Yankees’ Backup Plan

Yankees’ Backup Plan For Juan Soto Sounds Better Than Signing Superstar

By Derek McAdam

November 27, 2024

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The sweepstakes have officially begun for superstar Juan Soto. Several teams including the New York Yankees, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox have all submitted offers for the 26-year-old outfielder. However, it is now a waiting game as to which team Soto will select. 

While the Mets are favorites to win the Soto sweepstakes, it is not a guarantee that he goes there. Soto did get to experience a season in New York, except it was in the Bronx and not Queens. Maybe he is convinced that the Yankees are committed to returning to the World Series and buys into their pitch. 

Regardless of what happens, the Yankees have already formed a backup plan in case Soto signs elsewhere. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, a Yankee backup plan "floating around is signing free-agent first baseman Christian Walker, sign either Willy Adames or Alex Bregman to play third, shift Jazz Chisholm to second base, trade for Cubs center fielder Cody Bellinger, and then use the extra money to sign” starters Corbin Burnes, Max Fried or Blake Snell. 

Here’s how I look at this situation. If the Yankees were to sign Soto, I don’t think it would mean they wouldn’t get anyone else. They clearly have holes to fill and their farm system isn’t exactly loaded with talent. So they would have to look at the free agent market or make trades. However, the other players they would sign would likely be players who are not going to command such high salaries.  

But let’s look at the players that Nightengale referenced. First up is Walker, who is coming off a 2024 season in which he hit 26 home runs and batted .251. Walker will be 34 in March and will fill the Yankees’ first base void after letting Anthony Rizzo go to free agency. The first baseman may not make as much as Pete Alonso will get this off-season, but it’s still a solid option for the Yankees to fill their first base void. 

Next up is selecting a third baseman. I thought it was interesting that Adames was listed as an option, given he is a natural shortstop, but could the Yankees consider moving Anthony Volpe to third? Or even possibly having Adames as their second baseman and leaving Chisholm at third? Definitely two interesting questions, but I’m not quite sure how the defensive arrangement would work. 

Offensively, Adames is relatively similar to Walker. Adames has a career batting average of .248 and even hit 32 home runs last season. Adames is also 29 years old and does not have a birthday until September, so this would likely be a longer-term contract that the Yankees would have to sign. But, he could definitely give the Yankees several years of good play. 

The other infield option would definitely solidify the Yankees’ infield plans. If they signed Bregman, he would be the Yankees’ everyday third baseman and Chisholm would be a second base. Not a bad infield plan. Bregman is also a good hitter, even though he did have a bit of an underperforming 2024 season compared to his past seasons. He’s also a very solid defender, which is what the Yankees need more of in the 2025 season. 

However, Bregman has a couple of issues that Yankee fans may not be able to look past. The obvious issue is that he was part of the Houston Astros team that was involved in a cheating scandal. The Yankees have not been shy of signing players from Houston since the incident, with Gerrit Cole being the big name, but would they be willing to sign a position player who was involved (indirectly) in the cheating? 

There is also rumors out there that the 30-year-old wants a contract similar to Manny Machado’s, which would be somewhere in the range of 10-years and more than $300 million. Of course, this could be a ploy to drive his price up, but the Yankees would be foolish to give a third baseman who turns 31 in March a contract of that kind. 

Now, onto Bellinger, which is the most interesting part of this rumored backup plan. The outfielder’s 2024 season took a step back from 2023, but it was still a decent year. He hit .266 along with 18 home runs. Bellinger is also the only player out of this list of players mentioned who is a left-handed batter, which the Yankees will need to replace this off-season with the losses of Rizzo, Alex Verdugo, and potentially Soto. 

More importantly, Bellinger would give the Yankees solid defense in the outfield. Judge did his best in center field, but he’s not a center fielder. He’s a natural right fielder, and the Yankees need to move him back there. Even if the Yankees decided to put Bellinger in left field and have Jasson Dominguez play center, that’s still not a bad option. It would be a much better outfield, defensively, than having Soto in right field misplay balls consistently. 

And now onto pitching. It’s no secret that the Yankees need another starter and there are several options available. The Yankees have also been linked to Walker Buehler, which would be interesting given he ended the Yankees’ season. Nonetheless, adding any of the pitchers listed would be a boost to the rotation. 

There’s no doubt that Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon are going to be in the top of the rotation, and Luis Gil will also have a spot. But where does Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman and Clarke Schmidt fit in? The Yankees also lost some bullpen pitchers to free agency, so they will be looking to fill spots there as well. I definitely see at least one of Cortes, Stroman, or Schmidt moving into a bullpen role. However, Stroman seems to be the least likely due to his $18 million salary. 

All of these options seem like decent adds for the Yankees. They are not just able to fill holes in their lineup, but it seems as if they’re actually getting better in several of those positions. This is also a hypothetical in that the Yankees are able to sign and trade for all of these players. But it does seem like an ideal scenario. 

I must clarify that I really like Soto. He was able to help get this team to its first World Series in 15 years and played a huge part on this team throughout the entire season. But I don’t think it is worth it for the Yankees to put all of their eggs into one basket and hope for the best. After all, they weren’t exactly close to winning the World Series with Soto on the team. 

And as I mentioned earlier, it’s not to say that the Yankees will not sign anyone else if they were to retain Soto. They may be able to get one other big-name free agent, but I can’t see it being any more than that. There are several areas the Yankees need to improve on, and this backup plan can definitely help them become a better overall team in 2025.