The New York Yankees lost a heavyweight free agent bout for slugger Juan Soto, but are putting the money they saved toward adding talent across the roster.
Following multiple meaningful additions over the past several days, New York is now part of the conversation for third baseman Alex Bregman, most recently of the Houston Astros, who is widely considered the best position player still available on the free agent market.
Jeff Passan of ESPN on Thursday, December 19, laid out the contract that the 30-year-old Bregman is likely to land, as well as how he could make sense with a handful of big market teams that still have cash to burn as the calendar creeps toward a new year.
“Bregman’s payday could be in the $200 million range as well. [His market remains] strong because a number of teams still have big money to spend,” Passan wrote. “The [Toronto] Blue Jays need a third baseman. Ditto the [Boston] Red Sox. The Yankees could move Jazz Chisholm Jr. from third to second base, and the [New York] Mets could make a similar infield shuffle with Mark Vientos shifting to first.”
Bregman is a two-time All-Star (2018, 2019) and a two-time World Series champion (2017, 2022), accolades he has amassed over a nine-year MLB career. The infielder also earned Gold Glove honors last season.
His career batting average is .272, complemented by an on-base percentage of .366 and a .483 slugging percentage, per Baseball Reference.
Boston Red Sox May Have Inside Track on Signing Alex Bregman
GettyInfielder Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros.
Among the other candidates that have enough money to pay for Bregman’s services are the Astros, the only team for which he has played as a professional, as well the San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers. Though, the group of four teams Passan mentioned more prominently, which includes the Yankees, all have more call to pursue Bregman and his specific skill set.
However, based on a report Thursday from Jon Morosi of MLB Network, it is another team within Passan’s initial group of four that has the inside track to land Bregman.
“If you look at the landscape of potential fits for Bregman, Boston … is a fit at second base or third, depending on how the infield is arranged,” Morosi said. “I’m getting the sense that the Red Sox are more of a possibility than the New York Yankees at the moment.”
Yankees Could Lose 2 Top Free Agent Targets to 2 Top Rivals
That may be a tough pill for Yankees fans to swallow after Soto crossed town to join the Mets for a historic contract just over one week ago.
New York used to get just about every free agent it wanted, but in this offseason at least, some of the Yankees’ biggest rivals have broken the bank to steal away top stars clearly on the franchise’s radar.
That said, the Yankees haven’t been quiet in free agency. The team signed All-Star starting pitcher Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million deal in free agency and traded with the Chicago Cubs for 2019 National League MVP Cody Bellinger.
