Yankees general manager Brian Cashman met with reporters this afternoon at the GM Meetings. Asked about areas of the roster that need to be addressed, he forthrightly replied the club “(needs) two outfielders” (video provided by SNY).
The longtime baseball operations leader pointed to the late-season injury to rookie center fielder Jasson Dominguez, who will be out into the middle of the summer after undergoing Tommy John surgery. “Now I need a center fielder, I need a left fielder, preferably left-handed,” Cashman said.
Cashman also alluded to the possibility of making a move involving what he termed an “infield surplus.” The Yankees have Gold Glove winner Anthony Volpe at shortstop, while 23-year-old Oswald Peraza is arguably ready for an everyday look at second or third base. The former top prospect struggled to a .191/.267/.272 line in 52 MLB games this year but had a more impressive .268/.357/.479 showing in Triple-A. Combined with his reputation for plus defense throughout the infield, Peraza could take a step forward in 2024.
The Yankees have Gleyber Torres as the starting second baseman. The right-handed hitter was New York’s second-best offensive player this past season, hitting .273/.347/.453 with 25 homers. Torres hasn’t played great defense and is entering his final year of arbitration control, projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $15.3MM salary.
“Do you try to find a lane to get Peraza involved?” Cashman rhetorically asked. “We have Gleyber Torres in the last year of his contract. He had a hell of a year.” The GM pointed to a strong second half from DJ LeMahieu, who presumably projects as the starting third baseman.
Cashman stopped well shy of saying the Yankees would shop Torres, to be clear. Yet marketing the veteran second baseman could be a way of balancing the roster. In addition to the outfield needs, the GM pointed to an annual desire to bolster the pitching.
Owner Hal Steinbrenner also met with reporters this afternoon (relayed by Bill Ladson of MLB.com). “Everything is on the table when it comes to free agents,” he said. Steinbrenner went on to call a lack of run scoring the team’s biggest problem in 2023.
That all points to a potential run at a top-of-the-market bat, with Shohei Ohtani and Cody Bellinger leading the free agent class. Bellinger, as a left-handed hitting center fielder who dramatically cut his strikeout rate this year, would certainly fit the roster on paper. Indeed, Jon Heyman of the New York Post writes that the club is exploring the top of the offensive market — noting they’ve been in contact with Bellinger’s camp during the early stages of the offseason.
Juan Soto is the biggest subject of trade speculation this winter. It remains unclear how seriously the Padres might consider moving their star left fielder, although the Yankees would surely be in that mix if the Friars made Soto available. If they look further down on the trade front, the likes of Max Kepler or Trent Grisham could be on the block. Grisham is the superior defender, while Kepler has more offensive upside.
As things stand, New York only has Aaron Judge locked into an outfield spot. A short-term acquisition — Kepler, for instance, is one year from free agency — could allow the Yankees to preserve future flexibility if Dominguez returns in the second half. Everson Pereira is a highly-regarded talent who could play his way into the left or center field mix but hit only .151/.233/.194 in his first 27 big league contests.
Kershaw's Lesser Known Right Arm
Cashgod strikes again
Captain-Judge99
Seeking two outfielders? They need a lot more then that. Yamamoto or Monty and probably Hader also. Go back to sleep Cashman!
tstats
They don’t need Josh Hader
Captain-Judge99
Seriously they don’t need Josh Hader? The Yankees don’t need a closer?
Captain-Judge99
@majq-This team isn’t as bad as your saying, but they DEFINITELY need a closer. It’s not a need? You know Mariano retired many years ago right? Just wanted to make sure you knew. Smh
bucketheadklunk
Nobody will ever replace Mariano, so that’s a moot point. Holmes and the bullpen were the top ranked in the majors last year, but upgrading Holmes would not be a bad idea. However it is probably 4th or 5th on the list.
1. Left fielder who can hit (Soto please)
2. INfielder who can hit (thinking 3rd base – maybe a trade with Pitt for Ke/Bryan Hayes – and no NOT Peraza at 3B – I like the kid but so far he can’t hit MLB pitchers)
3. Starting pitcher (Yamamoto)
4/5 SOmeone to cover for the Martian until he recovers/closer – not because Holmes is a slouch but if we are going to dump huge money into Yamamoto, having a kick a** bullpen to support that investment is smart..
