Meredith Marakovits of YES Network spoke on MLB Network earlier today, and in regard to the Yankees‘ infield dilemma, she delivered a quote that could hint at an acquisition on the horizon.
“Something tells me that Brian Cashman is still waiting, I wouldn’t be surprised if they find themselves somebody before Opening Day”
The Yankees are still figuring out a way to potentially offload the money they owe to Marcus Stroman, which could be holding up an acquisition. With a free agent market that’s essentially dried up with Alex Bregman being ruled out for the Bronx Bombers, the trade market might be their best bet.
Are the Yankees Still Waiting Out the Infield Market?
There are few things that would be a greater slap to the Yankees’ fanbase than having an offseason where they lose Juan Soto and end up with DJ LeMahieu as their starting third baseman on Opening Day. To both lose a generational talent and have their worst position player last year have the starting job handed to them is a failure; but don’t crash out yet.
Brian Cashman has echoed the sentiment of patience on the market multiple times throughout the last few weeks, and with some chips still up in the air, teams might begin an infield carousel in the coming weeks. The Yankees have not been active in the market for Alex Bregman or Nolan Arenado, but where those two end up could change a lot.
If the Cubs land Alex Bregman, Nico Hoerner could become available on the trade block, and the Yankees have displayed interest in Hoerner before the Cubs moved Isaac Paredes. The Tigers landing Bregman could make someone like Matt Vierling or Jace Jung available, both of whom would add some youth and pop to the hot corner which the Yankees could desperately use.
Some rental options who could be traded regardless of the team’s actions are Willi Castro and Luis Rengifo, both of whom are switch-hitters that can play second base or third base.
Could the Yankees swing a trade for an infielder? Their prospect ammo isn’t great, as Baseball America ranked them in the bottom 10 among MLB farm systems, but plenty of evaluators have noted the role that injuries played in the regression of some key prospects.
Every team has a different view of a team’s organization and their prospects, and if one team likes a player enough perhaps it’s enough to spark a trade. It should be also noted that Caleb Durbin, who is the 15th-ranked prospect in the Brewers’ organization, is the only top-30 prospect that the Yankees traded this winter.
Time will tell if the Yankees will act on their need for an infielder before Opening Day, which is a little over a month away, but Brian Cashman has made some wild trades late into the offseason before. In 2022 the team made a trade for Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa on March 13th, which was partially caused by the lockout that winter but also came out of nowhere.