The Yankees’ efforts to re-sign Juan Soto have dominated headlines in the Bronx this offseason, but they’re also laying the groundwork for other free agent possibilities. The Yankees held a 90-minute meeting with longtime Braves lefty Max Fried this week, as first reported by the YES Network’s Michael Kay, who adds that the talk went well and the two sides are expected to meet again. Mike Puma and Joel Sherman of the New York Post also report that the two sides met, with the Yankees’ contingent consisting of GM Brian Cashman, manager Aaron Boone, pitching coach Matt Blake and as many as six other team officials. Puma and Sherman further add that the Yankees met with Corbin Burnes late last month.
Soto, of course, remains the Yankees’ top focus. It seems unlikely that they’d sign him to what increasingly appears to be a $600MM+ contract and then put down more than $150MM on one of Fried or Burnes — though the Yanks certainly have the resources to do so. Still, it’s only natural for any Soto suitor to be doing homework on potential contingency plans in the event that he signs elsewhere. Loading up on high-end starting pitching and addressing the lineup in other ways would be one such possibility. (Notably, the Yankees have also recently been linked to infielder Willy Adames, who’s willing to play third base or second base with a new club.)
The Yankees already have one of the most expensive staffs in the sport. Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Marcus Stroman are owed a combined $81MM next year. Nestor Cortes is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $7.7MM. Righty Clarke Schmidt is projected at $3.5MM. Newly minted Rookie of the Year Luis Gil is still in his pre-arbitration years. There’s been speculation about the Yankees moving either Stroman or Cortes this winter, both of which seem plausible. Adding someone the caliber of Fried of Burnes would make a trade elsewhere in the rotation a virtual inevitability.
Either Burnes or Fried would join Cole right atop what could be a powerhouse Yankees rotation. Both pitchers rejected qualifying offers from their former clubs, meaning both would cost the Yankees their second- and fifth-highest draft selections, in addition to $1MM of space from their 2025 bonus pool in international free agency. For a pitcher of either caliber, that’s a small price to pay.
Fried, 31 in January, has rattled off 659 innings of 2.81 ERA ball dating back to the 2020 season. He’s third among all qualified starting pitchers in ERA in that time, trailing only Brandon Woodruff (2.76) and Clayton Kershaw (2.79). Fried has thrown nearly 200 more innings than both those pitchers. His 2024 season wasn’t his best, but only relative to his lofty standards. He made 29 starts, totaling 174 1/3 innings, and notched a tidy 3.25 ERA.
Fried doesn’t miss bats like the prototypical ace but has a slightly better-than-average 23.6% strikeout rate over the past five seasons. He sports a strong 6.3% walk rate in that time and is among the game’s very best when it comes to minimizing hard contact and avoiding opponents’ barrels. He also racks up grounders at a plus rate (54.2% since 2020) — highlighted by a career-best 58.8% mark in 2024. Fried has generally been durable, although he was limited to 14 starts in 2023 due to a forearm strain that did not end up requiring surgery. He missed three starts in 2024 due to a nerve issue in that same forearm, but that’s ostensibly a different issue than the one that sidelined him in ’23.
Burnes is nearly a full year younger, having turned 30 about five weeks ago. He’s solidified himself as a true workhorse, ranking third in the majors in innings pitched over the past five seasons and sitting narrowly behind Fried with a fourth-ranked 2.88 ERA in that same span. Burnes was traded from the Brewers to the Orioles last offseason and proved himself against many of the very same AL East lineups he’d be facing as a Yankee. He made 32 starts and pitched 194 1/3 innings of 2.92 ERA ball for the O’s, adding eight innings of one-run excellence in Baltimore’s brief postseason foray.
Dominant as Burnes has been at times in his career, his recent work bears some resemblance to that of Fried. That’s not a bad thing, of course, but his once sky-high strikeout rate now sits at a roughly league-average rate (23.1% in 2024). Like Fried, he’s countered the diminished strikeout tendencies with sharp command and a knack for dodging hard contact. Burnes doesn’t generate grounders at the same level, but his 46.9% career mark and 2024’s 48.8% rate are both still comfortably above average.
