With Yankees in need of infield help, both Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado Linked to club this offseason with idea of becoming New York’s new third baseman little jazz chisholm Will be a full-time second baseman. However, during an appearance on YES Network’s “Yankees Hot Stove” earlier this week, Jake Curry said the Bronx Bombers were not committed to Bregman or Arenado and refuted the Yankees’ ever feelings about a trade. Interesting point of view.
That goes against a report the Yankees provided last week (via Mark Feinsand, John Denton and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com) Marcus Stroman St. Louis declined the deal as part of the Arenado trade package. As with past seemingly contradictory offseason reports, the truth is likely somewhere in between. Hypothetically, New York’s interest in Arenado might be limited to this scenario, and Stroman’s salary would be wiped off the team’s books.
Regardless of the depth of the Yankees’ interest in Arenado, it could be a moot point if Arenado himself isn’t interested in joining the team. The Yankees are not one of the six clubs (Angels, Dodgers, Padres, Phillies, Mets, Red Sox) reportedly willing to waive no-trade protection to join Arenado, who has Vetoed a proposed trade with the Astros. There’s speculation about New York deal Paul Goldschmidt This was done in part to lure Arenado into accepting a trade to the Bronx to join his old teammates, but Curry’s report appears to close the door on that possibility.
In addition to signing Goldschmidt Max Friedthe Yankees also traded Cody Bellinger, Devin Williamsand Fernando Cruzgeneral manager Brian Cashman aggressively reloaded the roster after Juan Soto Stayed and signed with the Mets. Even if there are still some holes to work out, New York (RosterResource) projects the luxury tax amount to be $303.2MM, so the team is already over the $301MM maximum penalty threshold.
The Yankees could reduce the tax bill by trying to remove Stroman or other unfavorable contracts, but the salary situation may hint at why Arenado or Bregman aren’t (or are no longer) on the radar. Signing Bregman would require a higher investment than getting most or all of Arenado’s contract in a trade, and since Bregman rejected Houston’s qualifying offer, the Yankees would have to give up two draft picks and $1MM in the international bonus pool funds. Since the Bombers already paid the additional penalty to sign Freed, another eligible free agent, the club would likely prefer to avoid further depleting its draft and bonus pool by adding Bregman.
If the Yankees are indeed not interested in Bregman, the Phillies, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Mets and Tigers will all have some level of interest in Bregman’s services this winter. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press shed more light on the Tigers connection on the latest episode of the Roaring Day podcast, noting that as the offseason unfolds, “the Tigers are Bregman’s priorities increased” and there was “more dialogue, more dialogue” between the club and Bregman’s camp.
Heading into the offseason, Detroit was viewed as a logical landing spot for Bregman for a number of reasons — his past history with the head coach AJ Hincha lack of long-term funds on the Tigers’ books, and the perception that the Tigers will become aggressive after their Cinderella run to the ALDS last season. The latter point has not yet been achieved because Alex CobbThe one-year, $15 deal is the Motown team’s only major investment this winter.
Bregman’s reported asking price of at least $200 appears to be a hindrance, as the Tigers are unwilling to spend at that level. What’s unclear is whether Detroit is willing to at least meet Bregman’s demands or if the team’s overall goals are lower. Most of the free agent or trade targets rumored this winter have been publicly linked to the Tigers (i.e. Goldschmidt, Carlos Santana, Walker Buehler, Kirby Yates, Eric Feder, Steven Matz, Andrew Heaney, Kyle Gibson) have either already entered into a short-term trading contract or may only require a one or two year investment. In addition to Bregman, Jack Flaherty and Kim Ha Sung Are the other free agents on the Tigers’ target list who need bigger contracts, and even King’s situation is precarious as uncertainty remains over his shoulder surgery.
It was reported earlier this winter that Bregman had turned down a six-year, $156MM offer from the Astros, marking the end of a potential reunion between the third baseman and his longtime team. step. Get Corner Infielder Isaac Paredes exist Kyle Tucker The trade leaves open the possibility that Bregman could still re-sign, and Paredes could play first base in Houston, but the Astros tied the first baseman to a three-year, $60MM contract Christian Walker The team’s corner infield needs have now been addressed.
While there’s no official statement that the Astros have now eliminated Bregman, general manager Dana Brown said “Paredes will play third and Walker will play first” while speaking with reporters earlier this week, including the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara. Brown thinks “Negotiations deadlocked” Work with Bregman’s camp and let the Astros look for alternatives.
“I think we made a very competitive offer and showed that we wanted [Bregman] Back off,” Brown said. “But we have to look for other options, we can’t just sit there. We locked up Paredes early in that trade because we knew he could play third or first. And then when the opportunity arose to add another bat [Walker] It showed up and we jumped on it.”.
