I have been sick with the flu this week as always happens the week after Comicon but now I am healthy enough to start writing again and I figured I would start with talking about the Yankees offseason. Here are my random thoughts about what has happened and what needs to happen this offseason for the New York Yankees.

–The Yankees have exercised their 2025 option for manager Aaron Boone.  I have two problems with this development.  One, I am not Boone’s biggest fan.  I don’t think he is as bad as most people think he is but I do think he could do a much better job.  For instance, he did a great job navigating the bullpen for most of the playoffs, yet he lost them game 1 of the World Series by bringing in Nester and his work in game 5 left a lot to be desired.   However, I never imagined the Yankees would move on from him so this was very expected.  But that brings us to the second issue I have with them picking up the option.  I hate it because it makes him a lame duck coach.  Whether you like Boone or hate him, he needs to sign an extension if he is going to manage next season.  Lame duck coaches do not work.  See Bruins, Boston.  If he is going to be their manager, they need to work out an extension with him.  It doesn’t have to be long term but it has to be more than one season.  Now, Cashman talked about a possible extension being worked out and there was a deadline to picking up their option which would have run out by the end of the week, so picking up the option makes sense.  Hopefully they will get together on a longer-term contract and not leave him and the team dangling in the wind. 

–Elsewhere on the extension front, the Yankees are doing a very good job so far.  They declined Rizzo’s option.  I hate to say it but he should probably call it a career.  They also declined Lou Travino’s option.  That poor guy just could not stay healthy while he was in pinstripes.  They also made an obvious decision and picked up Luke Weaver’s option.  It is good to see the team make some obviously right decisions.  You never know with these guys. I was worried about Rizzo as he is good friends with Judge.  I am glad to see that didn’t cloud their judgement. 

–One great thing that has come out of Cashman’s interviews so far this offseason is that when he was asked about replacing Gleyber at second base, he actually mentioned Caleb Durbin as a possibility.  By name.  If you have read this blog in the past, you know I have been calling for this all season long.  I don’t know if Durbin will be good or not or if the Yankees will even seriously consider him but he is the type of player (a contact/speed guy) the Yankees need in their line up around the big bats.  The fact that he mentioned him by name and didn’t just say someone in house or a prospect or something general like that give me hope.  Of course, I would expect Jazz to move to second base and for the new guy to play 3^rd but Durbin has played 3^rd in the minors so he should still be an option.  And to be honest with you, Jazz hit’s more like a corner infielder than a middle infielder so no matter where he plays, you would still have the same types of hitters in the lineup. 

–Technically there are three paths the Yankees could go down this off season.  1) resign Juan Soto and fill out roster with young cheap players with potential.  2) Don’t sign Soto and spend that money on filling out the roster with expensive, older players. 3) Resign Soto and fill out the roster with older, expensive players.  Obviously, scenario 3 is a pipe dream.  The Yankees have clearly stated they have a budget and won’t go mad spending money.  To be honest with you, I am OK with that.  I wouldn’t be against it, but I understand.  Fine.  The other two options might sound pretty equal but they are not.  The best scenario is signing Soto and filling out the roster with cheap young guys. For one, you know how good Soto is, you know he can handle New York, and you know he fits in perfectly with the team and in the lineup.  He is the perfect guy to pair with Judge.  You cannot say these things about anyone else they acquire either through free agency or trades.  Secondly, Soto is 26 years old and can be the carryover to the next generation when Judge starts to age out of being the best player in baseball.  They would not be spending a ton of money and devoting a ton of years to an older player. And finally, filling out the roster with young guys could result in them finding more gems that will be the next generation of great Yankees.  You never know.  And if some of them do not work out, well, there are other options in the minors and they can always trade for a bat or two at the deadline if the need occurs.   

–While I say I understand the Yankees not wanting to spend wildly in free agency, I do not understand or support being out bid for Soto.  It’s one player whom you already know makes your team great.  You have to hold on to that guy.  And here’s the thing.  It actually won’t cost them much.  Last season Soto made 31 mil.  Ok Rizzo made 17, Verdugo made 9.2, and Gleyber made 14.2.  That adds up to 40.4 million.  With them gone, they can offer Soto 70 million a year without adding a dime to their payroll.  Then they replace them with the Martian, Durbin and either Rice or Rumfield all of whom will make relatively little money and the payroll stays the same.  If they let guys like Berti and Grisham go, that’s another 9 mil that will more than cover the young guys’ money.  Sure, a lot of their guys will be getting raises this offseason in arbitration but it shouldn’t be anything huge.  And there are other cost that can be cut.  Like maybe find someone they can dump Strowman on (maybe throw in a prospect to get them to eat his money). His 18 mil would go a long way to the Yankees signing Soto and actually lowering their payroll.   It certainly doesn’t help them win.  There is no way anyone should offer Soto more money than the Yankees.         