Chris from NJ
Agreed Hader is a fit. He’s going to cost a lot and you could do a lot worse then Holmes. The offense really needs a upgrade but I don’t think it’s out there in free agency unless they go after Othani. Trying to trade for Soto would make a lot of sense.
Captain-Judge99
@Chris from NJ- hey thanks it’s nice to talk to someone with an actual brain, these guys are killing me. While Soto makes the most sense for the Yankees, they will likely penny pinch and probably just sign Bellinger instead of trading and extending Soto also. I feel Yamamoto or Monty needs to be signed as well. We’ll see what happens.
Chris from NJ
Hey man. Thanks nice to talk to someone with a brain as well. Alot of toolboxes on this site. Especially when its anything Yankees or Mets everyone has an opinion. I agree totally with everything your saying. I really hope they don’t sign Bellinger. I remember his Dad playing for the Yanks. But aside from that he scares me and not in a good way. I can regression and or injuries. He has Ellsbury written all over him. If you look at Bellinger’s stats you see he isn’t hitting the ball very hard and his babip ended up at .319 which I don’t think is sustainable. Totally agreed on Yamamoto and Monty. Trading Monty was a mistake. One of those Cashman moves you shake your head and say why? Sometimes I wonder how different things would be if the Boss was still around.
Don Zimmer
Somebody is going to overpay. Why Not NYY?
YankeesBleacherCreature
Has any team ever underpaid for a free agent long-term contract in an open market?
gbs42
The Nationals underpaid Max Scherzer.
YankeesBleacherCreature
I knew that was coming but “overpay” is such a lazy term around here. Mike Mussina is another one to a lesser extent.
gbs42
Good point, YBC. Players almost always go to the highest bidder, which is the team with the most optimistic projection, so compared to the other 29 teams’ evaluations, they overpaid.
Blue Baron
@gbs42: But not overpaid according the market theory that a good or service is worth what the high bidder is willing to pay, aka demand relative to supply.
slider32
You always get a better deal in the draft and in trades. Free agents are always the last option when filling out a team unless you are the Dodgers or Mets.
Blue Baron
Or the Phillies or the Yankees.
Gasu1
So every auction, anytime, anywhere, anything, is automatically an “overpay”? That’s a strange definition that exactly 0% of all economists would agree with.
JoeBrady
It’s not that straightforward. In a FA auction, there are mitigating factors which will cause GMs to overpay, like a specific need, or a long-term plan, or a GM thinking he is on the precipice of getting fired.
If Cohen doesn’t mind footing the bill for a FA, regardless of whether it makes fiscal sense, that doesn’t mean it isn’t an overpay. Maybe Seattle think Ohtani will increase attendance by 500,000. But logic doesn’t apply to much of the league.
Perksy
The Scherzer deal worked out great, but isn’t he still on the books 5 more years because of the deferred money?
gbs42
Perky, so what if he is? They could have paid him $30M per year for 7 years or $15M per year for 14. The latter is less expensive.
Shadow_Banned
The angels with Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, Anthony Rendon. Oh wait…
mlb1225
Definitley some of Barry Bonds’ late career contracts. Prime A-Rod made a lot less than what he was really worth. I’d watch Baseball’s Not Dead’s video on the best $100 million contracts if you want a real in-depth look at it.
youtube.com/watch?v=acIknV6vnmw
stymeedone
Its not about the value the player provides. Its market value at the time of the sale. 29 other teams said they wouldn’t pay THAT. That makes it an overpay.
Hurricane Sandy
Yes, but if 10 couples are trying to buy a home and the only way to separate yourself is to bid higher, then THAT is market value. The other nine couples say “I like the house, but I’m not paying THAT” for the house. Those nine couples then remain houseless.
I guess more accurately, you could call this an inflated market at the moment. I agree that these megadeals really are truly crazy in the modern era. I think it made more sense back in the day when mega-star contracts were more in the 7-8 year range. I personally wouldn’t want Cody Bellinger for more than 5 or 6 years myself and don’t even really trust him to make good in the next three years unless he performs on a more consistent basis.
