Yankees Roundtable Podcast, Ep. 9: A Whole Lot of Nothing for New York

The MLB Winter Meetings came to a conclusion on Wednesday, and the New York Yankees did a whole lot of nothing during their time there.

Some things did happen around baseball, and the Yankees just sat and watched as other teams improved.

Perhaps New York still has a trick or two up its sleeve, but there is no doubt that the Yankees' lack of activity is becoming concerning.

Matthew Schmidt and Jon Conahan discuss that and more in the newest episode of the Yankees Roundtable podcast.

The topics are as follows:

• Scott Boras made some interesting comments about the Yankees' payroll, saying that he hasn't heard anything about them lowering it. Are we to believe Boras, who represents Cody Bellinger? And if he is correct, what exactly is New York's end goal with its payroll? Is Hal Steinbrenner merely trying to be cautious what what he spends?

• Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso just signed free-agent deals, with Schwarber staying with the Phillies on a five-year, $150 million contract and Alonso inking a five-year, $155 million pact with the Orioles. What does this mean for Bellinger? Does it bump his price? You have to figure that at the very least, it will increase the amount of years that he will get, which, in return, will also result in more dollars heading his way, which is bad news for the Yankees.

• The Yanks have been connected to a trade for Brewers reliever Trevor Megill. Could they pull off a package deal in which they would land both Megill and Freddy Peralta from Milwaukee? Peralta is only making $8 million in 2026, so he would fit into New York's payroll. Could this be the Yankees' strategy all along? To make trades for good players on team-friendly deals?

• Speaking of which, Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams and pitcher MacKenzie Gore are also evidently available for trade, which is another package New York could explore. The question is, how much would the Yankees be willing to surrender in return for two decent — not great — young talents? A big pro is that both Abrams and MacKenzie are under team control for a while, but that will also significantly increase Washington's asking price.

• Aaron Boone recently said that the Yankees are right there with the Blue Jays and noted that New York is still pretty good as currently constructed. What are we to make of these comments? Is he basically warning Yankees fans that there may not be any major changes coming? Is he preparing them for the worst?

All that and more in the newest episode of the Yankees Roundtable podcast.