The New York Yankees have had a very busy offseason, but they still have a hole in the infield that they would like to address. One player that they were rumored to have an interest in appears to have been debunked.
The Yankees are not pursuing Nolan Arenado
According to the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, the Yankees seem to be completely out on potentially pursuing 10-time Gold Glove Award winner Nolan Arenado in a trade:
“I couldn’t find anybody with the Yankees who would say yeah, we’re interested in him,” Sherman said.
The Yankees were rumored to pursue Arenado not long after they signed first baseman Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year deal. Arenado and Goldschmidt had spent the past four seasons together with the Cardinals but have both experienced a decline in their play as the years pass.
Arenado would have been a good defensive fit for New York, but his contract may not have been attractive with the lesser offensive production he provides. He is coming off of a season in which he hit just 16 home runs with St. Louis, and he still has three years and $74 million left on his contract.
The Yankees will pivot to target someone else in the market
Instead, New York will likely pivot in a different direction to address their infield hole. A reunion with Gleyber Torres is no longer a possibility, as he signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Tigers.
As of now, Jazz Chisholm Jr. is the team’s third baseman, though he can easily move back to his natural position of second base should the Yankees get another third baseman. However, the options are dwindling, as it does not appear that they are close to anything with free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman.
Therefore, it is becoming increasingly likely that the Yankees will go to their internal options to address the hole in the infield. Oswaldo Cabrera, DJ LeMahieu, and Oswald Peraza make up some of the options they have that are already rostered.
- Yankees seem completely out on elite defensive trade candidate
- Former Yankees infielder bet on himself on one-year deal and is looking for $100 million next season
- The Yankees have a new dominant one-two punch in the bullpen
The Yankees have already addressed some of the other areas on the roster after not being able to re-sign Juan Soto. Along with the Goldschmidt signing, they traded for outfielder Cody Bellinger and closer Devin Williams and signed starting pitcher Max Fried to a long-term deal.
There is still a ton of offseason left to be had before the start of Spring Training in late February, and the Yankees are hopeful that they can address a very important area of their team before the start of the regular season.