The Yankees made their first big move of the offseason tonight with a bit of a perplexing deal. New York acquired Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Ben Rortvedt for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela.
It was a deal that took many by surprise especially the acquisition of Josh Donaldson. Of course, immediately the wheels started turning in that this would likely be the first move of many from the Yankees.
Shortly after this deal was officially announced, Ken Rosenthal tweeted out that New York was still in the market for a left-handed first baseman. They still believe they are in the hunt for Freddie Freeman and they are still engaged with Oakland on Matt Olson.
Now, Jon Heyman tweeted out that Anthony Rizzo is a more likely option at this point. Rizzo would be the cheapest option on the free agent market and he wouldn’t cost the Yankees and capital in terms of prospects.
What will the Yankees do next?
I think the next big move you’re going to see from the Yankees is a Luke Voit trade. Whether Voit is in the package that ends up going to Oakland for Olson or not, I think that Voit’s days in New York are numbered.
From the very beginning, I never thought the Yanks were a viable option for Freddie Freeman. Yes, they could change course and offer him more money than God to bring him to New York, but I don’t see them doing that.
Freeman is likely going to return to Atlanta or sign with the Dodgers. If the Yankees had their preference, it would be to trade for Matt Olson. However, the prospect haul is going to be a steep price for Brian Cashman to pay and we know that Cashman loves his prospects.
Rizzo won’t cost a lot of money and he won’t cost prospects. My gut says that they end up reuniting with Rizzo while trading Voit for some pitching. Whether it’s a package for a reliever or starter, I think Voit goes for pitching. Stay tuned because the Yankees seem very active right now.