One of the interesting aspects of the just-beginning MLB free agency period is the notion that the Yankees have a pretty big infield need, and there’s one ideal infield free agent on the board.
Because Jazz Chisholm, who was acquired at the trade deadline to fill in at third base, but is a more natural second baseman, is on board, the Yankees have some flexibility. But there’s no doubt that the ideal addition for the Bombers would be Astros star Alex Bregman.
Put Bregman at third base and the Yankees have a reliable cleanup man to follow Juan Soto, assuming he stays, and Aaron Judge. If Soto leaves, you’ve still got the Bregman-Judge combo at No. 3 and 4, and the Yankees can add hitters elsewhere.
Yankees Could Lose Juan Soto to Mets
At SNY, MLB writer John Freeman foresees the second leg of that scenario playing out, with Soto landing with the Mets and the Yankees looking to beef up all around the lineup. And so signing Bregman is the play there, with outfielder Anthony Santander also joining the mix to replace Soto.
Harper wrote this week: “In a scenario where Soto signs with the Mets (more on that later), the Yankees surely would respond by spending significantly to beef up the offense, which I would predict to mean signing outfielder Anthony Santander and third baseman Alex Bregman.”
The Yankees are likely to let free-agent second baseman Gleyber Torres walk this winter and move Chisholm back to second base. Bregman, who hit 26 homers and batted .260 this season, could be an ideal fit. He’s a two-time All-Star who has spent his entire nine-year career in Houston, b ut after a relatively down season, he could be ready for a change of scenery.
Bregman won’t be cheap and the Yankees’ priority will be keeping Soto. His projected contract at Spotrac–four years, $120 million–is not out of the Yankees’ range, though, even with a Soto re-signing. The hope is that Soto would accept significant deferrals in his contract, like Shohei Ohtani did for the Dodgers last year.
That, combined with the presumption that the Yankees would use cost-effective prospects like Jasson Dominguez, Spencer Jones and/or Ben Rice going forward, could prevent payroll from skyrocketing even as the offense improves significantly.
Alex Bregman’s Astros Past Could Hurt
Perhaps the one lingering issue, though, as mentioned by MLB Trade Rumors in its free-agency preview, is the remaining bitterness on the part of general manager Brian Cashman over the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal in 2017, which propelled them to a World Series championship—at the expense of that year’s Yankees, as Cashman sees it.
Cashman has expressed his disdain for the Astros. Would that cause him to pass on a chance to sign Bregman, who was a key cog in that Houston team?
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