Railcat
John Lester FA Cubs was not an overpay.
Captain-Judge99
I’m okay with Bellinger signing with the Yankees, but not for 9 years, this is getting way out of hand. If some team wants to give Bellinger 9 years, he can go there. Any trade for Soto should involve a extension, if one can’t be reached then forget it then. The Yankees have all the pieces to get this done. No excuses anymore. It’s put up or shut up time.
YankeesBleacherCreature
Soto has Boras in his corner and he already turned down a megadeal with the Nats as reported. Next season isn’t the year to push all-in.
Captain-Judge99
YBC- It doesn’t mean a thing. Soto is a better player then Bellinger. It’s plain & simple. If your going to give a contract for 9 years or over, you give it to Soto, not Bellinger. Bellinger is a nice player, but isn’t Juan Soto. No extension for Juan, then no trade for him either.
Simm
There is literally zero chance any team receives the rights to extend him before the trade is complete. You trade for him and you get 1 year to work out an extension. That’s it
SportsFan0000
Bellinger can play CF or 1B. His defense and arm are much better than Soto.
He has some MVP candidate years, then he had a few lesser years that may have been the result of injures etc
His offense was very good again with the Cubs.
If that is his offense going forward added to ++ defense then that is a quality, star major league player who will be making more All Star teams.
Blue Baron
@Captain-Judge99: That’s your opinion.
The market will disagree with you if some team offers 9 years or longer. Then it wouldn’t be out of hand.
Captain-Judge99
@Blue Baron- I know exactly what your saying, but if Bellinger is offered 9 years, it definitely won’t be by the Yankees, and that’s fine, and like I said Soto being offered 9 years or more by the Yankees is more likely.
Blue Baron
How do you know that?
stymeedone
@Cptn Judge
So you just ruled out both Bellinger and Soto. Don’t complain when the Yankees abide by your terms.
slider32
Soto would be the first choice, he is a left fielder, and a super star player in his prime. He doesn’t block Dominguez. Bellinger will cost less and has more flexibilty. He could move to leftfield or play first in 2 years. Most GMs today put a value on a player and stay in that range. What is interesting is that many of the best players today don’t win the world series like in other sports, where the stars usually win.
Simm
The big question is how good is bellinger. Is he last years guy, is he the 2019 guy or is he the 21, 22 guy.
BortMcCheevers
Signing Bellinger for 9 or even 7 years could be an absolute nightmare. Let’s not forget the guy has been AWFUL for 3 of his 7 years in the league. How do we know he doesn’t revert to that?
I can’t judge the guy by just last season, but his entire career or at the very least the last several years which ends up looking even worse.
Melchez17
They are projecting a 12 year deal for Bellinger… no way does that happen.
Blue Baron
You have no way of knowing that.
JoeBrady
You have no way of knowing that.
=============================
I thought this would’ve been self-evident, but no one in here guarantees future events. The implied basis for all thoughts in here are “I think that ‘xxx’ will happen”.
But it is probably not necessary to note that on every opinion.
MikeSouthside
When I read a 12 year deal for Bellinger my first thought was who came up with that idea? Was it Bellinger or was it his agent?
Blue Baron
Probably the agent just doing his job.
slider32
Bellinger has had is ups and downs due to injuries. Soto is a young super star player. Both have had off years, and neither is a sure thing in NY. Yanks missed out on Seager and Turner, who both are better players. The elephant in the room is why players don’t want to play for the Mets and Yanks, and why some great players play so poorly when they come to those teams.
Blue Baron
Francisco Lindor and Edwin Diaz disagree.
Yanks2
Are you still recovering from the Pedro Martinez incident?
Col_chestbridge
Joc Pederson would seemingly make a ton of sense for them as a LF on a short term deal that would buy time for Dominguez to get healthy. He would probably post big numbers with that short RF porch
DanUgglasRing
Pederson is pretty horrendous in the field but I agree he would probably crush balls at that park.
LordD99
A nice and calm press conference by Cashman.
acoss13
I’m not a Yankees fan but that was some seriously tone deaf garbage coming out of Cashman’s mouth. On one hand you have saying their season was awful, and Cashman on his own saying they’re a pretty good team….
