The Yankees wanted Shohei Otani mostly for his pitching, but they were also willing to let him hit as a DH when he wasn’t on the mound, so his refusal to consider playing in the Bronx raises the question of who will get those at-bats.
GM Brian Cashman could plan on dividing them up among his surplus of position players, but here’s a better idea: trade for Kyle Schwarber.
Such a notion has been out there going back to the 2016 trade deadline, when the Yankees would have gladly taken Schwarber for Aroldis Chapman, except the Cubs weren’t about to give him up at the time, even though he was sidelined due to knee surgery.