Life after Juan Soto: Five ways Yankees can salvage winter ESPN

During Juan Soto's meetings with the New York Yankees last month, one of the Yankees' goals was to give Soto a chance to get to know owner Hal Steinbrenner a little more. Hal Steinbrenner is known among his employees as respectful and deferential -- a far cry from his father, George Steinbrenner. Hal explained to Soto that part of the reason he hadn't spent much time with the slugger was because he didn't want to be something of a distraction for a player working in New York for the first time.

General manager Brian Cashman said at the time he traded for Soto a year ago that he understood it was a one-year rental and that Soto might leave for another team as a free agent. Now that reality is here, and it happened in nightmare fashion for fans in the Bronx: Hal Steinbrenner offered Soto more than double what they paid to retain Aaron Judge two winters ago, and Soto turned them down. For the New York Mets.

When George Steinbrenner ran the team, he never had any problem foisting himself on the players -- to the degree, of course, that his relationships with players often gummed up the work of his general managers and managers. George was used to getting his way, and he was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen. Now, that's a reputation held not by his son, but by the Mets' Steve Cohen, the wealthiest owner in the sport.

Over the course of the past six weeks, the Yankees seem to have ceded their standing as the game's evil empire: outplayed by the star-laden Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, outbid by the crosstown Mets for one of the greatest hitters in baseball history.

Now, though, they must move forward. And as the Yankees rise on the first day after their Juan Soto era, there are still many good players available. If they focus on pitching -- and that has typically been Cashman's reflex in moments of need -- there are high-end starters ready for hire. The Yankees could aggressively chase an experienced hitter or two. They could load up on bullpen help.

Editor's Picks

2 Related

But the reality is that when Yankees manager Aaron Boone posts his Opening Day lineup for 2025, it will feel like less; it will look like less. Soto and Aaron Judge were in the conversation for the best-hitting teammates ever, with their work compared to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, and more recently, the Ohtani-Betts-Freeman trio. Soto reached base nearly 300 times last season, and Judge clubbed 58 homers and posted an OPS+ of 223.

And next season, the capability at the top of the lineup will be diminished. Judge is bound to have fewer hitters on base in front of him, and day-to-day, there probably will be less reason for pitchers to feel compelled to work in the strike zone to him. An old saying is that the best lineup protection comes in front of a hitter, and with Soto's excellence at getting on base, the opposing pitcher, catcher and manager were often compelled to go after Judge or risk a major rally. No matter who bats in front of Judge, that player probably won't come close to replicating what Soto did for the Yankees.

Here's some of what the Yankees are thinking about as Plan B, with the focus on diversifying with some of the resources they had been willing to devote to Soto.

1. Judge is almost certainly going to shift from center field to a corner spot, likely right field. Jasson Dominguez, long regarded as the Yankees' best prospect, will get the first shot to be the center fielder next season.

Juan Soto joins Mets -- for $765 million!

Soto is headed across New York on the biggest deal in MLB history.

Passan: Transformational moment »

What it means for Mets, MLB »

Grading Soto's deal »

The Yankees could look at someone like Anthony Santander or Teoscar Hernandez for a corner outfield spot, but given the makeup of their roster, defense may be a priority -- especially with DH plate appearances locked in with Giancarlo Stanton.

They need a left fielder who can play that spot adeptly in Yankee Stadium, where left is the most challenging of the three outfield positions. Neither Santander nor Hernandez is considered to be a good outfielder. The Yankees could continue conversations about Cody Bellinger, a left-handed hitter who can play the outfield or first base.

2. Alex Bregman could be a good fit with his solid defense and his experience. However, the perception of a lot of evaluators is that Yankee Stadium is not ideal for Bregman, a right-handed batter who would have to hit into the broad expanse that is left field in the Bronx. He might be better suited for Houston (which is prepared to offer Bregman a deal comparable to what Matt Chapman got from the San Francisco Giants, $156 million over six years), the Boston Red Sox (with the Green Monster) or the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Yankees did have interest in Willy Adames before Adames signed with the Giants, but they had to wait for the resolution in the Soto talks before committing to Adames.

The latest ESPN fantasy baseball content

• Cockcroft: Fantasy reaction to Juan Soto signing with the New York Mets

• Hot stove: Fantasy reactions to MLB offseason trades, signings

• News or Noise? What you may have missed this week in fantasy baseball

•Karabell: Way-too-early top 50 players for 2025

Fantasy baseball home page >>

3. Christian Walker would check a lot of boxes -- he's a Gold Glove-winning first baseman who hits for power and has played in the AL East, having started his career with the Baltimore Orioles. In the Yankees' internal conversations, they've talked about continuing to develop Ben Rice at first; Rice's plate discipline was impressive after he was promoted to the big leagues.

Defensive metrics show that Pete Alonso has become a better first baseman than anyone expected. But in the end, it seems highly unlikely the Yankees would lock up another right-handed hitter who might be destined to take at-bats as a DH later in a long-term deal, given the presence of Judge and Stanton on the roster.

4. The Yankees will consider free agents Corbin Burnes, Max Fried and Walker Buehler, among others, in the hope of building a formidable rotation, with Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt, Luis Gil and Marcus Stroman -- but they will have to compete with the Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and, yes, the Mets for any starting pitching. Boston is committed to doing what it needs to do to contend next season, the Jays are perceived as working with desperation, and the Mets have acute rotation needs.

The Yankees talked to the Chicago White Sox about Garrett Crochet last summer, but the two teams were far apart at that time, with the Yankees' farm system not having the kind of position prospects the White Sox wanted.

5. The Yankees have excelled at building bullpens over the past decade, and they'll need a lot of help. Clay Holmes signed with the Mets and Tommy Kahnle is a free agent, so the Yankees need to add at least two relievers and as many as four or five, with a lot of free agents available. And the Yankees will continue to explore possible trade targets, like Devin Williams and Ryan Helsley.

For the Yankees, the loss of Juan Soto seems to mean short-term pain, and perhaps, with the right moves, long-term gain, as they sidestep a contract that would have inevitably been onerous for their roster management. But in 2025, they are bound to look thin.