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The Yankees’ Wave Of Former Top Prospects

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Prospects in baseball aren't a sure thing, but they're fun to dream on. As fans, pundits and onlookers of all varieties -- heck, even for team employees -- it's easy to get swept up in what might eventually be. There's nothing more alluring than the idea of a potential star-caliber player, or even a solid regular, earning at or close to the league minimum with six or even seven years of club control ahead of them. The more players of this ilk on which a team can successfully convert, the more space there is to be aggressive in free agency, in extending homegrown talent and in acquiring players on notable salary in trades.

The flip side of that equation, however, lies in the moves teams sometimes decline to make. Trades are passed on and free agents looked over, as that promise of a better tomorrow looms on the horizon. "There's no such thing as a pitching prospect" (or "TINSTAAPP") is a common idiom in baseball circles. For every Juan Soto, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Merrill and Jackson Chourio, there are ten others whose names fall to the wayside and eventually change hands via a minor trade/claim or pass through waivers entirely. Prospects are fun to dream on ... but more often than not, they're just that: a dream.

Every team is susceptible to this. Look up and down the league and you'll probably find at least one former top prospect among each club's crop of minor league free agents this offseason, along with several more who cleared waivers and were assigned to their clubs' top affiliate in hopes they reestablish something.

This isn't intended to be a knock on the Yankees in particular. Again, it's a common problem. But the Yankees currently have four out-of-options players who've yet to establish themselves and who have ranked among their top 10 prospects in the organization within the past three years. None has established himself, and now each is facing an uncertain future, particularly with the looming Nov. 19 deadline to protect players from next month's Rule 5 Draft. The Yankees have five open 40-man spots at the moment, so perhaps they don't feel a huge push to free up some space, but those vacancies will be filled by prospects, free agent signings and trade acquisitions -- all beginning within the next few days. Someone's going to have to get pushed off eventually.

Again, other clubs have this issue every year. But in 2024 specifically, there's no club with quite as many out-of-options players on the roster bubble as the Yankees.

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Juan Soto Rumors: Red Sox, Yankees, Jays, Dodgers

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Juan Soto’s free agency will be the primary narrative this offseason until he chooses his next landing spot, though there’s no indication that things are close. The 26-year-old superstar began meeting with teams this week but is still in the early stages of the process. For instance, Sean McAdam of MassLive.com reports that while the Red Sox feel their three-hour meeting with Soto and agent Scott Boras was “productive,” it was more introductory and informative than anything else. The two sides did not discuss years and dollars; the Sox pitched Soto on their plans for the future, their upcoming wave of high-end prospects and other aspects of the organization, while Soto sought to learn about their player evaluation methods, Fenway Park’s facilities, etc. It’s common for early meetings of this nature for top-end free agents to be introductory in nature, so this isn’t necessarily unique to Soto.

The Red Sox haven’t been involved in the deep waters of free agency in recent offseasons. Trevor Story is the lone nine-figure expenditure for the Sox in the past five years. Since signing David Price in 2015, the Red Sox have only gone beyond two years on a free agent four times (Story, J.D. Martinez, Masataka Yoshida and Nathan Eovaldi). Given that, it’s not surprising to see one of the elements Soto hoped to gauge (per McAdam) was the team’s “commitment to winning.”

That said, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com tweets that the Red Sox are approaching their pursuit of Soto with a level of “intent” that we’ve not seen from Boston “in some time.” Intent alone won’t win the bidding, of course, but the Sox have not been characterized as major players for top-end free agents in recent years. All indications this offseason seem to signal a shift in direction.

The incumbent Yankees and crosstown Mets are still perceived by many as the favorites to win the Soto bidding, once formal offers begin rolling in. To this point, it doesn’t seem the process has reached that point. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Yankees are comfortable going to 13 years and topping Aaron Judge’s $40MM annual salary in order to keep Soto, placing their baseline comfort level somewhere in the $520MM range overall. Most expectations are that Soto will exceed that mark by a fair margin, but it’s a notable starting point all the same.

