The New York Yankees are no longer being looked at as the favorites to land superstar free agent Juan Soto on a reported $600-plus million mega-contract. In fact, USA Today's Bob Nightengale has tabbed the New York Mets as the "clear cut favorites" to land Soto.
"The Mets are the clear-cut favorite, executives say, simply because they don't believe there's a soul who will outbid owner Steve Cohen, while Yankees have a price in mind that they don't want to exceed," Nightengale wrote.
What could the Yankees do if this nightmare scenario comes true? Let's break it down.
Step 1: Sign Mets first baseman Pete Alonso
New York has a hole at first base already. If the Yankees sign Soto, it's likely they pivot to Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker because he's cheaper and a better defender than Mets first baseman Pete Alonso.
But if the Mets steal Soto from the Yankees, the Yankees should respond back and steal Alonso from the Mets.
While Alonso isn't the same caliber as Soto, he would fill a big hole and it would give the Yankees one of the best slugging duos in baseball history with Alonso and Aaron Judge.
Step 2: Trade for St. Louis Cardinals players Sonny Gray, Nolan Arenado, and Miles Mikolas
If the Yankees miss on Soto, they'll have more than enough money to play with. With that said, they could swing a blockbuster trade for Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray, and Miles Mikolas.
The Cardinals are looking to rebuild, so they're looking to move their veterans. In this deal, they're getting off three massive contracts, so the prospect return won't be as massive as some would assume.
Mikolas is added in this deal as a salary dump. The Yankees would cut him immediately, just opting to pay his contract to hold onto their top prospects. Gray slides in the rotation in a redemption tour with the Yankees. Arenado slides in at third base, moving Jazz Chisholm Jr. over to second base.
Step 3: Sign an elite outfielder (Jurickson Profar, Teoscar Hernandez, Anthony Santander)
If the Yankees lose Soto, they need to replace him, obviously. Luckily for the Bronx Bombers, there are a few more elite options on the market.
Acquiring one of the elite outfielders, those being San Diego Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez, or Baltimore Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander, would give New York a bandaid for the hole of losing Soto.
Step 4: Sign relievers Blake Treinen, Jeff Hoffman, and Kirby Yates
With the extra money New York would have from not re-signing Soto, they could look to build an elite bullpen. There are three main arms they could look to acquire to join the bullpen for Aaron Boone: Blake Treinen, Jeff Hoffman, and Kirby Yates.
None of these guys would demand insane amounts of money, so acquiring the trio isn't outlandish. The Yankees could afford to overpay a few million dollars for each player to bring them in as part of their emergency backup plan.
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