The American League East continued to import new talent on Sunday night. Once again, it didn’t end up in New York.
Rather, the Red Sox agreed to acquire 1B Willson Contreras and $8 million from the Cardinals in exchange for right-handers Hunter Dobbins, Yhoiker Fajardo and Blake Aita. The deal marked the second trade between the two teams this offseason, as Boston also acquired ex-Yankee Sonny Gray from St. Louis before landing fellow righty Johan Oviedo in a deal with the Pirates.
The Red Sox, who finished third last year, haven’t been the only team in the division to add this offseason, as the Orioles poached Pete Alonso from the Mets in the surprise splash of the offseason thus far. Baltimore has also brought in Taylor Ward, Ryan Helsley, Andrew Kittredge and Shane Baz after a disappointing last-place finish.
Even the penny-pinching Rays have added veterans Cedric Mullins and Steven Matz.
Then there’s the pennant-winning Blue Jays, who bolstered their pitching staff with Dylan Cease, Cody Ponce and Tyler Rogers after retaining Shane Bieber. Toronto, supposedly not all that far ahead of the Yankees – in Aaron Boone’s words – after taking the AL East and trouncing the Bombers in the ALDS, also remains in play for a few high-priced hitters.
Speaking of the Yankees, the only external addition they’ve made since a second-place finish and early playoff exit has been Rule 5 Draft pick Cade Winquest. They’ve also exercised a $3 million club option for Tim Hill, retained Trent Grisham – who accepted the $22.025 million qualifying offer – and re-signed Ryan Yarbrough, Amed Rosario and Paul Blackburn. The latter three agreed to deals worth $2.5 million guaranteed or less.
While the offseason is far from over and the Yankees have retained some depth, understandably impatient fans are not happy with that haul, or lack thereof, especially with the rest of the division wheeling and dealing.
On Friday, Boone was asked what it was like to see the Yankees’ competitors upgrade while his own club remained relatively inactive.
“The one thing is, I know we have a really good team right now,” the manager said during a holiday food and toy drive. “We have a lot of really good players on our roster. It’s probably not finished. There’ll be tweaks, I’m sure, up until spring training. So whatever happens, our expectation is that we’re going to be really good, and that’ll be our focus.”
Boone’s message echoed ones previously shared by himself and Brian Cashman this offseason.
They way they tell it, the Yankees have a strong roster as is after tying Toronto for the American League’s best record and don’t have nearly as many needs to address as they did last winter after Juan Soto left for the Mets. Yes, they want to improve — their rivals certainly aren’t standing pat — but they also believe they can be patient with the market as questions linger over Hal Steinbrenner’s spending plans.
To a degree, the Yankees have been correct so far, as a lot of targets remain available.
Cody Bellinger is at the top of the list. Cashman has not been shy about the Yankees’ desire to bring him back as his free agency drags. Doing so would solidify the left field position and make youngsters Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones available, perhaps in a deal for a starting pitcher or a reliever.
In the rotation trade market, the Yankees have been connected to Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta, Washington’s MacKenzie Gore and Miami’s Sandy Alcantara, among others.
In free agency, there’s also Japan’s Tatsuya Imai, who has until Jan. 2 to sign with an MLB team under the posting system. On Friday, Boone said he did not know if the Yankees planned to meet with the righty.
The bullpen market is the one that the Yankees have let pass them by, at least when it comes to free agency, though the club typically avoids pricey contracts for relievers. Still, with Devin Williams and Luke Weaver lost to the Mets, Winquest and Blackburn cannot be the only bullpen moves Cashman makes this winter after the unit finished 21st in fWAR, 22nd in BB%, 23rd in ERA and 24th in fastball velocity, per Fangraphs.
David Bednar is a nice start in the closer’s role, but Camilo Doval and Fernando Cruz, while nasty, are erratic options for setup gigs. Meanwhile, the south-pawed Hill is best against lefties.
After that, the depth currently consists of projects: Blackburn, Winquest, Jake Bird, Brent Headrick and Yerry De los Santos. Yarbrough will also slot into the bullpen at some point depending on what the Yankees do with their rotation, but it’s clear that they should find at least one more established, high-leverage reliever.
“We’ll probably add something along the way to that to fortify it even more,” Boone said during the Winter Meetings. “But the bullpen is always one of those things that comes together organically and normally has been a strength for us. That’s my expectation again.”