The general thinking has been that Burnes will sign the largest contract of any pitcher this offseason. He’s two years younger than Blake Snell — who signed for five years and $182MM with the Dodgers (albeit with some deferrals) — and a year younger than Fried. His blend of durability and effectiveness is unmatched among this year’s crop of free agents. Fried, however, should command a deal well north of $100MM himself — quite possibly approaching or even exceeding the $162MM the Yankees promised to Rodon two winters ago.
The Yankees currently project for a payroll around $230MM, per RosterResource. They’re currently below the luxury tax threshold, but only nominally so. Even minor additions in free agency or on the trade market will push them into luxury territory. They’ve been a tax payor in each of the past three seasons, however, and their pursuits of various high-end free agents makes it clear they’re comfortable not only paying the tax for a fourth straight season but perhaps pushing into the highest tier of penalty again — at least for the 2025 season.
Managing partner Hal Steinbrenner has said that trotting out a payroll of that magnitude every season isn’t sustainable in the long run. However, that’s probably the reality for the immediate future, so long as the Yanks are paying Aaron Judge, Cole and Rodon a combined $103MM annually through 2028 (to say nothing of weighty commitments to Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, Stroman and any forthcoming free agent/trade additions).
Carlos Rodon lololololololololol
He was a bad signing, especially at the price, but he’s settled in now and I expect a great season from him in 25. Yanks don’t need 7 starters. Fix this underwhelming lineup !
Every team expecting to get to October needs 7 starters and quite honestly, as many pitchers as possible. The Dodgers used 40 pitchers last season, and won, with two bullpen games in the World Series.
Poison –
FLAHERTY GAME 1
YAMAMOTO GAME 2
BUEHLER GAME 3
FLAHERTY GAME 5
So where the hell do you get “Dodgers had 2 bullpen games in the WS”?????
Flaherty was one of eight Dodgers to pitch in game 5 and pitched 1..1 inning(s).Buehler got a save. How is that not a bullpen game?
Poison – A bullpen game is when you have relievers pitching the entire game. Flaherty never relieved with the Dodgers, every game he pitched was as a starter. He didn’t pitch in relief all year. He was pulled early only because he got rocked.
And sorry for coming on so strong in my prior post, my wife broke the computer and I hate using my phone to post.
They might be better off letting Soto go. Adames, Walker and Burnes would probably cost less total than Soto.
Burnes and Adames alone would cost more than Soto.
He said total, which if the floor for Soto is 600+MM like we’ve been hearing then his statement would be correct.
I should have been more clear. I meant total guarantee not AAV, though with the way these Soto discussions are going you may very well get Burnes and Adames for around the same price with deferrals and what not.
Burnes and Adames are looking for 200M each.
Soto is looking for 600M+
I would prefer Burnes @ 200M+ Adames @ 200M + Bregman @200M to Soto @ 600M+
Patriot – I agree. What Soto is asking is ridiculous for one player, especially a guy who isn’t an all-around player.
I also agree you could get those 3 guys for less than Soto’s total payout, something some stooges couldn’t comprehend in your post. Looking at Bleacher, who’s such a female reproductive organ, that he blocked me because I once hurt his feelings lol
“Ridiculous for one player”…That’s a true statement. Especially for a guy who’ll be coming out of any important game after the 7th inning for shaky defense.
If the numbers we’re hearing about Soto are correct, any team that signs him will surely regret it, possibly within the first couple years.
Signing Soto will most likely cause a team to scrimp, save & bargain shop at virtually all other open positions(see Anaheim 2019-present) for a number of years.
Kind of like the way the poor Yankees are still scrimping, saving and bargain shopping the last 5 years after Giancarlo turned into a pumpkin? Some teams can absorb horrid deals and keep going without issues. Money is nice
@mrperkins
sarcasm… is that you?
@baseball
Soto and Judge were worth 18 War. Anytime a big market team can don’t for 18 War in two positions, you take it. Remember how expensive Stanton’s contact seemed 5 years ago? His annual litany even top 10 right now. This lineup needs Soto and more. The idea that we can make up 8 War in the aggregate is a conversation for the Oakland As when they lost Giambi. That should NOT be one the Yanks are entertaining. Get Soto done, bring in a SP, bring in a bar at 3b or 1b and give the rookiesca shot at rite CF (Dominguez), 2b (Durbin) or 1b (Rice). We also have about $20 mil coming off the books from Verdugo, Rizzo, Torres and Holmes.