YankeesBleacherCreature
We’re used to it. Don’t get me started on Hal.
SportsFan0000
Very surprised that Cashman and Boone are still employed by the NYY.
YankeesBleacherCreature
I like this new version of Brian Cashman.
Viveleempireevil
I do too. For 25 years all we’ve ever gotten from Cash is GM speak. Until today. Today, he about lost his mind on national t.v. You could see the reporters with mouths agape as he dropped f bombs and make preposterous claims about how good the ’23 team was. Like the Michael Douglas character in Falling Down. It’s a good thing there were no weapons nearby.
acoss13
Not sure about Ohtani considering Stanton is a full time DH at this point, but Bellinger is a realistic guy the Yankees would target.
Col_chestbridge
Ohtani can’t even throw until his TJS rehab is done, I would assume. So even occasional OF work has to be out of the question.
iml12
That sounded like a wanted ad for Bellinger.
JoeBrady
I sometimes prefer “GM-speak”. Boras knows that the NYY have to have an interest in Bellinger, but saying that you need two OFs, preferably LH, is giving away your strategy.
Blue Baron
@acoss13: Bellinger is a realistic guy lots of teams would target.
The Saber-toothed Superfife
I said it before….
The Saber-toothed Superfife
I’ve said it before, previously.
920kodiak
Yes, you did.
Shadow_Banned
You can combine the Mets and Yankees players and they still wouldn’t beat the Rangers ^_^
Gumby82
They’re going to get Bellinger and Ohtani because life’s not fair
acoss13
If this was the early 2000s yes, but the Diamondbacks just got to the World Series with a bunch of no name players. That’s not a dig at them, that’s awesome, it means there’s more than just throwing money at free agents to get into the playoffs.
Jake1972
Mark Grace
Matt Williams
Luis Gonzalez
Randy Johnson
Curt Schilling
Were on the Arizona team in 2001 that won the World Series that year, so they had big names on their roster.
acoss13
I was referring to the 2023 Diamondbacks team. My apologies for the confusion.
Jake1972
My apologies, I read it incorrectly.
Mike_99
Why would Ohtani go to the Yankees he wants to win
Appalachian_Outlaw
I don’t see them getting both. That’d be a lot more money than the Yankees have shown an appetite for handing out recently. Plus I think Ohtani goes to the Dodgers, Giants or back to the Angels.
Realistically, I think the Yankees go after -and get- Bellinger; then swing some type of deal for a more affordable OF in a trade to round out their OF.
drewm
Yelich is a good target
Butter Biscuits
Belli would be making a mistake signing with the yankees
Hurricane Sandy
Why? Because of fans/media? Then you’re basically saying you believe he’ll be disappointing and underperform… which is why so many people think he shouldn’t get 9+ years. Yanks still have the short porch, which should help his power numbers stay respectable.
‘If he can’t… make it there, he’ll underperform… everywhere…’
Butter Biscuits
He will under perform there
Hurricane Sandy
Lol Ok. Just curious why you think he’ll under perform there as opposed to anywhere else? Is it a personality thing? The supporting cast? The market?
Blue Baron
@standuptriple: That’s not for you to say. It’s his life and career, not yours.
tedtheodorelogan
How about Yaz for Torres straight up. Opens up an infield spot, saves the Yankees some money, and gets a lefty outfielder on a short term deal who can fake it in center and play a solid corner.
steelerbravenation
My bad didn’t see your post but we think alike I think that trade make perfect sense
steelerbravenation
Gleybar Torres for Yaz ?????
Captain-Judge99
No definitely not happening.
JoeBrady
Having a Yaz play on the NYY will be the end of civilization as we know it.
Old York
Bellinger and Soto confirmed.
Mike_99
Bellinger Gallo 2.0 He had a bounce back season because pitching is not as good in the Nl central as Nl west. More hitter parks in Nl central
majq
Ellsbury 2.0 when you factor in injury history.
Big whiffa
What division are the Rockies in ? They must have moved lol
iml12
They played a more balanced schedule this year. Not sure that narrative works. Nl Central wasn’t that bad. It honestly was probably on par with the NL west.
