The Yankees have another hole in the infield as Gleyber Torres has reportedly signed with the Tigers on a one-year deal, meaning the Bombers need to address either second or third base.
The Yanks could move Jazz Chisholm back to his more natural second base and address third base, which Sal Licata says they should do by signing free agent Alex Bregman, which he believes would mean Brian Cashman aced the offseason after losing Juan Soto.
“Moving on does mean needing to replace that offseason production,” Sal said. “The Yankees three best playoff producers were Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gleyber Torres. Two of those three are now gone.
“The perfect offseason for the Yankees would be if they finished this puzzle by adding Bregman. They’re built on pitching now by adding Fried in the rotation and Williams in the bullpen. They need to shore up the defense. They need a third baseman.”
Signing Bregman would mean committing long term to a veteran coming off a down year, and a righty bat that would no longer have the benefit of the Crawford Boxes in Houston. It would also mean losing draft picks because Bregman declined the Astros qualifying offer, but Sal said those are all worthwhile risks if it meant boosting the offense and defense in one move by signing Bregman.
“Bellinger, Goldschmidt, Bregman, and Jazz for a full year...if they don’t get Bregman, that would be a disappointing offseason for the Yankees,” Sal said. “If they do get Bregman, I think that’s as good an offseason as you could have considering they just lost Juan Soto.
“Screw the draft picks. Sign Alex Bregman and call it a day.”