I like Soto as a hitter, but I’ll stick to what I’ve been saying since the WS ended; Soto is not a better player than Judge and doesn’t deserve to make more per year than Judge.
Yes, I understand he’s probably getting a longer deal than Judge, but I wouldn’t give him $45+ million per. He’s a very average player outside of the batter’s box. Personally, I wouldn’t even be entertaining Boras if I was in Hal’s position.
This is the right take–but the reality on the ground is Soto will make a lot more. I think there’s a weird disconnect about Judge–partly because of his post-season play. He has some incredible years.
Thankfully you are not.
@Baseball
Do you think Judge is being paid for his defense or be running? 90% of his value comes from his bat. Soto is absolutely a huge train why the Yanks eye the best team in the AL and you would be crazy if you thought otherwise. $50 mil let just still mean nothing in 5 years and week likely be surpassed by others. Adames and others help but I don’t think they move the needle the way that Soto with Judge did.
@baseball
You ever hear of any complain of lack of defense for Cave Ruth? Hank Aaron? Pujols? Not really. Soto isn’t horrible in the field to the point where he’s an embarrassment. His bat is all- time elite.
in the voice of Moscow “pay that man his money”.
Aaron wasn’t a Bad Outfielder
Those 3 will be $75-80 million AAV.
Nope. They would cost about as much or more as well as utterly tanking the 2025 draft.
Max being a serial killer, idk how he goes to a team in a city with NY’s police presence.
I don’t believe you. Max wouldn’t take candy from a baby.
“Max being a serial killer”…A serial killer who can’t pitch thru a blister on his finger?…The only “Max” around MLB who’d make a good “serial killer” is “Mad Max”, he of the piercing, multi-colored eyes.
Yeah that guy just doesn’t look right.
They had a whiteboard question thing where they asked the players “who’d be the most likely to be a serial killer” and they all said Fried. Dude is weird and that’s fine,
Yankees meeting with every top FA. Wonder how many they get. And how many people get fleeced by Boras. He continues to make clowns out of owners. I respect his game.
@Casor
Boras didn’t look very good last year. His biggest guys, aside from , had set a very small market for themselves, didn’t sign until the sorting and a few fell short of their expected deals.
Would love to see Fried in pinstripes. Can never have enough pitching. Burnes would work, too.
Adames and Walker will be a bigger need when they miss out on Soto. With so many holes in the lineup, I’d say they do have enough pitching for now
I’m on-board with Walker, but not Adames. Not for the $ being thrown around. If Soto goes elsewhere, I’d rather see them sign Santander instead of Adames. Actually, I’d like Bregman, but I don’t see that happening.
I believe it is in yanks best interest to lose Soto sweepstakes. Let Bosox or Jay’s have that headache. Could add cpl nice pieces to fill in holes on roster for less than Soto money n team would be a more balanced n better overall. Soto’s contract is going to be an albatross.
As a Yankees fan, Corbin Burnes is my top priority…..yes, over Soto! Love Soto but WAY too many holes to fill. They’d be better to spread that money around and get a 1B, 3B, LF and an ace!
No to Max. He gets destroyed yearly in the post season.
@YanksPhan42: “He gets destroyed yearly in the post season.” Like he did in the Game 6 2021 World series clincher?
Jeff – Overall his career 5.10 postseason ERA is a concern for teams hoping to win a WS, no question about it.
@FPG
In 2021 Max had 2 superb efforts, 1 in the NLCS and 1 in the WS-when you’re facing a team twice in such a short turnaround it’s difficult to dominate, especially given the lineups he was facing. In both cases Max did his job as far as I am concerned, and I do not believe his post season ERA is a concern. Some players play a whole career and don’t even make it to the post season, Felix Hernandez one such example.
Fred – This year Joely Rodriguez pitched 5 consecutive games without giving up an earned run. With every pitcher there will always be some good appearances and some bad ones. The combination of all games is what matters most.
You cannot point to just Fried’s good playoff games while ignoring all the bad ones.
