Inside The Pinstripes

New York Yankees Named Top Landing Spot For Superstar Infielder

The New York Yankees have been tabbed a top potential landing spot for the best free agent infielder this offseason.

Grant Young

Aug 14, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a New York Yankees hat and glove on the bench against the Atlanta Braves in the third inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Aug 14, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; A detailed view of a New York Yankees hat and glove on the bench against the Atlanta Braves in the third inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images
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Regardless of how their 2024 season ends, there's a good chance the New York Yankees' infield will look very different next season.

New York has been predicted to not exercise Anthony Rizzo's team option this offseason, which means that they'll likely have a new starting first baseman by 2025 Opening Day.

Second basemen Gleyber Torres is also entering free agency and could be headed elsewhere. And if he does leave, that means the Yankees will most likely move current third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second, which is his natural position.

This would leave an opening at third base.

Houston Astros superstar Alex Bregman will likely command the biggest contract of any infielder this offseason. And an October 19 article from Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly suggests that the Yankees are one of Bregman's top potential landing spots.

"Like with the Dodgers, there would be some baggage to overcome here," Kelly wrote. "Bregman and the 2017 Astros defeated the Yankees in a seven-game ALCS en route to winning the World Series. Right or wrong, the perception is they cheated the Yankees out of a chance to play in the Fall Classic. There's nowhere that the Astros have been booed louder than Yankee Stadium.

This bad blood — which is due to the Astros' infamous 2017 sign-stealing scandal — is why Kelly's colleague Joel Rueter deemed the Yankees the worst free agency fit for Bregman earlier this month.

"If some bridges could be rebuilt, though, Bregman would fit really well at third base for the Yankees in 2025," Kelly continued.

He then added, "It does feel unlikely, though, that the Yankees would give Bregman a contract in excess of $100 million in free agency if they re-sign Juan Soto to a pact likely to exceed $500 million. If a team like the San Francisco Giants or New York Mets lures Soto away from the Yankees, then perhaps pivoting to Bregman would be in play. We wouldn't bet on that scenario playing out."

There are a lot of "what-if's" here; which is likely why the Yankees are listed as the fifth-best landing spot for Bregman.

Time will tell whether the Yankees pursue their longtime foe in free agency.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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