The New York Yankees have officially come in second in the Juan Soto free agency sweepstakes. Now that the slugger has agreed to a historic $765 million contract with the New York Mets, general manager Brian Cashman must pivot to Plan B. Could it include multiple splashes for top players in free agency?
The Yankees’ final offer to Soto was for 16 years and $760 million. That hypothetically leaves the Bombers with plenty of money to spread around and improve a team that just reached the World Series.
“I just would say, (owner Hal Steinbrenner) went above and beyond to try to find a way to keep Juan Soto in pinstripes,” Cashman said Monday, via MLB.com. “But there’s a lot of different ways to figure this thing out, and so we’re just going to have to figure it out a different way.”
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Could that “different way” involve making several expensive acquisitions with the money they’re saving from losing out on Soto? Cashman made it clear that while they’ll be active, the club won’t be spending like “drunken sailors.”
There’s no doubt the Yankees need to make several moves to be able to contend again in 2025, though. Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter put together a plan to “salvage” the Bombers’ offseason after seeing Soto head across town. It includes dropping $323.5 million on six free agents. Here’s a breakdown of players he thinks they should sign:
– Outfielder Teoscar Hernández: four years for $96 million
– Starting pitcher Max Fried: six years for $150 million
– First baseman Christian Walker: two years for $44 million
– Relief pitcher Kirby Yates: one year for $12 million
– Relief pitcher A.J. Minter: two years for $16 million
– Starting pitcher/relief pitcher Ryan Yarbrough for one year and $5.5 million
Reuter’s plan also includes making a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies for third baseman Alec Bohm. His proposal would send Nestor Cortes, Brock Selvidge and Everson Pereira to Philly.
More MLB: Phillies Land $50 Million Slugger, All-Star Ace in Six-Player Trade Proposal