Joely had a 5.93 ERA on the season and was justifiably released.
If you take away 2020 his ERA balloons to 6.26
@FPG
Are you actually comparing regular season games to post season where the pressure & leverage is far higher? Give me a break.
Fried has had 20 play off games-not all of them were as a starter either. These are his appearances as a starter in post season,
0,4,1,3 0,2,5,6,0 4,3,5
Compare apples with apples-not oranges.
Fred – My point was even the worst pitchers have occasional moments when they pitch well, just like even the worst hitters occasionally hit homeruns.
You probably haven’t seen my many posts in which I point out that some players absolutely do perform exceptionally well in the postseason while other players absolutely choke under the postseason pressure. That’s because players are human, they are not robots that perform exactly the same in every situation.
I appreciate you’re a Braves fan and therefore are trying to defend Fried, but instead of denying his postseason failures how about trying to explain them. Does he choke under pressure? Does he easily implode because of defensive misplays, bad umpire calls or just plain bad luck? Does he tire out after the long regular season? Does cold weather adversely affect him?
I honestly don’t know why because I don’t have the time right now to do the research, but there HAS to be a reason why he’s sucked in the postseason. And we are not talking a small 10-20 inning postseason sample size, we are talking 67 innings with a 5.10 ERA and 1.493 WHIP.
The reason why I feel strongly about this is because I don’t want my team giving an elite-pitcher contract to a guy who pitches like a #5 starter when the games matter most.
@FPG So having 7 quality starts in post season is like a #5 starter, who knew.
And having as many quality starts in post as Jack Morris is like a #5 starter-ok….
You two guys have not watched him pitch and you’re looking at his era in post season in isolation without any clues. Fried had some rough starts, so do a lot of pitchers in the post, hall of famer Jack Morris included.
Thanks for playing.
….and since that game, in his last 30 playoff innings he’s given up 25 earned runs.
Thanks for playing.
Yanks – Yeah Fred is doing some major cherry picking there.
@FPG
“Cherry picking”, correct?
These are his appearances as a starter in post season,
0,4,1,3 0,2,5,6,0 4,3,5 – 7 quality starts, 5 rough outings. You guys are cherry picking, not me.
And as a comparison, this is Jack Morris in post season for baseball ‘experts’, like YanksPhan 1,2,2,6 4,2,2,1,0 4,5,3,7 – 7 quality and 6 rough starts. But tell me how Fried is so bad. You guys are hilarious. ‘
Kershaw’s era in post season is 4.49 Fried is 5.10, but according to all you experts Kershaw is a lock for HOF..
‘Thanks for playing’.
@YanksPhan42
Reading is difficult these days, especially for people like you who ignore facts. Thanks for playing.
If they have all those holes to fill, why burnes ?
Dominant teams should always be built around the rotation. Look how far KC went this year with little offense. LA now has Ohtani, Snell, Yamo and Glasnow….4 aces! Pitching wins titles.
“Pitching wins titles.”
So does the defense. that goes with it. Your guys have a way to go on that front
UK – And offense too, it requires a blend of all three. Sure starting pitching is probably the biggest factor, but it’s not a necessity or guaranteed of anything …. after all, the Dodgers just won with only one good SP (Yamamoto) in the postseason.
Tigers had Verlander, Scherzer, Fister, Porcello and Sanchez all in their prime and yet didn’t win squat. That’s 7 Cy Young awards for their careers.
How many titles did the Braves win with Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz? Just one.
How many did Oakland win with Mulder, Hudson and Zito? None.
The list goes on and on ….
Definitely a valid point that you need all 3. However, consistent argument that starting pitching is the most important facet in the sport. If you have an ace going and he’s filthy that day….you may only need 1-2 runs and your D becomes less important if nobody is hitting the ball.
Yanks – Absolutely, of the three components I’d take strong starting pitching over anything else.
One thing to keep in mind, the greatest starting pitchers in the world will make at least a few mistake pitches over the course of a 100+ pitch outing. That is why great hitters (or even not-so-great hitters) can always beat great pitchers. Like Napoli did with Verlander in Game 6.
Mariano arguably did his job better than any pitcher in baseball history, but even he made some mistake pitches. It’s inevitable.
