Yankees’ Post-Soto Plan: Top Free Agent Targets in Play

With Juan Soto opting to leave the Bronx in favor of Queens, Brian Cashman and the Yankees front office have some major retooling to do.

If the initial reports over the Yankees offering $750 million to Soto are true, there’s no reason to think the team won’t be active in signing multiple free agents. We could look back on the Yankees ‘missing out’ on Soto as a good thing.

Now, there’s reason to think New York can disperse some of that money to multiple players out on the market. Willy Adames and Blake Snell might be off the board. Having said that, there’s still plenty of talent available for the Yankees to look into.

If I were Cashman, here’s who I’d target:

A Starting Pitcher to Complement Gerrit Cole

The depth within the rotation isn’t poor, per se. Gerrit Cole still looks like one of the best pitchers in the American League. Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt are very capable options as No. 2 and No. 3 starters, respectively., Nestor Cortes is an effective back-of-the-rotation arm.

However, if the Yankees want to separate themselves from the rest of the American League, it would be prudent to pair another ace next to Gerrit Cole.

Max Fried makes a ton of sense. He’s a left-handed pitcher who’d help balance out the projected rotation. His underlying analytics are very good, and Fried is battle-tested in postseason play. There are injury concerns that could make the Yankees a bit leery.

Corbin Burnes is the premier arm left on the market. Durable and sturdy, he’d be a great 1B option next to Cole. Boston and Baltimore would love to get him signed — making a possible Burnes acquisition all that more important. Having Cole and Burnes atop the rotation would give the Yankees unquestionably the best one-two punch in the AL.

Tanner Scott

He may cost close to $100 million, but getting Scott in the Yankees’ pen would be a brilliant move.

The 30-year-old is a true power arm. He notched 84 strikeouts in 72.0 innings last year for both the Marlins and Padres. He also won nine games as a reliever with a 1.75 ERA. You saw how dominant Scott was in the playoffs this past year when making Shohei Ohtani look utterly foolish.

Envisioning the back of a bullpen with righty Luke Weaver and a lefty like Scott would give the Yankees the ability to shorten a game — something that is a proven model in postseason play. Those two would also be able to match up with any combination of opposing batters in high-leverage situations.

Corner Infield Help

Jazz Chisholm played an admirable third base when coming over from Miami at the trade deadline. He’s not a natural at the position (which was clear in postseason play). With the RF spot opening up, it may behoove the Yankees to move Judge to RF and Chisholm to CF. Chisholm’s speed combined with a rocket arm could be better used patrolling the deep part of Yankee Stadium.

Putting Judge in right theoretically will also help in preventing the wear and tear an older player will face in center. Should this scenario occur, the Yankees will have to get cover at both first and third base. Anthony Rizzo likely won’t be brought back. Christian Walker is out there — and does make a ton of sense to man the first base spot on a multi-year deal. He’s a multi-time Gold Glove winner and has the makeup of a guy who could thrive in New York

If the Yankees go the opposite way to address third base, Alex Bregman is out there. Either player would be a significant addition to the team, with the younger Bregman projected to get more money/years compared to Walker.

Anthony Santander

Santander isn’t Soto. Having said that, the 30-year-old slugger can mash the baseball. With the short porch in right field, there’s little question Santander would be a major threat to once again eclipse the 40-homer mark.

This past year for the Orioles, Santander hit 44 HRs to go along with 102 RBIs. Presumably slotted behind Aaron Judge in the batting order, there’s a world where his .235 batting average does tick up a bit.

Known as a very good clubhouse figure, the Yankees would do well to land Santander. In the process, they’d weaken AL East foe Baltimore by making this hypothetical move.