In a bidding war that entered historic territory, the New York Yankees narrowly lost out to the crosstown rival Mets, who landed the top free agent prize in 26-year-old slugger Juan Soto on the eve of the winter meetings in Dallas Sunday night. Soto agreed to a 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets, the richest deal in sports history. But the Yankees weren't far behind, as the club's final offer was reportedly 16 years and $760 million.
The question on the minds of many fans and pundits now is, where do the Yankees go from here? Certainly, if chariman Hal Steinbrenner was willing to bid well over half a billion dollars for one player, it speaks to his commitment to maintaining a competitive roster on the heels of the club's first World Series appearance in 15 years. However, that doesn’t mean Steinbrenner will go on a spending spree to ease the impact of losing Soto. New York may have learned a lesson from 11 years ago, when homegrown star Robinson Cano departed for riches in Seattle, and the Yankees spent $438 million on four free agents (Masahiro Tanaka, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Carlos Beltran) only to miss out on the postseason the following year. To that end, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Monday during an appearance on YES the club "won't be drunken sailors" with their spending as they look to upgrade post-Soto.
Even still, multiple outlets have reported there’s a feeling within the Yankees organization that the money offered to Soto could be better spent elsewhere. That said, here's an alternative game plan for the Yankees this offseason after Soto's seismic decision to change boroughs.
Bring in an impact bat—or two
There's a scene from the movie Moneyball, where then-Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, speaks to his scouts about the free agency departure of 2000 American League MVP Jason Giambi. The interaction went like this.
Scout: You have a lot of experience and wisdom in this room. Now you need to have a little bit of faith and let us do the job of replacing [Jason] Giambi.
Beane: Is there another first baseman like Giambi?
Scouts in unison: No, not really, No.
Beane: And if there was, could we afford him?
Scout: Nope.
Beane: Then, what the f--- are you talkin' about, man?
That interaction sums up the Yankees' unenviable task here. While they're not cash-strapped, as the 2001 Athletics were, they are still facing the harsh truth that there's simply no way to replace the on-base machine and feared slugger who walked out the door.
But, in the spirit of the movie, perhaps there is a way to recreate the impact made by Soto through the acquisition of one or two impact bats.
Potential Targets
Cody Bellinger, 1B/OF, Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are reportedly looking to trade Bellinger, the 2018 National League Championship Series MVP and 2019 NL MVP, this offseason. New York was exploring a potential trade for Bellinger at the 2023 deadline, and then considered signing the two-time All-Star this past offseason before the club's blockbuster trade for Soto. The Yankees, with a surplus of starting pitching at the big-league level, could be a good trade partner for the Cubs.
Bellinger, is coming off an injury-riddled down year, but enjoyed a standout 2023 season, is a lefty bat whose pull tendencies would be a good fit in Yankee Stadium and is capable of playing center field and first base, two positions the Yankees need to address. A potential deal would not be without its risks, but acquiring Bellinger, whose father won two World Series with New York in the 1990s, would be a move that could both upgrade the club and excite a fan base reeling from the loss of Soto.
Christian Walker, 1B, FA
Walker is one of the top free agent first basemen available—and for good reason. Lifting the ball in the air more than ever before, the 33-year-old Walker has remade himself into one of the best sluggers in baseball over the last three years, posting a .250/.332/.481 slash line while clubbing 95 home runs in 1,880 plate appearances during that span. The Norristown, Pa. native is also a superb defender, having won three straight Gold Gloves. Yankees first basemen ranked second-to-last in WAR last season and the club badly needs to upgrade the position. Walker will be more cost-effective than the Scott Boras-represented Pete Alonso, and could provide some thump in the middle of the Yankees' order behind Aaron Judge.
Honorable Mentions
Alex Bregman, 3B, FA
Longtime Yankees nemesis with the Houston Astros, but he’s a superb defender at third base and remains a strong bat (118 OPS+ in 2024).
Jurickson Profar, IF/OF, FA
Versatile player who had a career year at the plate in 2024 while posting a .380 OBP. Could serve as the club's new leadoff hitter in '25.
Teoscar Hernandez, OF, FA
Big bopper who posted a 137 OPS+ while driving in 12 runs during the Los Angeles Dodgers' title run.
Make a splash on the starting pitcher market
You can never have too much pitching. That's an old adage in baseball that ages like fine wine as more pitchers are succumbing to injuries in the age of velocity. It also might be the Yankees’ guiding light as they attempt to navigate this offseason post-Soto.
Remember, there's simply no recreating Soto, who is on a trajectory that has some calling him the modern-day Ted Williams. So, why not focus less on the impossible task of recreating his run production and focus more on run prevention?
Yankees starters ranked 11th in MLB in ERA last season, all while getting just 17 starts from 2023 Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole. New York could make a strength even stronger.
