The Yankees have already had a busy offseason however aren’t completed but. Jeff Passan of ESPN experiences that they’ve had discussions with the Padres about Luis Arráez and the Dodgers about Gavin Lux, with both a chance to take over the second base job within the Bronx. Jon Morosi of MLB Community says the Mariners, who’re identified to be searching for infield upgrades, have checked in on Lux as nicely.
For the Yanks, their infield took a few hits on the finish of the 2024 season, with Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres each hitting free company, leaving holes at first and second base. They’ve since taken care of first by signing Paul Goldschmidt, however one other infield improve would make sense.
The flexibility of Jazz Chisholm Jr. offers them some flexibility. He largely performed third base after being acquired final yr however has loads of expertise on the keystone, that means the Yanks might add both a second or third basemen, with Chisholm taking on whichever place just isn’t addressed. They’ve been linked to free agent Alex Bregman and commerce candidate Nolan Arenado as potential third base additions however look like exploring second base candidates as nicely.
Arráez is a logical commerce candidate from San Diego’s perspective and one thing they’ve reportedly thought-about. RosterResource at present tasks the Padres for a $210MM payroll this yr, nicely past final yr’s $169MM determine. Whereas a payroll bump is reportedly doable, it’s been urged they should get their 2025 spending nearer to 2024 ranges. They’re additionally projected to be simply above the aggressive steadiness tax and sure need to dip under that if they’ll be chopping payroll.
Nevertheless, a lot of their gamers are troublesome to maneuver for contractual causes. Many have no-trade clauses or hefty remaining ensures or each. In addition they have plenty of spots on the roster that would use upgrades.
Final winter, an identical set of circumstances led to the Friars parting methods with Juan Soto and Trent Grisham, sending them to the Yankees. The 5 gamers they obtained in return allowed them to shore up their depth in several areas whereas additionally offloading notable wage commitments.
Arráez, 28 in April might maybe comply with the identical path this yr. Like Soto final offseason, he’s at present one yr away from free company and set to make a notable wage in his remaining season of membership management. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz tasks Arráez to earn $14.6MM in 2025. That’s about half of what Soto was set to earn in 2024 however nonetheless a notable chunk of change for a group with budgetary constraints.
Although the projected wage is considerably decrease, Arráez will nonetheless have far much less attraction as a commerce candidate than Soto did. Regardless of his elite bat-to-ball abilities, Arráez is a restricted participant. He doesn’t take walks or add a lot energy and can also be not an asset defensively. Regardless of three straight batting titles, his .323/.372/.418 profession batting line provides as much as a wRC+ of 120, indicating his total offensive contributions have been about 20% above common. Soto, alternatively, has a .285/.421/.532 line and 158 wRC+ in his profession.
The aforementioned defensive limitations are additionally one thing the Yankees must take into account with Arráez. The Twins began utilizing him extra at first base in 2022 earlier than buying and selling him to the Marlins. With the Fish in 2023, Arráez obtained his largest pattern of labor at second and produced 4 Defensive Runs Saved but in addition -11 Outs Above Common. The Padres acquired him early within the 2024 season and solely put him on the keystone for 58 innings the remainder of the way in which.
The Yankees must weigh his defensive limitations towards the attraction of placing his bat into the lineup, whereas additionally factoring within the cash. RosterResource tasks their aggressive steadiness tax quantity at $303MM for this yr, which is already above the fourth and remaining tier. As a third-time payor at that degree, the Yanks face a 110% tax on any further spending and would subsequently should pay about $30MM to make use of Arráez this yr. After all, the Padres would additionally need one thing in return, although the associated fee financial savings is perhaps their high precedence in the mean time.
As for Lux, it’s unclear if the 27-year-old is even out there but it surely’s comprehensible why the Yanks would choose up the cellphone and verify, because the Dodgers appear to be overloaded with center infield choices. They’re planning to have Mookie Betts act as their on a regular basis shortstop and dedicated themselves to that path by signing Teoscar Hernández and Michael Conforto to fill their nook outfield jobs, with guys like Andy Pages and Dalton Speeding additionally within the combine.
With Tommy Edman seemingly ticketed for the middle area job, that leaves them with Betts at quick and Lux at second, with Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor round as bench/utility guys. They added even additional depth by signing Hyeseong Kim just a few days in the past. Reportedly, the membership nonetheless plans to make use of Betts and Lux as their primarily center infielders, however maybe the Kim signing will increase the possibilities of the Yankees prying Lux free.
In the event that they succeeded, they’d be getting one thing of an unknown amount. Lux has had an up-and-down profession to this point, however with some encouraging up arrows. By way of the top of the 2021 season, he had a tepid batting line of .233/.314/.368, which led to an 86 wRC+. He took a noticeable step ahead in 2022, slashing .276/.346/.399 for a 113 wRC+, however then missed all of 2023 because of a torn ACL.
His 2024 season was a step again, in a way, although he completed robust. He hit .251/.320/.383 for a wRC+ of 100 on the season total however with a dismal .213/.267/.295 line within the first half and a sturdy .304/.390/.508 displaying within the second, resulting in respective wRC+ marks of 60 and 152 in these halves. His batting common on balls in play jumped over 100 factors from the primary half to the second, so it won’t be completely sustainable, however he additionally improved when it comes to the standard of his batted balls. Defensively, the critiques are combined. Each DRS and OAA gave Lux a damaging grade at second base in 2024 however each have him in optimistic territory for his profession total.
Financially, Lux is extra engaging than Arráez. Because of an inconsistent profession and lacking a whole season, Lux is projected to make simply $2.7MM subsequent yr, with an additional yr of membership management past that as nicely. Given the Yankees’ CBT scenario, that may be way more engaging, but it surely’s additionally useful to the Dodgers for a similar purpose. For the reason that Dodgers don’t appear particularly motivated to let go of Lux, the Yankees must ship one thing of actual worth the opposite approach.
For the Mariners, their infield wants are well-known. They misplaced Justin Turner to free company, turned down an choice for Jorge Polanco and non-tendered Josh Rojas. Other than shortstop J.P. Crawford, little is settled on the filth in Seattle. They’ve some inside choices, akin to Luke Raley for first base. He would wish a right-handed platoon accomplice, which might come within the type of bringing again Turner. At second, they reportedly have some willingness to journey with Dylan Moore and Ryan Bliss till prospect Cole Younger is able to take over.
That has made it appear extra probably that the membership would add at third base, although bringing in a second baseman remains to be a consideration. The M’s had been linked to Cubs’ second baseman Nico Hoerner earlier this winter, for example, and are seemingly open to Lux as nicely. Lux does have some third base expertise, however solely six innings within the majors, so he could be a much more logical resolution on the keystone.
His low projected wage is unquestionably interesting to the Mariners, although for various causes than the Yankees. Seattle reportedly has about $15MM to play with this offseason, a decent sufficient price range that Luis Castillo rumors have been swirling for fairly some time. A Castillo commerce would weaken the rotation however would open up some extra spending capability, maybe to go after a participant like Bregman or Arenado, although buying and selling for Lux is perhaps a extra simple resolution. That may permit the M’s to maintain their robust rotation intact, although they’d maybe have to offer the Dodgers some notable prospect capital with a purpose to transfer Lux up the coast.