Meanwhile, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet takes a look at at the Blue Jays’ interest in Soto, noting that as was the case with Shohei Ohtani last offseason, ownership views him as an exception to any other offseason budgetary plans. Toronto’s pursuit of Soto is not an indication that if the Jays miss out on the star slugger, they’ll pivot and spend $500-700MM elsewhere in free agency. Within his previously referenced column, Heyman doubles down on prior reporting that the Blue Jays plan to be aggressive in their pursuit of Soto.

That’s not necessarily the case with all of his expected suitors. ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote this week that the Dodgers “won’t chase after Soto,” having already committed to nine more years of Ohtani and thus potentially restricting them in the event that Soto eventually needs to spend more time at designated hitter. They’ll be opportunistic and perhaps jump into the fray if the market doesn’t develop as Soto hopes, though that seems unlikely, given the robust demand for his services and a potential Bronx-versus-Queens bidding war.

Up until last winter, with Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, that was generally how Los Angeles had approached the market under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. Though they regularly fielded one of the game’s largest payrolls and most star-studded rosters, most of the Dodgers’ star power over the years was acquired on the trade market (e.g. Mookie Betts, Tyler Glasnow) or developed in-house (e.g. Will Smith, Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager prior to his free agent departure). Freddie Freeman was the lone big-ticket free agent acquisition, and he came on board with a deferral-laden deal after an extended stay on the open market. That scenario almost certainly won’t happen with Soto.

As it stands, there’s still no expected timetable for when Soto might reach a decision or when offers might be presented in earnest. The fact that the Red Sox didn’t even delve into numbers speaks to the current preliminary stage of the bidding process. It’s always possible Soto could decide he wants to accelerate the process and have a team by the end of the month, but a decision at some point in December feels likelier.

Rays To Play 2025 Season At George M. Steinbrenner Field

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The Rays have decided on their temporary home for the 2025 season: George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida. Steinbrenner Field is the spring training home of the Yankees and the regular season home of the Tampa Tarpons, New York’s Single-A affiliate. Colleen Wright and Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times were the first to report the news.

The Rays explained their decision, describing Steinbrenner Field as “the best-prepared facility in the Tampa Bay region to host regular-season Major League Baseball games” (per Topkin). Yankees managing partner Hal Steinbrenner weighed in on the decision with his own statement:

“We are happy to extend our hand to the Rays and their fans by providing a Major League-quality facility for them to utilize this season. Both the Yankees organization and my family have deep roots in the Tampa Bay region, and we understand how meaningful it is for Rays players, employees and fans to have their 2025 home games take place within 30 minutes of Tropicana Field. In times like these, rivalry and competition take a back seat to doing what’s right for our community — which is continuing to help families and businesses rebound from the devastation caused by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.”

The Yankees will continue to play their spring games at Steinbrenner Field, per the league, and the Rays will be business-as-usual in March as well, hosting their games at their annual home in Port Charlotte.

With regard to the regular season, Tim Kephart of the Associated Press reports that the Tarpons will use other fields at the spring facility. There will be upgrades made to the stadium prior to Opening Day to “ensure fans continue to have a wonderful experience,” per the league’s press release. Recent improvements have already been made to the facility itself, including upgraded lighting, a larger home locker room, and improved training and rehab setups. The Yankees, according to Kephart, will receive an additional $15MM in revenue for agreeing to host the Rays in 2025. That won’t come at the cost of the Rays’ revenue but rather insurance and other yet-unreported avenues.

MLBTR Podcast: Roki Sasaki, Cole’s Non-Opt-Out, And Cardinals Rumors

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Mets Hire Desi Druschel As Assistant Pitching Coach

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The Mets have hired Desi Druschel as assistant pitching coach, per Andy Martino of SNY (X links). Druschel has had that same assistant pitching coach title with the Yankees for the past three years but will now move across to town to work for the Mets under pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. Yankee manager Aaron Boone said earlier today that there was one change coming to his coaching staff, so perhaps this was what he was referring to.

Druschel has been coaching for years, working for high schools and colleges starting back in 1996. In 2019, the Yankees hired him away from the Iowa Hawkeyes, giving him the job of minor league manager of pitch development. He was promoted to the major league staff after the 2021 season, working as assistant pitching coach under pitching coach Matt Blake.

It’s impossible to separate player performance from the contributions of a coach, but for what it’s worth, the Yankees had good pitching during Druschel’s time with the club. Yankee pitchers had a collective 3.68 earned run average over the past three seasons combined. That’s fourth in the majors for that stretch, behind only the Astros, Dodgers and Mariners.

