Jameson Taillon would ‘love’ Yankees return amid free agency

Jameson Taillon joined the Yankees in 2021 coming off a second Tommy John surgery.

In the two years since that trade with the Pirates, he has proven to be one of the more durable arms in the major leagues, which may be his selling point as he enters free agency for the first time this offseason. Whether or not that leads to re-signing with the Yankees remains to be seen, and though the right-hander may be able to land a bigger deal elsewhere, Taillon was grateful for his time in The Bronx.

“I haven’t thought about it a ton, but I definitely know I’ve loved playing here,” Taillon said after the Yankees were swept by the Astros in the ALCS. “They took a chance on me coming back from rehabbing elbow surgery and stuff. To get to come here, I had never experienced the playoffs, never experienced a winning environment and culture. So I feel like I didn’t take a day for granted, showing up and putting the pinstripes on.

“I’ve loved my time here. I would definitely love to come back.”

The Yankees could extend Taillon a qualifying offer, which would be $19.65 million for one year, though the 30-year-old should be able to secure more money in a multi-year deal on the open market. The team has Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes and Frankie Montas under contract for next year, and is expected to pick up Luis Severino’s $15 million club option. That leaves an open rotation spot, which the Yankees could choose to fill with a higher-end starter from elsewhere or internally with Domingo German or Clarke Schmidt.

But allowing Taillon to walk would leave a chunk of innings to replace. This season, he threw 177 ¹/₃ innings — the 33rd-most in the majors — while posting a 3.91 ERA. He got off to a strong start, carrying a 2.70 ERA through his first 13 outings before accruing a 4.76 ERA over his final 19 starts.

Still, Taillon provided consistency, never missing his turn through the rotation while allowing three runs or fewer in 25 of 32 starts. But when it came to the playoffs, he was not one of the Yankees’ top three starters. He worked out of the bullpen in the ALDS, then started Game 1 of the ALCS on a short leash, tossing 4 ¹/₃ innings of one-run ball against the Astros.

Now, Taillon will find out how much that durability has earned him. After throwing just 37 ¹/₃ innings for the Pirates between 2019 and 2020 because of a second Tommy John surgery, he was traded to the Yankees and tossed 321 ²/₃ innings from 2021-2022 — which ranks 36th among all major league starters during that time.

On a free-agent pitching market that is expected to feature a high end of Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, Carlos Rodon and Clayton Kershaw, Taillon figures to land more in the mid-range of options that include Chris Bassitt, Nathan Eovaldi, Noah Syndergaard, Taijuan Walker and Tyler Anderson. Spotrac projects Taillon to have a market value of a $14.6 million average annual value, in between Syndergaard ($15.3 million) and Walker ($13.8 million).