–Obviously the Yankees are going to be talking to Scott Boras a lot this offseason.  Reports of their last discussions came out and said they not only talked about Soto, but they also talked about Pete Alonso.  I am a big No on the Polar Bear.  Aside from the great nickname, he is the type of player the Yankees are supposed to be moving away from.  The home run or nothing guy.  He’s basically Giancarlo Stanton with working legs.  I know they need a first baseman but I would rather they stay in house than spend a lot of money on Alonso.  Think about this, the Mets have as much money if not more than everyone in the league yet they like “Na, we’re good”.   If they are not willing to resign him, how good is he really.  Hopefully the Yankees let this get out as a favor to Boras.  Having the Yankees mentioned with any player drives up the price.  Plus, it’s against the rules for a team to deny interest in a free agent.  So even if they did not talk about the Polar Bear, they can’t correct the reports.  I guess if the Yankees fail to sign Soto they are going to have money to spend and a need for another big bat.  In that nightmare scenario, bringing in Alonso on a short contract could be worth it.  I certainly would not get into a bidding war for him. 

–The problem with free agency in Baseball is that you have to be in the league for 6 years before you hit free agency.  Because of that, most free agents are over the age of 30.  To me, that makes them a lot less appealing, especially for long term contracts.  This is also why Soto’s contract is going to be huge, not only is he great but he is only 26.  When I look at the list of free agents not named Soto, there is no one I would say the Yankees need to go after.  I said the best scenario is to sign Soto and go young at the other positions of need.  That’s not just to save money, it’s also because there isn’t anyone I would give a big contract to on the free agent market.  Now, last year we saw a bunch of Boras clients have to eat short term contracts after missing parts of spring training because the big long-term contract wasn’t there to be had.  If this scenario repeats this season, and the Yankees can fill holes with short term guys, I would be all for it.  Put together the best team you can.  I just would not be looking to singing 31, 32, 33-year-olds to big long-term contracts. 

–Speaking of teams not wanting to sign older free agents to big, long-term contracts and the Yankees making good decisions, the Gerrit Cole situation worked out perfectly for the Yankees.  Cole opted out of his contract at the end of the season.  The Yankees had a chance to cancel the optout if they added another year to the contract at the same 36 mil.  As Michael Kay said, the Yankees called Cole’s bluff.  It seems they basically told him if he thinks he can go get more than 4 years 36 per (his current contract) on the free agent market then go right ahead.  Cole knows he is not getting a better contract so he backed down.  He and the Yankees then came to an agreement where Cole basically rescinded his opt out.  The Yankees said there could be extension talks in the future.   Extending Cole at 36 mil would have been a huge mistake.  Hell, a good argument can be made that the Yankees would have been better off if he had opted out.  I like Cole and I think having an Ace at the top of your rotation is a big thing.  He should still be that for the next year or two.  After that, he probably will not be worth the money.  Adding more term to his contract just doesn’t make sense. 

–One thing to keep in mind, the Yankees might not be willing to wait around for Soto to make a decision.  As I said, there are two ways they can go this offseason and they both hinge on Soto.  If they are going to lose out on Soto and need to sign other free agents to make up for it, they can’t sit around waiting.  Teams who are not in the Soto sweepstake are going to start signing the other free agents.  If the Yankees wait out Soto and he doesn’t sign with them, they could be left with having to go the young route without Soto in their lineup.  They are not going to want to do that.  Now, to me, there is an easy solution, don’t get out bid for Soto.  But for them, this is probably a concern of theirs.  Now, there could be a situation where none of the other free agents sign because they want to wait for Soto to sign somewhere knowing that whoever misses out on him will suddenly have a lot of money to spend.  This wouldn’t be the first time MLB free agency was held up by one player.  The question is, will the Yankees have the guts to wait out Soto or will they get scared and switch gears before it is done?  We shall see. 

As I said before, it’s going to be interesting to see what the Yankees look like going into next season.  So far, the offseason is off to a good start.  Of course it all depends on what happens with Juan Soto.  Let’s hope they are smart enough to get him back in the fold and make another run at the World Series.