The Mets had a collective 3.96 ERA in 2024, 15th in the league. There should be plenty of roster turnover by the time the 2025 season starts, as each of Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, Luis Severino, Adam Ottavino, Ryne Stanek, Drew Smith and Brooks Raley became free agents at season’s end. President of baseball operations David Stearns should be busy this winter in finding new arms in free agency or the trade market. However it shakes out, Druschel will join Hefner in trying to help the Mets get the best out of them.

Boone: No Extension Talks With Yankees Right Now

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The Yankees picked up Aaron Boone’s 2025 club option last week, ensuring that he’d be back at the helm for an eighth season, but there’s still no certainty in place beyond what’s now effectively a one-year pact. Boone told the Yankees beat this morning that as of this moment, there are no conversations with the Yankees about an extension that would keep him in the Bronx beyond the 2025 season (video link via SNY). Boone also revealed that there will be at least one change to his coaching staff next year but wasn’t prepared to publicly divulge any names (also via SNY).

The 2024 season proved to be the most successful under Boone, whose club reached the World Series for the first time since 2009, albeit in what proved to be a losing effort to the Dodgers. The Yankees’ 94 wins during the regular season were only Boone’s fourth-highest total in a single season, but he’d never experienced a playoff run of this magnitude in the past.

On the heels of that showing, it seemed increasingly likely that Boone would indeed stick around, be it simply via that club option or on a new multi-year extension. It’s still possible the two sides come to terms on a lengthier arrangement, but the Yankees did let Boone play out the entire 2021 season as a “lame-duck” manager on a one-year deal with nothing guaranteed beyond that particular season until late October.

Boone also touched on a number of offseason-centric topics, though he generally provided expected answers. He confirmed that he’ll be in attendance for the upcoming meeting between owner Hal Steinbrenner, Juan Soto and agent Scott Boras. Boone spoke generally of his hopes to be a player in the market for star Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki but offered little beyond praising the 23-year-old as a special and gifted talent whom the organization has been scouting for years.

Perhaps most interestingly to Yankees fans, Boone was asked about infield prospect Chase Durbin and offered a glowing review, calling him a “stud” and noting that he expects the 24-year-old second baseman/third baseman to play a “big” role on the 2025 club. Adding either a second baseman or third baseman has been expected thus far, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. likely slotting in at the other position.

It seems unlikely the Yankees would hand the other spot right to Durbin, but he’s coming off a 2024 season during which he slashed .287/.396/.471 with more walks (12.5%) than strikeouts (9.9%) in 375 Triple-A plate appearances. The former 14th-rounder, who came to the Yankees from the Braves in 2022’s Lucas Luetge trade, also smacked 10 homers and swiped 31 bases in just 82 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Boone touted Durbin’s “great bat-to-ball” skills and “elite ability on the bases” and noted that the club has been working to improve his versatility with reps at second base, shortstop, third base and in the outfield because the organization is bullish on Durbin’s chances of helping the big league club sooner than later. None of that precludes an infield acquisition in the next few months, but it does make it a virtual certainty that Durbin will be selected to the 40-man roster before next week’s Rule 5 protection deadline.

D’Backs, Nationals, Yankees Among Teams Interested In Christian Walker

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“At least six teams…plan to aggressively pursue” free agent first baseman Christian Walker, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes, adding that the Yankees, Nationals, and Diamondbacks are some of the teams involved in the hunt.  The Mets are mentioned as perhaps more of a peripheral suitor, as Nightengale speculates that the Mets could chase Walker if Pete Alonso isn’t re-signed.

Ranked 13th on MLBTR’s list of the offseason’s top 50 free agents, Walker is projected for a three-year, $60MM deal, with the shorter-term nature of that contract reflecting the fact that Walker will be 34 on Opening Day.  Even as he gets deeper into his 30’s, however, Walker hasn’t shown much sign of slowing down.  Over the last three seasons, the first baseman has hit .250/.332/.481 with 95 home runs over 1880 plate appearances with Arizona, which works out to a solid 120 wRC+.  On top of that offense comes standout defense, as Walker has won the last three NL Gold Gloves and Fielding Bible awards in 2022-23 for his superb work at first base.

