The New York Yankees are expected to be one of the more active teams this offseason.
New York is coming off a disappointing loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS. Heading into the offseason, the Yankees have some clear areas of need, and New York will look at the trade market and free agency to fill them.
MLBTradeRumors’ Steve Adams linked the Yankees to trading for St. Louis Cardinals star utility player Brendan Donovan, if he does get moved.
“Donovan, 29 in January, has emerged as one of the top multi-position players in the game,” Adams wrote. “He’s a capable to above-average defender at second base, third base, and in the outfield corners, and he’s made brief appearances at shortstop and first base as well. In the batter’s box, he holds a hit-over-power approach that’s served him well. Donovan is a career .282/.361/.411 hitter (119 wRC+) who’s walked in just over 9% of his career plate appearances and fanned at only a 13.5% clip. …
“That high-contact approach, affordable salary and defensive versatility make Donovan a natural fit on virtually any contender. … The Yankees were connected to Donovan last winter.”
Donovan has two more years of team control through arbitration as he becomes a free agent after 2027. The star utility player could play second or third base for the Yankees, which has been an issue, and also add some offense to the lineup.
Donovan hit .287 with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs last season.
Volpe Injury Makes Infield Help Necessary
Part of the reason why the Yankees are linked to Donovan and other infielders is due to the injury to Anthony Volpe.
Volpe had surgery after the season to repair a partially torn labrum. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said it’s unlikely the shortstop will be ready for Opening Day.
Volpe also said there’s ‘a lot of work to be done’ in the offseason for him, which also includes rehabbing.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, meanwhile, did think the injury hindered Volpe this season.
“I personally think now, I’m starting to lean more into that, yes, it was affecting him,” Cashman said. “He didn’t have the season that we expected, that he expected, that we believe he’s capable of. … His performance swings were significant this year, more so [than his first two seasons].”
Volpe hit .212 with 19 home runs and 72 RBIs this season. In the playoffs, he hit .192 with 1 home run and 2 RBIs.
Yankees GM Calls Season a Failure
A year after making it to the World Series, New York was eliminated in the ALDS by the Blue Jays.
After New York was eliminated, Cashman said the year was a failure in the grand scheme of things as they didn’t win it all.
“We’ve had success and failure,” Cashman said after the year. “Obviously failed at our ultimate goal, and had some success, obviously, along the way. We had a good team, but fell short of our ultimate goal. I’ll leave it for the masses to debate what ultimately came out of it. Proud of a lot of things we accomplished and players that I knew were fighting, they were talented, they were fighting, they were committed. But it wasn’t good enough.”
The Yankees enter the offseason with the second-best odds of winning the World Series.
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