Potential Targets
Roki Sasaki, SP, FA
Steinbrenner, who in May called the Yankees' $302 million payroll "unsustainable", will love this idea. Sasaki, widely regarded as one of the best pitchers in the world, was on Monday officially posted and will be available for teams to negotiate with and sign from Tuesday until January 23. Sasaki, 23, is considered an international amateur and will only be able to sign a minor-league contract subject to the international signing bonus pools. This means that Sasaki's contract won't even be in the same stratosphere as fellow countryman Yoshinobu Yamamoto's $325 million deal with the Dodgers this past winter.
The 2025 signing period, in which the Yankees have the third-highest possible amount of bonus pool money to spend ($6,261,600) opens on Jan. 15. New York has scouted Sasaki heavily during his four seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, and earned a key contributor to its starting rotation the last time it paid a posting fee and a hefty payday for a Japanese starter in Tanaka.
Armed with a fastball that can hit the upper 90s and an elite split-finger fastball, Sasaki has the ceiling to become a No. 1 starter for a team in the big leagues. Adding him to a rotation that includes Cole, two-time All-Star Carlos Rodon and reigning AL Rookie of the Year Award winner Luis Gil—and doing it at a fraction of the cost—is tantalizing.
Max Fried, SP, FA
The Yankees have reportedly already held a productive Zoom meeting with Fried, a two-time All-Star and one of the top two free agent starters on the market alongside '21 NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes.
Fried, 30, is coming off of a strong year that saw him pitch to a 3.25 ERA in 174 1/3 innings for the Atlanta Braves. The lefthander has a high ceiling—he finished second in the NL Cy Young Award race in '22—is a three-time Gold Glove award winner and has experience pitching in the postseason and the World Series.
Fried's 58.8 percent groundball rate, which ranked second last season only to Astros southpaw Framber Valdez, would be a nice fit in Yankee Stadium, which yielded the third-most home runs of any ballpark in 2024, according to Statcast. Fried certainly won't come cheap and the Yankees will have competition for him—perhaps from their fiercest rivals—but he's a cheaper alternative to Burnes and would give New York one of the best on-paper rotations in baseball.
Honorable Mentions
Corbin Burnes, SP, FA
Legitimate ace with elite strikeout ability who pitched to a 2.92 ERA last season in the AL East with Baltimore, but will be pricey.
Walker Buehler, SP, FA
Two-time All-Star who blanked the Yankees across six innings pitched for the Dodgers in the World Series. Loves the big moment.
Justin Verlander, SP, FA
The soon-to-be 42-year-old battled injuries in 2024, but the Yankees offered him a contract in December of '22. Perhaps the future Hall of Famer has one more strong season left in the tank?
Beef Up the Bullpen
In today's MLB, that aforementioned adage might need a revision. You can never have too much relief pitching. Aside from the elite slugging of Aaron Judge and a complement of strong starting pitching, Yankees playoff teams in recent years have shared one commonality: a bullpen full of hard-throwing relievers.
And while the Yankees' relievers ranked sixth in ERA in the regular season and largely delivered in the postseason, manager Aaron Boone too often relied on the same names—and one of them, Clay Holmes, signed with the Mets. Injuries also ate into the depth of the 'pen during the regular season. In short, the Yankees might need to heed the words of that new-age baseball adage and use some of their newfound holiday spending money to go shopping on the relief pitcher market.
Potential Yankees Targets
Tanner Scott, LHP, FA
Scott, 30, enjoyed a career year pitching for the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres, posting a 1.75 ERA in 72 innings while notching 22 saves. Before he was dealt to San Diego in July, the Yankees were reportedly among the teams to express interest in the southpaw. And it's not hard to see why. Scott, armed with a fastball, slider and changeup, was the rare pitcher equally good at inducing weak contact (27.5 % hard-hit rate) and generating strikeouts (28.6 % K rate). His experience with the ninth inning is a major plus, as it would free the Yankees to use converted 2024 closer Luke Weaver earlier in games if needed, while also easing the impact of the loss of Holmes.
Carlos Estevez, RHP, FA
Acquired by the Philadelphia Phillies at the trade deadline after closing 20 games for the Los Angeles Angels, Carlos Estevez enjoyed a breakout season on the heels of his first All-Star campaign in 2023. The Dominican Republic native pitched to a 2.45 ERA in 55 innings for Los Angeles and Philadelphia, then recorded a 3.38 ERA in three games for the Phillies in October. Like Scott, Estevez, who has 57 saves in the last two seasons combined, is a potential option for the Yankees if they prefer Weaver in the fireman role.
Honorable Mentions
Kenley Jansen, RHP, FA
The most experienced closer on the market with 447 career saves (fourth all-time). Proved he could pitch in the AL East during two-year stint with Boston, but age (37) and potential cost could give Yankees pause.
A.J. Minter, LHP, FA
A World Series champion with the 2021 Atlanta Braves. Boasts a career 3.28 ERA and 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings in his career while filling a variety of roles in the Braves' bullpen.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Finding the Yankees’ Potential Plan B After Losing the Juan Soto Sweepstakes.
