After coming up empty-handed in the Juan Soto sweepstakes, the New York Yankees made sure to make their pitching staff an elite one with a couple of impact signings and trades. It’s now time to shift the focus to the offense.
They acquired Cody Bellinger to full center field on Tuesday, a big move that adds a ton of production to the equation.
There, the Yankees have multiple needs and holes to fill: right now, Ben Rice is their first baseman, one of Oswaldo Cabrera or Oswald Peraza their second baseman (they traded away Caleb Durbin in the Devin Williams deal).
Recent reports suggest that the Yankees are currently focusing on solving their first base situation. As promising as Rice might be, he did post a well-below-average 73 wRC+ in 178 MLB plate appearances this past season. While he eventually might adjust to pitching in the majors, the Bombers would love more of a sure thing at the cold corner.
Per MLB insider Bob Nightengale, the team is ‘engaged’ with multiple free agent first basemen of all price ranges.
The Yankees are carefully scanning the first base market
“The Yankees have turned their attention to the 1B market, per @BNightengale They’re engaged in talks with Pete Alonso, Christian Walker, Carlos Santana and Paul Goldschmidt,” B/R Walk-off wrote on X.
Alonso is expected to be the most expensive of the bunch, but so far, he has had issues securing the kind of contract he would probably prefer. The Mets are still his most likely destination, but the Yankees have a chance to lure him and solve their first base issues once and for all.
Walker, a solid hitter and a Gold Glove-caliber defender, will likely cost between $50 and $80 million, depending on contract length. He will be 34 on Opening Day, though.
Santana is 38 and Goldschmidt 37, but both might still have a bit left in the tank to help, depending on the circumstances.
It seems likely that the Yankees will solve their first base situation at some point in the next few days, whether it is via free agency or in the trade market, where they could have access to players such as Josh Naylor, Nathaniel Lowe, or Yandy Diaz.