User 2079935927
Oswald is going to Dallas on the 22nd of this month mark it down
64' Yanks
You can play Jack with your Ruby red shoes!
itsmeheyhii
They already shot that rumor down.
joemoes
Yankees need to prioritize will
Smith
JPR
The slapper?
Endar Malkovich
You won’t get change until Cashman is gone. You won’t get Cashman gone until Hal Steinbrenner is gone. You won’t get Steinbrenner gone until he sells the team. You won’t see the team sold until you stop watching games and buying tickets. It will take you 18 months of boycotting until you see this take hold.
its_happening
Good point.
terry g
Sorry. I don’t see people boycotting the Yanks. That’s not realistic.
Dmac13
Bellinger I would consider but no way would I give more than a 5 year deal to. NY needs to stay away from these 10 year deals.. with rhat bellinger signs elsewhere. Go get Soto! As long as he gets a extension. No extension no trade! Joc pederson should be a no Brainer. 2 year deal he will do well as a Yankee. Defense is just ok but with Perera and cabrera they can sub defense. With that here is my yankees off-season wish list
Soto
Pederson
Hunter Renfro (if no soto)
Yamamoto or bring back Monty
And they need 2 relievers
Take your pick
Middleton, Hader, fujinami, wandy peralta I like when the yankees have 2 leftys.
TrillionaireTeamOperator
I’d rather give Bellinger an insanely high AAV for 1-3 years than sign him long term for something ‘reasonable’ or ‘market rate’. The market says he’s worth and going to get around $23.5M to $25M a year for 6 to 12 years….. I say give him 3 years/$100.5M and just see what happens. If he’s worth even half of that value, which wouldn’t take much success to achieve, he will not have been a waste of money, but he’s got the potential to become a massive, massive albatross and the Yankees do not need two Rodons or another Ellsbury, etc.
Simm
The padres will only trade Soto in an over pay. So any package you think he is worth add more because they have to compete and will not trade him otherwise.
Also to the people saying no extension, no trade. There is a zero percent chance any team looking to trade for him are granted time to work out an extension. That’s why you trade for him, so you have 1 year to get it done. This isn’t other sports that do that. So if that’s how you feel then no need to even mention a Soto trade because that won’t happen.
Big whiffa
So Torres king Jones and either Thorpe or Hampton ?
That might get it done but that’s a serious price to pay !
Simm
Padres have zero need for Torres.
YankeesBleacherCreature
@Simm He has SS experience so that automatically qualifies him to be a catcher. /s
JoeBrady
Extensions are always available. Cashman calls up Boras and asks if Soto will take $550M/12. If he says yes, the NYY make the trade with SD, and announce the new deal two weeks later.
JPR
creative, if also a bit delusional – in the imagined phone call Boras responds by saying “Brian, a mystery team is willing ti go higher and longer”. Boras doesn’t do extensions, and 550/12 is preposterous
JoeBrady
Boras doesn’t do extensions, and 550/12 is preposterous
================================
Both those statements cannot simultaneously be true.
If the offer is preposterous, as it was meant to be, then Boras will accept.
Simm
This will never happen. Padres would just move on to a different team if they really wanted to trade him. Zero % chance this happens.
NYCityRiddler
Simm, for someone with “zero” knowledge or understanding you sure talk a big game. Try this one out, I have a zero tolerance for sanctimonious people, what a maroon. Ahahaha!
Simm
You mad bro…everyone knows there is zero chance the Yankees are granted a window to extend Soto before completing a trade. No team is going to do that. This isn’t basketball.
Anyways keep getting mad and calling names
Mercenary.Freddie.Freeman
Yankees should be seeking a new GM and a manager.
Eatdust666
Exactly, but Hal doesn’t care, so obvious that just making the playoffs or being over .500, which they really should not have been this year is good enough for him. George is rolling over in his grave.
Melchez17
Remember when no one would even consider taking on Bellinger? Amazing what 1 really good season does.
I know he wouldn’t be the answer, but Baddoo in Yankees LF would be a solid inexpensive addition. I think he would be great at Yankee stadium. He could even play CF in that small park.
