Inside The Pinstripes

Yankees' Rumored Free Agency Target Deemed 'Worst' Fit For New York

One of MLB's elite infielders and a potential free agency target for the Yankees is being deemed the "worst fit" for New York in free agency.

Grant Young

Aug 17, 2020; Bronx, New York, USA; A general view of rain falling on the New York Yankees logo on the first base dugout roof during a rain delay in the game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Aug 17, 2020; Bronx, New York, USA; A general view of rain falling on the New York Yankees logo on the first base dugout roof during a rain delay in the game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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The New York Yankees have a few different positions they're expected to target in free agency this offseason.

One of these is the starting pitcher position, as the Yankees would love to find another top-tier starter to pair with current Ace Gerrit Cole. Given that the injured Anthony Rizzo has a club option for 2025 that the Yankees likely won't be exercising, there's a good chance New York will also be looking to add another first baseman.

Another potential positional need will be third base. While New York has Jazz Chisholm Jr. manning the hot corner right now, he'll likely move to second base if Gleyber Torres signs elsewhere this offseason.

Because of this, the Yankees have been linked to Alex Bregman, who is set to enter free agency after spending the first nine seasons of his MLB career with the Houston Astros.

Although an October 11 article from Bleacher Report's Joel Rueter conveyed why he considers New York the "worst fit" for Bregman.

"The bad blood between the Astros and Yankees stemming from the sign-stealing scandal could make the idea of signing Bregman a non-starter," Rueter wrote.

"However, it's interesting to consider how he might be received by the fanbase, and the Yankees do have a clear need at third base," he continued.

The Yankees clearly haven't forgotten about Bregman's involvement in the infamous sign-stealing scandal from the 2017 ALCS.

However, given that Bregman is one of the league's best third basemen and would be a clear upgrade from DJ LeMahieu, maybe Yankees fans will be open to embracing him.

Maybe not.

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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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