The New York Yankees are being projected to hurt one of their AL East rivals with a massive move.
The New York Yankees have been very quiet thus far this winter, but there is still plenty of time for them to strike.
There are a ton of top free agents available, and the Yankees could also swing some big moves on the trade market.
New York has already seen several of its AL East rivals make significant moves, including the Toronto Blue Jays signing pitcher Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million contract.
Well, Ethan Hyatt of Just Baseball expects the Yankees to fire back at the Blue Jays in the most vengeful way possible and is predicting them to sign shortstop Bo Bichette.
"It has been predicted that Bo will sign a hefty and lengthy deal in free agency, and the Yankees have never shied away from shelling out the big bucks in free agency," Hyatt wrote.
Hyatt added that Bichette may ultimately be the most likely big-name free agent New York could sign this offseason.
"Although it’s still up in the air what the most likely possibility is for Bichette, the Yankees are definitely a landing spot, and would likely be the best impact player they could add short of Kyle Tucker or a reunion with Cody Bellinger," Hyatt wrote.
Fellow Just Baseball writer Matt Carroll predicted Bichette to land a deal worth as much as $224 million over eight years after the brilliant 2025 campaign Bichette just had at the plate.
No one has ever doubted Bichette's offense (outside of his abysmal, injury-riddled 2024 season), but he is one of the worst defensive players in baseball.
Would the Yanks really add a player who is so bad with the glove, especially after how much flak they took for their poor defense in the 2024 World Series?
Yes, Bichette is a significant offensive upgrade over Anthony Volpe, but when Volpe is healthy, he is an elite defensive shortstop. The same cannot be said for Bichette, who posted a minus-12 DRS and minus-13 OAA this past season.
It wouldn't make much sense for the Yankees to spend that much money on such a poor defender, even if he owns a lifetime .806 OPS.
It's true that New York needs bats, but not at the total expense of its fielding.
The chances of the Yankees spending such an exorbitant amount of money on Bichette seem slim to none, especially considering that they are apparently watching their payroll to begin with.