Because Walker will likely be getting a relatively short contract, any number of teams could conceivably be in the market for his services beyond just the usual big spenders.  This could help the Diamondbacks (who have roughly $157.5MM already on the books for 2025) stay in the bidding, and one would imagine Arizona might have some extra advantage since Walker has stated that he has enjoyed his time with the D’Backs.  Since Walker was issued a qualifying offer that he is sure to reject, a new team would have to give up draft picks and possibly international bonus pool money to sign him, whereas the Diamondbacks would face no penalty for re-signing their own free agent.

Retaining Walker would immediately patch a big hole in an Arizona lineup that could also be losing Joc Pederson and Randal Grichuk in free agency.  Pavin Smith hit well in 2024 and might be an interesting backup plan (in at least a platoon capacity) at first base if Walker left, though in the event that Walker returned, the D’Backs could then more comfortably view Smith a replacement for Pederson’s left-handed bat.

The Yankees also have a clear need at first base since Anthony Rizzo isn’t expected to be re-signed, and DJ LeMahieu has been in sharp decline over the last two seasons.  Walker would bring more pop into New York’s lineup, and shore up the infield defense that suddenly became an issue during the World Series.  (For what it’s worth, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco and Darragh McDonald both predicted Walker would sign with the Yankees within the top 50 list’s projections.)

Signing a QO-rejecting free agent comes at a particularly stiff price for the Yankees, as since they exceeded the luxury tax threshold, they’d have to give up two draft picks and $1MM in international bonus money.  This isn’t necessarily a roadblock for New York if the club particularly likes what Walker can offer, and the Yankees might have an edge of their own on the qualifying offer front since they wouldn’t have to give up picks to re-sign Juan Soto.  It has been speculated that the Yankees might turn to Alonso as the backup plan if Soto goes elsewhere, yet even in that scenario, New York might still prefer Walker due to the lower price tag and greater all-around value, as Alonso is only a passable defender.

Washington is perhaps the most interesting of the three known suitors, as unlike the D’Backs and Yankees, it has been a while since the Nats were in contention.  The club’s rebuild process has brought some very interesting younger building blocks (James Wood, CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews, MacKenzie Gore, Luis Garcia Jr., etc.) to the District, and with Wood and Crews now in the majors, there have been rumblings that the Nats are ready to turn the corner back towards contention.  Signing Walker would have some echos of the Nationals’ signing of Jayson Werth during the 2010-11 offseason, as that big-ticket addition signaled that the Nats were going to start competing after years of rebuilding.

President of baseball operations Mike Rizzo has openly stated that the Nationals are looking for more pop in the middle of the lineup, and first base is the logical position for such an upgrade.  Washington received a cumulative 0.3 bWAR from their first basemen in 2024, and the club has already started clearing space at the position by parting ways with Joey Gallo and Joey Meneses.

Since the Nationals weren’t luxury tax payors and don’t receive revenue sharing, they face the mid-range penalty for signing a qualified free agent — their second-highest 2025 draft pick and $500K in international pool money.  The overall payroll impact for Walker can be easily absorbed since Washington has only Keibert Ruiz’s contract on the books, in addition to the two remaining years’ worth of salary still owed to Stephen Strasburg.

Bud Daley Passes Away

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In news that eluded MLBTR at the time, former All-Star pitcher Bud Daley passed away last month at 92. The news was revealed via obituary from a Riverton, Wyoming funeral home.

Daley was a Long Beach native who signed with the Indians out of high school. He pitched in the minors over four-plus seasons and debuted as a September call-up in 1955. Daley pitched in a swing role for three years before Cleveland dealt him to the Orioles as part of a three-player package to reacquire Larry Doby and add lefty Don Ferrarese. Daley never pitched for Baltimore, who flipped him to the Kansas City Athletics for righty Arnie Portocarrero.

It was a nice pickup for the A’s. Daley spent the ’58 season in the bullpen but moved into the rotation the following year. He topped 200 innings and won 16 games in each of the next two seasons. Daley made four All-Star appearances — there were two All-Star Games per season at the time — and picked up some down-ballot MVP support.

