The New York Yankees passed on arguably the most talented shortstop group in the history of free agency last offseason, letting Texas two-step on Marcus Semien and Corey Seager before Carlos Correa, Trevor Story and Javier Báez (technically a part of this) all went elsewhere.
Given a second chance this offseason, they neglected Trea Turner and Xander Bogaerts, then let Correa walk to the Giants after a brief flirtation with Steve Cohen and the Mets.
And yet … after months and months of No’s, some folks still think the Yankees could splurge at the position rather than elevate Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe.
MLB Network Radio’s Ryan Spilborghs (formerly of the Colorado Rockies) thinks New York should drop an “Eff You” move on the rest of the league, elevating their core with the shortstop who’s been power-ranked consistently in the No. 4 spot: 2021 World Champion Dansby Swanson.
After so much silence, a $25 million AAV for the last man standing would be jaw-dropping for the Hal Steinbrenner Yankees.
Could Yankees throw caution to the wind and sign Dansby Swanson?
Musical chairs have placed Swanson firmly in the Cubs’ lap, with the Minnesota Twins and his former team in Atlanta also seeking the shortstop to varying degrees.
MLB Network Radio host thinks Yankees should…
Hell, even the Boston Red Sox, currently under scrutiny and Bogaerts-free, make some semblance of sense; as of Thursday, Jon Heyman claims a Swanson move is heavily in consideration for Chaim Bloom.
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Swanson, coming off a career year with an above-average 115 OPS+, is the most likely of the four free agent shortstop centerpieces to regress into a good-not-great career. The Yankees paying big money for the player who brings up the rear would be surprising, to say the least, especially considering the precedent for his payday has now been set.
That said, if he goes to Boston, he’ll undoubtedly become a Yankee Killer.
At this point, though, stopping him from heading to that Dirty Water seems like the only real reason for New York to throw caution to the wind and pursue Swanson.
He’d make the Opening Day roster better, but not to the same extent Correa, Bogaerts or Turner would’ve. He might not make the 2024 roster any better than Volpe would. At his cost, Cashman should leave this one to the Cubbies.