Brian Cashman was asked about the Yankees’ shortstop situation heading into the offseason, and while he continued to voice his support and belief in Isiah Kiner-Falefa, he did also note that top prospect Anthony Volpe could be a contender for the starting spot this spring.
“We have some kids pushing in on the infield, so there will be, I think a lot of exciting opportunities that can play out next spring in the middle infield category,” Cashman said. “But we’ll see how all conversations go. when you start talking trades with clubs, you start talking with free agents, you get a clearer picture of options that exist that you weren’t thinking of early on. We’re certainly going to approach everything with a very open mind.
“We had a shortstop in Kiner-Falefa that helped us win 99 games last year with the crew we had assembled and win the American League East. I think we have coverage already and now it's exploring every position. Can we be better?”
There are also multiple star shortstops available on the free agent market, like Carlos Correa, Dansby Swanson, and Trea Turner. The Yankees held off on adding any high-profile players at the position last offseason, citing the pending arrivals of Volpe and Oswals Peraza, but even if those two are now even closer to being big-league ready, Cashman says it doesn’t take them out of the shortstop sweepstakes.
“I can't say that's the case,” Cashman said, via Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. “I think we're gonna be open-minded. There could be conversations that lead us down paths that we wouldn't have expected. So I'm not saying we would trade any of our kids but I'm not saying — it just depends on how things play out.”
Still, the much likelier scenario is a battle between Volpe, Peraza, and Kiner-Falefa for the starting job in 2023.
“I think we have people that can handle the position and I think we have people pushing up and wanting an opportunity to prove that they're ready for the next step,” Cashman said.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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