The New York Yankees made the biggest and most important free-agent signing of the offseason by keeping MVP slugger Aaron Judge. They did this despite stiff competition from the San Francisco Giants and a late-season push for crazy money from the San Diego Padres.
But now that that deal is done and the Yankees are trying hard to get left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodon from the Giants, it looks like the Yankees’ biggest moves are over and they will be making smaller deals to fill in the gaps.
Then, on Friday, when he was on 95.7 The Game, Buster Olney from ESPN said:
“From what I understand, the Giants haven’t gotten too deeply into the Correa conversations yet in terms of dollars.” – @Buster_ESPN
(via @WillardAndDibs)
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) December 9, 2022
Yes, the Yankees are working on something big, in addition to what they have already done with Judge and what might happen with Rodon. The Yankees are about to have a big home run swing.
The YES Network and Yankees play-by-play announcer Michael Kay also said that the “big” thing the Yankees are working on is not the Rodon trade.
Carlos Correa’s Signing
This seems to be the conclusion that Yankees fans and analysts always come to. Correa is the biggest free agent fish in the pond right now. His great defence and great hitting, especially in the postseason, make him a very attractive player.
But the Yankees don’t really “need” Correa. In fact, they didn’t sign him last offseason because they wanted to trade for Josh Donaldson, which turned out to be a bad idea.
Correa is not a good fit for the Yankees because Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza are already waiting in the infield. The Yankees seem to want an outfielder, left-handed hitters, more relief pitchers, and another top-tier starter.
Bryan Reynolds Trade
The Yankees have been linked to Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds for a long time. Even though Reynolds would be a good fit for the Yankees and could do well in Yankees Stadium, it doesn’t look like the Yankees are willing to pay the high price the Pirates would want for Reynolds.
Brendan Kuty of NJ.com says that the Yankees would rather make a deal to get outfielder Andrew Benintendi back than give up a lot of prospects for Reynolds.
Reports say that the Pirates aren’t likely to trade Reynolds, so a trade between Reynolds and the Yankees this offseason is almost impossible.
Trading for Fernando Tatis Jr.
The Padres signed Xander Bogaerts to a big 11YR/$280M deal, and they may have to deal with Juan Soto’s contract situation in the future.
When you consider that the team made big moves to get Aaron Judge and Trea Turner, but they both signed with other teams, it seems like the Padres are setting themselves up for financial hell on purpose.
Due to injuries, suspensions, and the drama this season, the team and its star player, Fernando Tatis Jr., do not get along very well.
Even though the Padres lost Tatis Jr., they still made a real push for the playoffs and beat the Dodgers. They can still compete without Tatis Jr., so trading him might be all they need to get enough money to sign Soto and Machado.
More to Read:
- Japanese Businessman Maezawa Reveals the Lunar Mission’s for Artistic Crew
- Again, Jesse James’ Pregnant Wife Files for Divorce After His Claim of Cheating
- Al Roker Was Brought Back to the Hospital by Ambulance Due to Health Concerns
Tatis Jr. would be a great fit for the Yankees, and the New York market would make him a bigger star and help him sell himself. Tatis didn’t play in 2022, so let’s look at how he did in 2022 and 2023:
- Age 20 – .317/.379/.590. 154 OPS+, 22 HR, 16 SB, 4.2 WAR, 84 games
- Age 21 – .277/.366/.571. 156 OPS+, 17 HR, 11 SB, 2.8 WAR, 59 of 62 games
- Age 22 – .282/.364/.611. 166 OPS+, 42 HR, 25 SB, 6.6 WAR, 130 games
The Yankees could put him in their lineup and take over the rest of his 14-year, $310 million contract.
Even though the Yankees might not want to give up their farm system or Volpe or Peraza in a trade, they can still make San Diego interested in a deal with Giancarlo Stanton, the former NL MVP, Josh Donaldson, and prospects.
Stanton would be a good replacement for Aaron Judge for the Padres, who missed out on him. He would also return to the National League, where he caused trouble when he played for the Miami Marlins.
We won’t know what the Yankees’ “big” move is until it happens, but it’s being talked up as something that will shake up the league and be talked about on sports podcasts all over the world.