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Zach Pressnell has experience covering all major US sports at the professional and collegiate levels. He's worked/works for FanSided, Blog Red Machine, The Game Haus, Bethany College Athletics, and the Bethany College online newspaper, He graduated from Bethany College (WV) with a degree in Communications and Media Arts, specializing in Sports Journalism. Pressnell was also a four-year member of the baseball team where he earned himself All-PAC recognition as a pitcher (and a cool Tommy John surgery scar). Now, Pressnell specializes in NFL and MLB coverage for SI and Newsweek among others. Find him on Twitter/X @zpretzel
Contributing Sports Writer
The New York Yankees lost superstar outfielder Juan Soto in free agency, but they've done a great job in bouncing back from that kind of monumental loss.
New York has added talent like Devin Williams, Max Fried, and Paul Goldschmidt. They've also been involved in a blockbuster trade to acquire Cody Bellinger. But they could continue to make trades all the way through spring training.
Rucker Haringey of FanSided recently predicted the Yankees could cut ties with former top prospect Ben Rice, potentially in another trade, this offseason.
"The problem for Rice is that DJ LeMahieu and Cody Bellinger might also be in line to get some at-bats at first to lessen the demand on their respective bodies in the field," Haringey wrote. "If Rice can't seize the backup first base job for his own it's easy to envision a scenario where the Yankees send him to the minors to further work on his hitting.
"Rice could also be an intriguing trade candidate for a team that's looking to roll the dice on a left-handed batter with some power. He also can offer positional versatility. Rice almost exclusively played as a catcher in the minors before being converted to first-base to help fill in for Anthony Rizzo last year."
It would be a bit shocking to see the Yankees trade Rice this winter given the amount of potential he flashed in 2024. But if the Bronx Bombers can land an infielder to replace Gleyber Torres or a high-leverage reliever in a deal for Rice, it might make sense for the Yankees.
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