Crunch time is coming on the Juan Soto chase, and while the Yankees are very much among the leaders as Soto weighs his decision, GM Brian Cashman must, at least, weigh other opportunities to upgrade the roster, whether Soto re-signs or not.
And there are holes to fill. The Yankees could opt to land an outfielder in Soto’s stead, or could look to use internal options to fill those spots, including top prospect Jasson Dominguez and perhaps former Gold Glover Trent Grisham.
They won’t have that choice on the infield, though. The Yankees need a first baseman, and assuming the team lets Gleyber Torres walk and moves Jazz Chisholm back to second, they will need someone to man the hot corner, too. Throughout last season, the corner infield spots were a headache for the Yankees, with six different third basemen and five first basemen getting looks.
But if Soto departs, the Yankees should have a very solid option to fill in at first base: Diamondbacks star Christian Walker.
Yankees Make Sense
Walker struggled with injuries last season (he missed a month with an oblique injury) but still slugged 26 homers in 130 games, following up on seasons in which he hit 33 and 36 homers. He has won the Gold Glove award three straight years at first base. That’s pretty much exactly what the Yankees want at first.
In looking at what they call, “One Black Friday 2024 free-agent deal for every MLB team,” the folks at The Athletic have Walker to the Yankees.
As Andy McCullough writes: “Let’s make this clear: The priority for the Yankees is Juan Soto. The priority is Juan Soto. The priority is Juan Soto. … If Soto signs elsewhere, Hal Steinbrenner will reallocate those resources to improve the lineup and the rotation. The smoothest fit would involve signing Walker, a quietly consistent performer who would be a significant upgrade over Anthony Rizzo both with his bat and with his glove.”
Soto will come first, and he is expected to make his choice in the next 10 days or so, perhaps sooner. The MLB winter meetings start on December 9.
Christian Walker Could be an Expensive Get
To be clear, the Yankees won’t be the only bidder for Walker. He has talent. That’s why Walker will not come cheap, not given his combination of power and fielding. Spotrac estimates his upcoming contract at three years and $66 million. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel put it in the same neighborhood, at $57 million over three years.
Earlier this month, SNY’s Phillip Martinez also advocated for the Yankees to chase Walker.
Wrote Martinez: “The Yankees often want their first basemen to be good defenders. We saw that with Don Mattingly, Tino Martinez, Mark Teixeira and Rizzo over the last 30 years. And with an infield defense that has question marks at other positions, it may be more imperative that the next Yankees first baseman can bail out Anthony Volpe, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and whoever is manning second/third base.
“So who can give New York that defense and offensive pop? Walker might be the best option.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Yankees Predicted to Sign ‘Smooth’ $66 Million Slugger appeared first on Heavy Sports.