The free agent fun has begun already, with the Mets wasting no time locking up Edwin Diaz to a new pricey five-year deal. So now that the hot stove is already heating up, let’s dive in to what looms as a crucial offseason for the Yankees.
For a team that had such a strong regular season but fell short in the ALCS, it’s all about making improvements that will get them over the hump in October after another failed postseason.
With that in mind, here are my bold predictions (some more suggestive than others) for this offseason…
1. Yankees re-sign Aaron Judge for eight years, $320 million
Is that an overpay for a 31-year old (come April) outfielder whose size, at 6-foot-7, 280 pounds, may increase his risk of injury as he ages? Of course it is. But if that’s what it takes, with other teams likely raising the bidding, how can Hal Steinbrenner justify not digging deep to pay his superstar?
If you believe it makes more sense to spread Judge’s money around as a way of changing the makeup of a team that can’t get to the top of the mountain, I’d argue you’re underestimating the impact of his historic, 62-home run season on an offense that would have been below-average without him.
He didn’t hit in the postseason but Houston Astros pitchers mostly dominated everybody they faced in October, and it’s not as if Judge hasn’t hit at all in past postseasons.
What’s Plan B anyway? There’s very little power hitting to be had in this free agent class, and if you think signing speedy Trea Turner would transform the Yankees’ offense into something more suited to winning in October, well, it’s worth noting that in 43 postseason games Turner is hitting just .238 with a .279 on-base percentage and a .614 OPS.
Besides, they’re the Yankees. They should be looking to add more offense around Judge, not try to find ways to replace him.
2. Yankees sign Carlos Correa
Just maybe Steinbrenner decides he’s tired of being booed on his rare trips to Yankee Stadium as well as being criticized for not going all-out to win again. In that case Correa is still the right fit, after playing in Minnesota on a one-year deal, as an elite shortstop who could eventually move to third base for Oswald Peraza or Anthony Volpe and perhaps prove to be something of a missing piece for the Yankees’ offense.
After all, Correa has hit in the clutch in postseasons past for the Astros — over 79 games he posted a .505 slugging percentage and an OPS of .849. How far would that go in helping the Yankees in October?
And Correa is still young, having turned 28 in September. Also, at this point Correa’s history with the Astros and their sign-stealing scandal shouldn’t be a factor if he can be a difference-maker for New York.
Can somebody actually convince Steinbrenner to spend big bucks on both Correa and Judge? Brian Cashman once convinced Hal (and brother Hank) to go crazy the winter of 2008, spending at the top of the market on CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixeira, and it helped deliver the Yankees their most recent championship the next season. Maybe he can do it again.
3. Yankees trade Gleyber Torres, Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Even if they don’t sign Correa I think these trades could happen, presuming they re-sign Anthony Rizzo and find themselves with an overcrowded infield again.
With Rizzo back they can put DJ LeMahieu at second base and use their highly-regarded prospects, Peraza and Volpe, to either fill the hole at shortstop or, if they actually sign Correa, use them for depth at both middle infield spots.
Torres hasn’t lived up to the All-Star level expectations he created in his first two seasons, but he had a good enough year in 2022 that, as he turns 26 in December, he should have enough value to bring back some pitching help.
As for IKF, despite their defiant public stance regarding his defense, the Yankees surely have their doubts about the shortstop they had to bench in the postseason for his poor play. It doesn’t make sense to keep forcing the issue.
4. Yankees re-sign Rizzo, Matt Carpenter, and Andrew Benintendi
It’s pretty simple: They need left-handed bats and here are three that were all valuable in 2022 to one degree or another.
Rizzo’s presence, in fact, is vital for his lefty power and his defense at first base that was especially on point in the postseason, saving his fellow infielders several errors with his ability to handle throws in the dirt.
As for Carpenter, the Yankees surely can’t resist finding out if he can again be the home run-hitting revelation he was last season before breaking a bone in his foot.
And Benintendi is the type of contact-hitter they badly missed (due to injury) in October when they were striking out in record numbers against the Astros.
5. Yankees hire Jorge Posada as bench coach
OK, this is pretty far-fetched, at least the Posada part, but I have to believe Cashman is considering any and all changes, including a new bench coach as a way of helping Aaron Boone with his in-game decision-making, which seems to be an issue annually in the postseason.
Boone himself has admitted he’d want a do-over on taking out Gerrit Cole for Lou Trivino with the bases loaded in Game 3 of the ALCS, and overall his bullpen decisions were heavily criticized in the postseason.
That’s not to say current bench coach Carlos Mendoza doesn’t know his stuff. It’s just that Boone seemingly could use a stronger voice giving him real-time advice, the way Don Zimmer once did for Joe Torre.
Plus Posada was a fiery personality as a member of the famed Core Four, and, well, it couldn’t hurt trying to bring back a little of the Torre-dynasty magic, could it?