The A’s traded Daley to the Yankees midway through the 1961 season, landing pitcher Art Ditmar and corner infielder Deron Johnson in return. That positioned Daley to win a pair of rings, as he remained in the Bronx on the World Series teams in 1961 and ’62. He was on both World Series rosters, combining for eight innings without allowing an earned run over three relief appearances.

Daley finished his career in 1964. He appeared in parts of 10 seasons and concluded his playing days with a 4.03 ERA through 967 1/3 innings. He recorded 549 strikeouts and posted a 60-64 record. MLBTR sends our condolences to Daley’s family, loved ones and friends.

Yankees Interested In Carlos Estevez

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The Yankees are casting a wide net in their search for relief pitching, including some of the names in the top tier of the free agent bullpen market.  MLB Network’s Jon Morosi writes (X link) that Carlos Estevez is one of the relievers the Yankees are looking at, on the heels of Estevez’s 26-save season with the Angels and Phillies.

Estevez collected his share of saves as a high-leverage member of the Rockies’ bullpen from 2016-22, but he didn’t become a full-time closer until 2023, after he’d signed a two-year, $13.5MM contract with the Angels in his previous trip to the open market.  Estevez racked up 31 saves in his first season in Los Angeles while posting a 3.90 ERA over 62 1/3 innings, and followed that up with a 2.38 ERA over 34 frames this year before the Angels sent him to Philadelphia at the trade deadline.  The bottom-line result of a 2.57 ERA over 21 innings with the Phils was still impressive, though Estevez had diminished strikeout and walk rates following the trade.

All in all, the right-hander delivered a 2.45 ERA across 55 innings, with an excellent 5.7% walk rate.  The Statcast metrics revealed a few more red flags than red data points, as Estevez’s strikeout rate was barely above league average, and his barrel and hard-hit ball rates were both quite poor.  A .229 BABIP might be the key stat of Estevez’s season, and while his 3.57 SIERA was still respectable, the number is over a run higher than his actual ERA.

Then again, perhaps Estevez was due a bit of balance considering that he entered the season with a career .320 BABIP.  The righty’s career strikeout numbers have tended to fluctuate since Estevez isn’t good at getting batters to chase outside the zone, yet he still possesses plenty of velocity in his 96.8mph fastball.  Estevez has relied heavily on that pitch over his career, though his slider and changeup were also plus pitches in 2024.

MLBTR ranked Estevez 22nd on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents, projecting a three-year, $27MM deal for the reliever as he enters his age-32 season.  Naturally Estevez figures to get plenty of attention from teams that need a proper closer, yet the Yankees technically have that position addressed after Luke Weaver’s late-season emergence.  It makes sense that New York would seek out a more proven closer in case Weaver comes back to earth, or perhaps if the Yankees want to use Weaver in more of a situation role than strictly as a ninth-inning specialist.

Yankees Sign Brandon Leibrandt To Minors Deal

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The Yankees signed Brandon Leibrandt to a minor league contract, according to the left-hander’s profile page at MLB.com.  The Reds designated Leibrandt for assignment and outrighted him off their 40-man roster at the end of October, upon which Leibrandt opted to become a minor league free agent.

A sixth-round pick for the Phillies back in the 2014 draft, Leibrandt made his MLB debut in the form of nine innings and five appearances with the Marlins in 2020.  That cup of coffee marked his last trip to the Show until this past season, when Leibrandt tossed 6 1/3 innings over two appearances with Cincinnati.

In between those two big league stints, Leibrandt pitched in the minors with the Marlins and Cubs, and he spent the entire 2023 campaign and the start of the 2024 season outside of affiliated baseball, pitching with the Atlantic League’s High Point Rockers.  Leibrandt had a 2.70 ERA over 80 innings with the Rockers, which was enough for the Reds to give him a look on a minor league deal last May.

Leibrandt is turning 32 in December, so he’d be a late bloomer if he can unlock something at this stage of his career and catch on as a reliable big league pitcher.  However, the Yankees have had a solid recent track record at getting results out of unheralded pitchers, and Leibrandt’s seven percent career walk rate in the minors is a hint that he might possess MLB-caliber control.  There’s no risk for the Yankees in bringing Leibrandt to Spring Training and seeing what he can offer as a southpaw depth arm for the bullpen.

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