Backup Catcher to the Backup Catcher
Yankees could probably get Brandon Marsh from the Phillies. He’s a LH bat and CF who can also cut it in LF or RF if need be. Marsh really upped his game last year, and especially with OBP.
He’s not someone the Phillies will give away. heck, he’s not someone they have to move. However, Johan Rojas looks like the long-term answer in CF. Rojas probably needs those 250-300 ABs at AAA he didn’t get last year.
Don’t know who the Yankees could offer for Marsh since they have more holes to fill than the Phillies do.
Niceee
Philly needs pitching, Schmidt might get it done
Perksy
Schmidt for Marsh is fair. Wasn’t there a rumor in July that Yanks and Boston were talking Schmidt for Verdugo?
Brian 38
I hear Aaron Hicks is available…
slider32
It’s all about risk reward, Soto is the best player, he will be the first option. It’s will be a one year deal which is good for the Cashman. He brings in many great players who stink when they get to NY. Bellinger is next, if he gets him, he signs a short term left fielder. If he signs Soto, he gets a short term left fielder. If he doesn’t get either he goes to plan B and signs a player like Kiermeir.
RetiredWarVet
In my opinion, Bellinger would be a perfect signing because he can play OF this year and take over 1B next year.
Yes, he had his down years, but when reading past articles on why he had those down years, it was because he was trying to come back from his injuries too soon. Watch the videos during those years. His swing and stance were noticeably different because he was transferring his weight to avoid the injured areas while they recovered. Every single person does that until they’re fully recovered. Don’t tell ne you don’t.
If the Yankees pass on Bellinger, I feel it’ll be a big mistake because next year, they’re going to need a new 1B. Yes, it will also cost draft pick and international money loss, but getting Bellinger satisfies this year as well as the next few years.
As far as Soto goes, that needs to be treaded carefully. The Yankees definitely need some sort of extension or long-term signing agreement before giving the Padres highly rated prospects. Historically, Boras doesn’t prefer extensions for his clients. He prefers them to hit the open market to get the most money, especially when they’re in their prime years.
I agree that Yamamoto and Matsui are pitching needs. Lee would also be a great pick-up, especially because he’s a free agent, and there’s no posting fee associated with him, unlike Yamamoto and Matsui.
It’s definitely going to cost money to fix the Yankees issues. If they want to fix CF until Dominguez returns, there’s also Kiermaier. He even stated that he would like to play for the Yankees. Plus, there’s not another FA out there that’s as familiar with the AL East.
YankeesBleacherCreature
Good assessment. The biggest adjustment Bellinger made this past season is changing his two-strike approach to prioritize contact over power. He remains an excellent CF’er so he should stay there for the foreseeable future for any team to extract the most value.
Raysasineppswasplanted
I blv the Yankees should pursuit a good contact OF, like Brock or Damon and bring a power hitter to the hot corner like Rolen. And if you add a lefty/rigthy combo to close games a la Mcgraw-Bedrossian, after they sign a japanesse RH Starter as Nomo, they could be heading to the WS
MikeSouthside
Need a left fielder Cashman? Perhaps you can take Andrew Benintendi off the hands of the White Sox.
Citizen1
Hunter renfroe. Hits hrs.
Does Stanton not play the of anymore?
Eatdust666
Basically, because he sparingly plays in the outfield.
chuck123
Team is getting old – they need to make BIG moves to get younger and less injury prone. Frankly I don’t think Hal has it in him to make bold $ moves. They think they are better than they actually are. We will see but now too many holes in a competitive division. Missing George
slider32
Yanks can go Soto/Kiermaier- Bellinger/Gurriel Jr.- Bellinger /Lee or someoe else in a trade.
Eatdust666
Just watch signing Kiermaier and re-signing Montas be their biggest moves of their offseason, just watch.
Dmac13
HUNTER RENFROE! yankees fans would love him in time. Grab him and Joc pederson then add pitching!
I love how Boone says they aren’t bunting… it just shows how off he is. I get how small ball is a way to manufacture runs but if I see anyone other than Ikf or Harrison Bader last year bunting I’d be upset. Their line up is not built for that nor is it this year