The New York Yankees have historically been quite successful in free agency over the years.
With deep pockets and strategic moves, they tend to chase after players who can guarantee further depth.
If they enter this offseason with similar plans, other ballclubs across the league could be in trouble.
Yankees Could Become ‘Superteam’ With Offseason Success, Per Insider
Mike Axisa of CBS Sports recently predicted the rising “superteams” in the major leagues.
Breaking up his projection into four separate tiers, Axisa carefully placed New York in Tier One — directly below the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers.
“The Yankees are a metronome,” he wrote. “They haven’t had a losing season since Wayne’s World was in theatres, their ‘bad’ seasons are usually pretty good, and they’re in the postseason just about every year. Free agency can be a minefield, but the Yankees tend to nail their biggest signings (Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, etc.), and their player development has improved. The Yankees are here because they give themselves a bite at the apple every season. They’re in the postseason every year, and any year could be the year things fall into place for a parade down the Canyon of Heroes.”
Scoping out impending free agents is only one piece of the puzzle. Deciding whether or not to retain, or how to retain, their own impending free agents is another beast to grapple with.
Right now, the Yankees have a few of their most notable names entering free agency.
Among the exhaustive list are Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trent Grisham, David Bednar and Paul Goldschmidt.
Looking at potential targets, the Yankees have been, unofficially, tied to Ryan Jeffers, Seiya Suzuki, and Brandon Lowe, among a handful of others.
In typical New York fashion, it’s safe to expect a groundbreaking move during the offseason, however that may look.
But one thing is clear: if the Yankees are just as successful in free agency as they have been in the past, there should be no reason why they couldn’t be deemed an MLB superteam next year, barring injuries.
Yankees Must Recover From Hideous NLDS Loss
When New York entered its Wild Card Series clash against the Boston Red Sox, they were incredibly dominant.
At first glance, it looked like the Yankees had a serious shot at making a deep run in the postseason.
But once the Tampa Bay Rays entered the picture, things went downhill, and New York was eliminated.
The heartbreak never gets easier, but it does provide fuel — a sense of urgency — heading into the offseason.
If the Yankees want to cement themselves in contention next year, the work begins now.
New York Yankees’ Free Agency Plans Could Spell Trouble for Rest of MLB