Yankees open to another top-tier rental with Kyle Tucker on the block and Juan Soto gone

DALLAS — With Juan Soto gone, the New York Yankees could trade for a top-tier rental for the second straight offseason.

“We’re open to anything,” Brian Cashman said Wednesday morning as rumors involving Houston’s Kyle Tucker swirled around the Winter Meetings.

The meetings began with Soto spurning the Yankees for a record-setting, 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets. Astros general manager Dana Brown then made it known that he would “listen on anybody” when asked if he’d consider trading Tucker and starting pitcher Framber Valdez.

Like Soto, Tucker is a power-hitting right fielder who gets on base and bats from the left side. While not as gifted a hitter as Soto, Tucker is still a force who also offers more speed and better defense.

Could he replace Soto ahead of his own walk year?

“I would expect us to have conversations with all teams about what availability of players on their roster are, as well as all agents of players in free agency that we like, too,” Cashman said when asked if he’d be in contact with Brown. “We’ll check every box and ascertain price tags and that will be true of anything in the marketplace.”

According to multiple reports, the Astros like Yankees’ right-hander Luis Gil, the American League Rookie of the Year, in a potential deal for Tucker. Meanwhile, the Cubs are also seen as suitors, among others, as Seiya Suzuki and Isaac Paredes are chips for Chicago.

Last year, the Yankees traded five players — Jhony Brito, Kyle Higashioka, Michael King, Drew Thorpe and Randy Vásquez — to San Diego for Soto and Trent Grisham. It was a high price to pay for what amounted to just one year of Soto.

The Yankees also paid the superstar a record-setting $31 million for 2024 to avoid arbitration.

Tucker, scheduled to become a free agent for the first time next winter, is projected to make $15.8 million in arbitration this offseason.

Were the Yankees to acquire the 27-year-old, they could try to engage him in extension talks like they did with Soto. However, it may be hard for Tucker to pass on a shot at the open market after seeing what Soto got. While Tucker won’t pull in as many dollars as Soto did, his age and talent should put him in line for a gigantic deal of his own.

Limited to 78 games last season thanks to a shin fracture, Tucker hit .289/.408/.585 with 23 home runs, 49 RBI, 11 stolen bases and a 180 wRC+. The seven-year pro is a .274/.353/.516 hitter with 125 homers, 417 RBI, 94 stolen bases and a 139 wRC+ for his career.

A three-time All-Star, Tucker also won the World Series with Houston in 2022.

Ready for Roki

With Rōki Sasaki’s free agency underway, Cashman said the Yankees already have a presentation prepared for the Japanese ace as they await a meeting date.

Sasaki grew up a big fan of Masahiro Tanaka, but Cashman declined to say if the former Yankee factored into the team’s pitch.

“We’ve had some great [Japanese] players that have played here and enjoyed playing here,” Cashman said, highlighting Tanaka, Hideki Matsui, Ichiro Suzuki and Hiroki Kuroda. “But that doesn’t guarantee any individual’s decision piggybacking on those types. But I know those players are great resources to speak to the experiences that they had here.”

Cashman saw Sasaki pitch for the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2023. He came away impressed, calling the right-hander a “big arm with a big desire to be great.”

“His intent is to be one of the game’s greatest pitchers on the planet,” Cashman said. “We certainly would love to participate in allowing that to happen.”

With the Yankees and Mets both interested in Sasaki — the 23-year-old’s age limits him to international signing bonus pool money — agent Joel Wolfe said that Sasaki could handle the bright lights of New York on Tuesday. However, Wolfe also suggested that Sasaki could benefit from a smaller market after negative experiences with Japanese media took a mental toll on the pitcher.

Pinstripers' payroll

According to Cot’s Contracts, the Yankees’ 2025 projected payroll is $258.1 million for competitive balance tax purposes after agreeing to an eight-year, $218 million contract with former Braves starter Max Fried on Tuesday. That puts them over the first tax threshold of $241 million. The second threshold is $261 million, followed by $281 million and $301 million.

Last month, Hal Steinbrenner said he had yet to think about a target number for next year’s payroll. On Wednesday, Cashman was asked if a number had been communicated to him. He responded by simply saying that Steinbrenner said that all possibilities should be brought to his attention.

“He’s fully invested and involved every step of the way,” Cashman said. “So he’s aware of all the price tags on the trade acquisitions, as well the free agents.”

Spencer Jones and other prospects

In spring training, Steinbrenner said that he didn’t want to trade top prospects Will Warren, Spencer Jones and Chase Hampton. Each went on to endure disappointing seasons in various ways, though, as Warren, who made his MLB debut, and Jones saw their numbers dip while the now-healthy Hampton suffered a flexor strain.

On Wednesday, Cashman said he’s “open minded to everything” when asked about possibly trading members of the trio.

“Certain guys, you’re more willing to discuss, and other guys, you’ve got a lot more trepidation in discussing,” he continued. “It’s just the nature of the beast.”

With regards to Jones, Cashman said the outfielder is capable of more than he showed during a strikeout-heavy 2024 campaign. The GM called the Yankees’ sixth-best prospect, per Baseball America, a “physical beast,” but he noted bigger players sometimes take more time to develop. Cashman cited Dellin Betances and Aaron Judge as examples while talking about Jones, who is 6-6.

“All those tools are real, so the excitement is all there,” Cashman said of Jones, who has displayed power and speed. “You also have to be patient.”

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