Just In: Aaron Boone Say This Superstar Would Look Great With Yankees
NASHVILLE – The New York Yankees will continue to talk with the San Diego Padres about a potential Juan Soto trade, but they are also in hot pursuit of another superstar free agent.
Per a recent report, the Yankees believe they are “ahead of the pack” to land Japanese starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
When asked if Yamamoto would look good in pinstripes during each of their respective press conferences at winter meetings in Nashville on Tuesday, both general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone concurred that the star hurler would look great in a Yankee uniform.
Yamamoto, 25, is the most highly sought after free agent starter on the market this winter, drawing interest from the Yankees, New York Mets, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and others.
Yamamoto is expected to draw a long-term contract that is well north of $200 million, and rightfully so.
The word is that Yamamoto will be meeting with teams in the United States next week, and the Yankees are likely to be one of said clubs.
The Yankees are seemingly focused on Soto, but it appears that they’re very much in on Yamamoto and believe they are ahead of the pack in landing him.
If the Yankees wind up with both Soto and Yamamoto this offseason, it would sky rocket their World Series odds in 2024.
What Yankees are saying about a Gleyber Torres offseason trade
NASHVILLE — The Winter Meetings end Wednesday and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman probably will be heading back to New York with his club no better than when he arrived in Music City last Sunday.
The Yankees still have a gaping hole in left field because their trade talks with the Padres for Juan Soto have stalled and there’s been no moving on to assumed Plan B Cody Bellinger as of yet.
They haven’t yet had their face-to-face meeting with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the posted Japanese ace that they badly covet.
They haven’t solidified the bullpen.
Nothing of significance has been added thus far, but it’s still early into the hot-stove season.
Eventually, the Yankees plan on making moves to improve a roster that put up a dismal 82-80 record in 2023 and players they’d like to keep could be dealt.
Although Cashman doesn’t want to give up big-league rotation piece Michael King and elite pitching prospect Drew Thorpe in a blockbuster to get Soto, it could happen.
And while the Yankees prefer that Gleyber Torres is their starter at second base again next season, years of trade rumors that the Dominican has been in finally could lead to a deal.
Deciding what to do with Torres is a tough call. His production last season was among the best on a Yankees club that often struggled to score runs, but he’s a year away from free agency and, according to MLB Trade Rumors, projected to nearly triple this salary next season, jumping from $5.162 million to $15.3M. Also, Torres’ occasional mental lapses in the field and running the bases can be frustrating.
So where do the Yankees stand with Torres?
“After a season we went through. I’d say there’d be very few untouchables,” Cashman said. “I think we have to be very open-minded. Do I want to trade Gleyber Torres? Do I want to trade Michael King? Do I want to trade any of these guys? The answer would be no. I like the players we have.
“I think our team is better than it showed last year. My job is to add to it, but you have to give to get. So unless you have a full no-trade clause, I’m going to have to give something to get stuff that by our perception would improve our team and maybe improve our chances. And so because of that, I’m not going to tell you anybody’s untradable or unavailable. We’re going to have conversations and be willing to vet all aspects of it so we make sure we don’t miss any opportunities that could really have an impact for us.”
