It’s the Yankees who need infield help, both Alex Bregman again Nolan Arenado have been linked to the team this offseason, with the idea that one will be New York’s new third baseman as well Jazz Chisholm Jr. he will be the second full-time player. However, during the YES Network’s “Yankees Hot Stove” program earlier this week, Jack Curry said the Bronx Bombers weren’t interested in Bregman or Arenado, and he pushed back on the idea that the Yankees had ever been interested in a trade. because Arenado.
This is contrary to last week’s report (from MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, John Denton, and Bryan Hoch) the Yankees provided. Marcus Stroman to the Cardinals as part of the Arenado trade package, although St. Louis refused the agreement. As always with seemingly contradictory offseason reports, the truth may lie somewhere in between. Hypothetically, New York’s interest in Arenado may have been limited in a scenario that would have seen Stroman’s salary removed from the team’s books.
No matter how much interest the Yankees have in Arenado, it would be a moot point if Arenado himself is not interested in joining the team. The Yankees are not one of the six clubs (Angels, Dodgers, Padres, Phillies, Mets, Red Sox) Arenado is reportedly willing to waive his no-trade protection to join, and Arenado has already blocked a proposed deal from the Astros. . There was speculation that the New York deal Paul Goldschmidt was done in part to entice Arenado to accept a trade with the Bronx to join his former teammate, however Curry’s report appears to close the door on that.
In addition to signing Goldschmidt and Fried Maxthe Yankees also traded Cody Bellinger, Devin Williamsagain Fernando Cruzas GM Brian Cashman reloaded the roster after that Juan Soto left to sign with the Mets. Although there are still some holes to be ironed out, New York is projected (by RosterResource) with a luxury tax number of $303.2MM, and thus the team is already over the maximum penalty limit of $301MM.
The Yankees could reduce their payroll by trying to get rid of Stroman or another bad contract, however the payroll situation may indicate why Arenado or Bregman are not (or no longer) on the radar. Signing Bregman would require a much higher investment than taking most or all of Arenado’s contract in a trade, and since Bregman rejected Houston’s qualifying offer, the Yankees would have to give up two draft picks and $1MM in international bonus money. Since the Bombers already paid that extra fee to sign another eligible free agent in Fried, the club would likely choose to avoid depleting its draft pool and bonus pool by adding Bregman.
If the Yankees are indeed out of Bregman, that leaves the Phillies, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Mets, and Tigers as teams known to have some level of interest in Bregman’s services this winter. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press shed more light on the Tigers’ link on a recent episode of the Days of Roar podcast, noting that “there was an increase in the Tigers’ priority for Bregman” as the season progressed, with “more conversation, more conversation” between the club and Bregman’s camp.
Heading into the offseason, Detroit was viewed as a logical landing spot for Bregman for several reasons – his past history with the manager. AJ Hinchthe lack of long-term money on the Tigers’ books, and the idea that the Tigers would be aggressive after their Cinderella run to the ALDS last season. The last point has not played so far, as Alex CobbThe one-year, $15MM deal represents Motown’s biggest investment of the winter season alone.
Bregman’s asking price of at least $200MM seems steep, as the Tigers aren’t willing to spend at that level. What’s unclear is whether Detroit is willing to at least come close to Bregman’s demands, or if the team intends to take the plunge. Most of the free agents or trade targets publicly linked to the Tigers in rumors this winter (i.e. Goldschmidt, Carlos Santana, Walker Buehler, Kirby Yates, Erick Fedde, Steven Matz, Andrew Heaney, Kyle Gibson) may already be under contract for short-term contracts, or may require an investment of only one or two years. Besides Bregman, Jack Flaherty again Ha-Seong Kim are the other free agents on the Tigers’ list of potential big-contract targets, and even Kim’s status is fluid due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding his shoulder surgery.
Bregman already turned down a reported six-year, $156MM offer from the Astros earlier this winter, which was the first step toward what now appears to be the only way for a reunion between the third baseman and his longtime team. Gets a cornerback Isaac Paredes of Kyle Tucker the trade left open the possibility that Bregman could still be re-signed and Paredes could play first base in Houston, but the Astros’ three-year, $60MM deal is with the first baseman. Christian Walker he has faced the needs of the team in the corner of the field.
While he wouldn’t officially say that the Astros have now moved on from Bregman, GM Dana Brown made things very clear by saying “Paredes will play third base and Walker will play first” when he spoke to reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle) earlier this week. Brown felt “negotiations have stopped” and Bregman’s camp, leaving the Astros looking for another option.
“I thought we made a really competitive offer and showed we wanted it [Bregman] back,” Brown said. “But we had to pursue other options, we couldn’t stay there. We shut down Paredes at the start of that knowing he could play third or first. Then there is the opportunity to add another bat [Walker] we went up, we just jumped on it.”
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