The New York Yankees are approaching spring training with the same need they closed the 2024 season with. It's a strong roster. It's more than likely the best group in the American League. It's a wonderful post-Juan Soto pivot, given the constraints of the market. But there isn't a starting-caliber third baseman here. Well, technically, there is, but he's slotted in at second.
As the Yankees veer closer to an Oswaldo Cabrera/DJ LeMahieu/Oswald Peraza Opening Day stew, fans are yearning louder than ever (loud yearning!) for an Alex Bregman splurge. Given Hal Steinbrenner's preferred payroll constraints, though, it never seemed viable that the Yankees would go that far in addition to importing Max Fried and paying down Cody Bellinger's deal.
You know who really could've gone overboard for Bregman, though? Dave Dombrowski and the Philadelphia Phillies, a team that has never been connected to the ex-Houstonian by anything more than a passing mention or a "wouldn't that be nice?". Given Dombrowski's propensity to throw caution to the wind, as well as his stated goal of a lineup-altering shakeup after a disappointing playoff exit at the hands of the Mets, it's surprising that nothing materialized, even in the rumor mill. The Phillies' core, arguably, slipped behind New York and Altanta this offseason, as the Dodgers blew to the stratosphere. Alec Bohm was a 2024 All-Star, sure, but Alex Bregman is Alex Bregman, and he fits Philadelphia's mold, both on and off the field.
Dombrowski certainly tried to trade Bohm, but the process ultimately fizzled out (and, yes, the Phillies may or may not have floated "Bohm for Mason Miller" to an A's front office that was both stunned AND empty at the time). As spring training approaches, it's genuinely surprising that Philadelphia never made a real Bregman push, and that the Yankees never cleaned up Bohm as a result.
Will the @Phillies trade Alec Bohm this winter? @Ken_Rosenthal thinks it will happen...
It's kind of weird Phillies didn't go for Alex Bregman, trade Alec Bohm (to Yankees)
That's usually how it goes for these Yankees, right? Self-imposed budgetary constraints keep them out of the top end of the market, but they usually pick up the player forced out as a result of some other team getting their dream target? The old Josh Donaldson-Carlos Correa corollary?
Bohm, who once "f***ing hated" Philadelphia, but eventually developed into the RBI machine he was always expected to be, scuffled in last year's second half post-Home Run Derby, but still drove in 97 runs with a 117 OPS+. He's an offense-first third sacker whose bat has improved year after year (101 to 107 to 117), and while he's not a certified star he'd certainly be a surer thing than the players the Yankees intend to run with to begin the season (unless prices drop in the coming weeks).
The Phillies not making a serious play for Bregman is more shocking than the Yankees betting on internal options. Still, Bohm feels like a nice fit in the Bronx who was never seriously discussed. It's a shame the Yankees never got the chance to talk Dombrowski down from Mason Miller and get down to brass tacks.
