Where Do the Yankees Go Now With Juan Soto Bolting for NY Mets?
Losing Juan Soto in free agency to the crosstown rival is undoubtedly a huge blow for the New York Yankees, but they must devise a fallback plan to move forward successfully as an organization.
When the Yankees lost Robinson Cano to the Seattle Mariners in the winter of 2013, they pivoted to Masahiro Tanaka, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann, and Carlos Beltran in free agency. Tanaka was a key piece of the Yankees’ rotation during his stint, but that offseason is a cautionary tale.
Ellsbury struggled with injuries and underperformed, while McCann and Beltran were overall solid. However, the signings never led to success. They set the franchise back, and McCann and Beltran ended up helping the Houston Astros defeat the Yankees in the ALCS in 2017.
If there is one thing the Yankees should avoid, it is panicking.
Just because they had $760 million set aside for Soto does not mean they should turn around and give that money to a handful of the top free agents this offseason.
Spreading the money around to build a more complete team seems like a reasonable idea, but the reality is that many of these free agents will not be worth the money they end up signing for. Handing out big contracts to players like Alex Bregman or Pete Alonso is likely unwise. The Yankees should engage with the strength of the market while keeping financial flexibility for the long term.
After Soto, the strength of the free agent market is in the starting pitching department. The Yankees thrived in part due to their rotation in 2024, but that does not mean that Brian Cashman should not engage with players like Corbin Burnes or Max Fried. Both pitchers have their drawbacks, but many believe that those two would be better investments than players like Bregman or Alonso. They would also strengthen an already strong rotation, making it one of the best in baseball.
The Yankees will, of course, look to add position players. They can’t make offensive upgrades after losing Soto, a considerable part of the lineup’s success in 2024. However, this is where Cashman could look for better value contracts than Bregman or Alonso are projected to get. The team has been rumored to be interested in Christian Walker since the beginning of the offseason and Teoscar Hernandez as a fallback for Soto. Walker, although older, is likely to get around half of what Alonso will get while putting up similar offensive production over the last two seasons and also being a vastly better defender. Hernandez has been a very productive offensive player since his days with the Toronto Blue Jays.
More importantly, the Yankees going for Burnes or Fried would allow them to trade from the depth of that group. Whether it is dangling Luis Gil or Nestor Cortes in a deal, that opens up alternative routes for the Yankees to add bats in addition to one of those secondary free-agent options mentioned above.
Someone like Seiya Suzuki or Luis Robert Jr. could be intriguing options in the outfield. At the same time, Yandy Diaz, Nico Hoerner, and Cody Bellinger are names said to be available to fill other potential spots.
The Yankees need to be active after losing Soto and smart about who they target.
Making panic moves would hurt the organization more than losing Soto does.
PHOTO: Brad Penner/Imagn Images
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