 10, 2022 4:35 p.m. ET

With the MLB lockout ending, there should be a flurry of action on the free-agent market as teams scramble to fill out their rosters.

While plans could change ahead of what looks to be an abbreviated 2022 season, you can get a sense of what some teams are thinking of doing based on their activities prior to the lockout.

When it comes to the New York Yankees, it looks like they're planning to make a splash.

According to MLB reporter Jon Heyman, the Yankees requested medical records on at least three free agents — shortstop Carlos Correa, as well as and left-handed starting pitchers Carlos Rodón and Yusei Kikuchi.

Correa, of course, is the big fish on the market. At 27, he is already a two-time All-Star and just won his first Gold Glove last season. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft by the Houston Astros, Correa has a career .277 batting average, .356 on-base percentage and .837 OPS.

By all accounts, he's expected to land a nine-figure contract once a labor deal is reached.

But while the Yankees do have a history of making splashing free-agent signings, they do have a couple of top shortstop prospects in Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza, so they might seek a stopgap player instead.

Knowing this, it might make more sense for the Yankees to go after pitching, and both Rodón and Kikuchi present interesting options.

Rodón, 29, is coming off his first All-Star season, as he went 13-5 with a 2.37 ERA, 0.957 WHIP and 185 strikeouts in 132.2 innings. He even threw a no-hitter in April.

The lefty has spent all seven of his big-league seasons with the Chicago White Sox, sporting a 3.79 ERA in that span. He has battled some shoulder issues in the past, however.

Kikuchi, 30, signed with the Seattle Mariners as a free agent out of Japan in 2019. He was also a first-time All-Star last season, though some second-half struggles resulted in him going 7-9 with a 4.41 ERA on the season.

It was a bit of a surprise that Kikuchi is even a free agent as both the player and team had contract options. But after the Mariners declined their four-year, $66 million option in November, Kikuchi declined his one-year, $13 million player option.

The Yankees pitching staff allowed 4.13 runs per game last season, which ranked 10th in MLB.