Phan42, YOU, are correct sir! Let’s see if Cashman can doing something right for once. Ahahaha!
I don’t think Fried would be a good fit with the Yankees. His post seasons numbers the last few years are horrible and he has had some injury issues over the years. I have a feeling he would not do well if that fan base and media turn against him. Wouldn’t be a horrible place for him to land as a Braves fan tho.
In 2021 he did the ‘business’ when required in the NLCS and WS…Facing teams two times in short succession eg LAD and Houston is no easy task-people are looking at his post season ERA in isolation.
He is 2-5 in the playoffs. In 2022 he gave up 4 earned runs on 8 hits in 3.1 innings pitched. Last year he gave up 5 earned runs on 8 hits in 2 innings. He hasn’t performed well in the post season compared to his seasons numbers. Yea if he performs at that level in New York those fans aren’t going to be as forgiving as you and Braves nation. That’s not point.
….and since that game, in his last 30 playoff innings he’s given up 25 earned runs.
…..and talk about looking in isolation, what the hell do you think you’re doing? lol!!!! You’re taking ONE good outing and ignoring him getting shelled the rest. Just stop.
@Yanksphan
Some teams and/or players don’t even get to a WS. Yes, I will look in isolation at him icing a World Series, but I am not looking in isolation at all his performances post season, he has a WS ring to show for his efforts, and it wasn’t just “one good outing” in the post season at all. Four outings where he got hit around lifted his ERA to 5, that shows how clueless you are-a real clown show.
These are his appearances as a starter in post season,
0,4,1,3 0,2,5,6,0 4,3,5 and one of those starts is where there were a bunch of infield hits and luck involved. Cry harder.
Last but not least, do you believe that an organisation is sitting down and saying look at Max Fried’s era in the post season, we better not sign him – it’s laughable.
Imagine if Judge was to be traded right now, management of other organisations would be sitting there saying we better not sign Aaron Judge a .205 hitter with a .318 obp and .768 ops in the post. Your argument is asinine garbage and it just shows how clueless you really are. Hilarious.
Have a nice day.
Thanks for the irrelevant novel. His postseason ERA is terrible. Period. Your feelings don’t mean anything or change his numbers….so feel free to keep on showing how little you know about the game.
Yes, Judge’s number in the playoffs blow as well…..and quite honestly, I’d trade him because of it. One guy can’t be 30% of your entire offense in the regular season, make 40m per year and be a liability in the playoffs. Clutch matters and a 50% strikeout rate is ridiculous
No, it’s not an “irrelevant novel”. I knew I’d get the “period” from a Yanks fan.
You’re a clown.
Says the idiot who thinks his feelings change a players stat sheet. Go back to the Harry Potter chat board son. Let the adults talk here.
YanksPhan42
There’s only one imbecile in this conversation, and that would be you, because you obviously can’t read, nor can you see or acknowledge that Fried has had 7 quality starts out of 12 where he gave up 3 or less in 12 starts in the post season, he also had 5 rough starts which is a fact, but because of your profound cognitive dissonance & ignorance you deliberately ignore the quality starts he had due to the aforementioned profound issues you are afflicted with. You are a perfect example of the Dunning Krueger effect.
Thanks for playing.
I like Fried. My Yanks need pitching. But feels like a Patrick Corbin contract type of situation
I’ve always viewed Fried as a poor man’s Clayton Kershaw.
@SocoComfort
2021 Max Fried Game 6 WS v Houston 6ip 0 runs 6k 0 walks 74 pitches…You can talk all you like about ERAS and Fried’s post season record-he literally did the business when needed, and he shut down an excellent offensive team with some elite hitters.
When did Kershaw do better than that? Hilarious.
Kershaw has 3 Cy Youngs. How many does Fried have? Kershaw pitched over 200 innings 5 times and has an MVP award. Fried never had any of those. Yea absolutely hilarious. You use one game as evidence. As a Braves fan that run in 2021 was great but as a whole you can’t tell me Fried has been better overall over his career than Kershaw has.
@SocoComfort
I am talking about WS appearances. I am not using anything as ‘evidence’ as you call it.
