The Yankees missed out on an opportunity to acquire a coveted veteran reliever.
On Friday, right-hander Nick Anderson was traded by the Braves to the Royals in exchange for cash considerations, the teams announced.
According to The Post’s Joel Sherman, the Yankees wanted to get the 33-year-old last offseason when he was a free agent, but he ultimately signed with the Braves on a one-year contract.
With the trade on Friday, they missed a second chance to pick up the reliable righty.
After missing the entirety of the 2022 season after recovering from right elbow surgery for a torn ulnar collateral ligament, Anderson made 35 appearances in 2023, his most since his rookie year in 2019.
With the Braves appearances, he had a 4-0 record with a 3.06 ERA and 1.104 WHIP, striking out 36.
Anderson, who also pitched with the Marlins and Rays in his career, has a 2.93 ERA with 173 strikeouts in 122 2/3 innings.
He should be a good addition for the Royals, whose bullpen ERA (5.23) was the second worst in all of baseball last year.
Last season, New York finished with an 82-80 record, their lowest full-season win total since 1992, and while the Yankees did have MLB’s best reliever ERA at 3.34, adding Anderson into the fold could’ve made the relief corps even stronger.
Outside of American League Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole, the Yankees did struggle in the rotation with a 4.44 ERA in 2023.
In one potential avenue to remedy this, the Yankees are reportedly one of the contenders for Japanese star pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is expected to be posted as early as next week.
The 25-year-old had a 16-6 record with a 1.48 ERA this season with the Orix Buffaloes.