You called “Fried a poor man’s Kershaw”, which is utter garbage. Any clue of the pressure involved in a World Series game or series as a pitcher? Obviously not.
Dude I’m talking about their whole careers. Fried never stuck out more than 200 in a seasons. Kershaw struck out over 300 in a season. Won an MVP and multi Cy Youngs. Kershaw struck out 200 batters in 7 seasons. Now with the playoff argument. Fried is once again 2-5 win loss in the playoffs. Kershaw is 13-13 with a lower era and that counts him giving up 6 earned in 1/3 of an inning in his last postseason start. Kershaw whip is also lower than Maxs in the playoffs. Kershaw has a better HR/9 numbers in the playoffs as well. Your bias is showing.
@ SocoComfort
Who cares about 200 k’s. If you knew anything about Fried, he is not predominantly a strike out pitcher.
To show that you’re clueless, Jack Morris is a hall of fame pitcher. He had 13 post season appearances, Fried has already surpassed those appearances by 7-not all as a starter.
This is his record. 1,2,2,6 4,2,2,1,0 4,5,3,7
6 starts where he gave up 4 or more in 13 appearances.
7 starts where he gave up 3 or less, and one 10 inning shutout in 13 appearances which iced a World Series in game 7, but we better not talk about that….
This is Fried 0,4,1,3 0,2,5,6,0 4,3,5
Fried has 7 quality starts out of 12 appearances where he started, and 5 where he gave up 4 or more. It’s hilarious how you carry on. One of those starts is where he iced a World Series just like Morris.
You clearly don’t understand the pressure & leverage of post season.
Saying he is a poor man’s Kershaw is asinine garbage.
To my point Kershaw has better post seasons numbers than Fried and better regular seasons numbers. It’s just facts that Kershaw is a better pitcher. Don’t get me wrong I appreciate Max and what he did for the Braves but he isn’t better than Kershaw and most of the stats show that. Fried will never get an MVP or 3 Cy Youngs.
Maybe older Kershaw. Kershaw could strike out a ton of guys in his prime.
@WadeBoggsWildRide
Kershaw has one game in a WS where he gave up 0 runs GM 7 2017 v Hou 4ip for 0 Dodgers lost 5-1, however, it wasn’t as a starter as Yu Darvish started that game….therefore Kershaw has no games as a starter in a WS with 0 runs, Fried has.
I am not saying Fried is better, I am just quoting facts. I have respect for both players.
You say Fried is not better than Kershaw but disagree when I call him a poor man’s Kershaw lol. So you think they are equals????????
Fried is a much better pitcher than Corbin ever was.
Trade Cole
Trade Rodon while eating some dough
Trade Stroman while eating some dough
Out of those 3 getting dealt you should be able to land at least 1 legit SP or some close to ready MLB arms in the return
Sign 1 of Burnes/Fried
Cortes/Schmidt/Gil will take up at least 2 SP spots…maybe 3….but not a bad way to restrict innings
Sign Sasaki
Sign Evo or Manea
Sign Bregman to a front loaded deal with opt outs all over the place
Trade Stanton for whatever it costs
Sign Profar
Sign Conforto
Judge to 1b
I’m 3 sheets to the wind how does it look?
Like your 3 sheets to the wind.
What in the MLB the Show was that?
The Yanks were just in the World Series, they’re not going to make these wholesale changes lol.
They won’t but they should. They had no business being in the World Series. Honestly neither did the Dodgers.
That was the worst World Series I ever watched. Looked like a series of spring training games. Hopefully this was just a one year outlier and not an example of what baseball is going to look like going forward because that was an absolute trash product on display.
If last years Yankees and Dodgers represent the pinnacle of baseball going forward then the sport as a whole is done. I guess that’s why they are going to start implementing crazy MTV celebrity softball like gimmicks into game to keep people watching.
I was well entertained by the playoffs abd Series, even in loss, so it’s absolutely subjective.
Baseball is ruined omg waaa waaaaa waaaaaaa
Does that mean that they know they won’t get Soto? Or are they willing to spend $75-80 million AAV for Soto and a starting pitching knowing they will be paying the Cohen tax?
@yanks4life
It looks like something a Mets or BoSox fan would suggest.
I wouldn’t lose Cole just yet, Profar is poor defensively, and I think Stanton is untradeable.
Kudos to the Yanks! Good players to pursue.
tow: San Diego has a great chance of landing Sasaki. I’d like him in Seattle but I wouldn’t be too sore if SD lands him to replace Musgrove.
Soto and Sasski to the Dodgers
I think there’s some gamesmanship going on here. The NYY are saying, “hey Boston, you keep boxing us on Soto and we’ll freeze you out of the starting pitching market. Back off!”
Max is great but a long term contract would be a bad idea
No more than 4 years is my stand
If the Yankees had to part ways with Soto, which team out of Mets /Red Sox would be the least painful of the teams to lose him to??? (Not counting Toronto, Soto not going there.)
Ignorant – I’d say Sox, because the Yanks would have to face him a minimum of 13 games a year.
Dammit I read your question backwards, but my comment supports the correct answer – Mets would be least painful for Yankees.
@Fever What’s your gut percentage chance the Red Sox land him?? Here’s where I land as of this minute: 40% Yanks 35% Mets 25% Boston. But that percentage mix can change on a whim!!!!
Ignorant – I have absolutely zero leanings about where he will land, but if forced to choose I’d agree with your 25% Red Sox.
I disagree the Yanks have a better chance than the Mets, as the Mets as of right now are $38M less in CBT payroll and Cohen is willing to spend a lot more than Steinbrenner. I’d be shocked if the Yanks agree to pay over $100M for Soto just next year between salary and CBT penalties. I also can see Vlad joining the Mets, but him as a Yankee seems a lot less likely.
Soto’s dream is to play with both Devers and Vlad, but I don’t see the Sox paying $120M annually for 3 guys who should all be DH’s within a few years.
Nothing says we really want you on our team like a zoom call.
The Yankees need to throw as much as they can at Soto to sign him, as well as Burnes, Fried and Adames. If they get these 4 players, then daaammmnnn!!!
Damn, all right. Soto’s wheels start to fall off in four years when his 30-but-really-36 year-old body starts shutting down, Burnes has TJ surgery, Fried ends up like Ed Whitson and Adames hits .236 with 7 HR.
So the Yanks will have 8 pitchers under contract and paying an extra $100-$200 mil in taxes? Normally I could care less but I can fault the Yanks for not wanting to pay out a billion in base salary and taxes in one winter.
With MLB allowing the Ohtani deferred payments. This is what teams have to do to compete. If not, LA is going to win WS every year of Ohtani’s contract.
Why are we not hearing anything from the orioles? Come on! Let’s not hear after the fact that they were in on Freid like they “were in on Snell”.
The Orioles cat sign anyone until the real spenders are done shopping.
Okay Yankee fans, I’m going to do you all a favor and tell you how this should go down. Forget Soto! I know many of you are cursing me out right now but you don’t give 600 mill at 12 plus years for a DH who is avg at best defensively and is a poor base runner.
So here’s my option A!
Sign Fried and Buehler. Trade Stroman to Arizona for Montgomery. Sign Christian Walker and that young Korean lefty swinging 2nd baseman to platoon with Caleb Durbin. Sign Profar to play left field. Sign a few bullpen arms. That’s all they need to do. Much Better pitching. Better defense. Better base running. If there offense as us struggling than add a bat at the deadline. Don’t clog up the DH spot for a decade! That’s insane.
let me find my bazooka
Strolling through the posts, and no mention of Cashman. He’s the wild card in all these scenarios. Eberflus anyone?
Of course they’re going to meet with these guys. They were just in the World Series and that gives them more leverage than they have with free agents than they’ve had in a bit. They aren’t signing everyone of course, but you have to do your due diligence. They need one of SP, OF, 2b/3b, and 1b, and then a few relievers. There’s going to be a trade or few for some as Cashman usually does. But the fact that they are engaged with the very top guys right now bodes well for their game plan. It also shows intention to the fanbase. You start high, and pivot lower only when necessary.
Yankees need players who can make contact in the playoffs
“Dominant as Burnes has been at times in his career” is NOT PROPER ENGLISH. You can’t just leave “as” out at the start of the sentence because you feel like it. It’s not optional, and neither is proper grammar.