New York

Yankees

The 34-year-old hurler hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since he appeared in two games for the Royals during the 2014 season. When healthy, he has proven himself to be valuable bullpen depth in the upper minor leagues, but the past few seasons have been plagued by shoulder issues. It’s a nice depth move for the Yankees.

The Cubs are viewed as the favorites here, as they have already had substantial discussions with Seiya Suzuki and Isaac Paredes rumored to be going back to the Astros in the return package. Ortiz also notes that the Yankees could be a team to keep an eye on. It’s certainly an intriguing situation and something to closely monitor over the next few days.

According to Heyman, the Yankees are interested in adding Bellinger as their starting first baseman with the knowledge that his center field defense would also give them an insurance policy in case rookie Jasson Dominguez isn’t ready. However, the Cubs are “asking the Yankees to take on nearly the full $52.5M Bellinger’s due over the next couple years, and the Yankees are expecting more cash coming back.” The Yankees can certainly take on that level of contract, but with Christian Walker and Pete Alonso also still free agents, it’s possible that New York doesn’t feel the need to give up assets and take on all of Bellinger’s salary until they’re sure he’s the best and most realistic option for them.

The interesting wrinkle here is the international bonus pool money, which could factor into the impending Roki Sasaki sweepstakes. Rodriguez-Cruz was a fourth-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft and has yet to pitch above High-A. He’s a lottery ticket for the Yankees.

Loáisiga returns to New York where he’s been a key component of the Yankees’ relief mix since breaking into the majors back in 2018. The 30-year-old righty, who holds a strong 3.44 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 207/72 K/BB ratio across 219 2/3 innings (163 appearances) at the highest level, underwent elbow surgery back in April to address a right flexor strain and made just three appearances last season. He’s expected to be ready to contribute at some point in the early stages of next year.

Heyman adds that nothing is imminent at the moment, but it sounds like Loáisiga is going to wind up staying in New York. The 30-year-old righty underwent elbow surgery back in April to address a right flexor strain and made just three appearances last year for the Yankees. He’s expected to be ready to contribute at some point in the early stages of next season.

It’s a massive deal for the Yankees, who have their co-ace to pair with Gerrit Cole for the foreseeable future. It’s the largest contract, which reportedly doesn’t include any deferred money and also contains a full no-trade clause, in baseball history for a left-handed pitcher as New York pivots after failing to retain generational superstar Juan Soto. The 30-year-old southpaw struck out 23 percent of the batters he faced last year with the Braves, finishing with a strong 3.25 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 166/57 K/BB ratio across 174 1/3 innings (29 starts). Simply put, he’s a ground-ball machine who excels at limiting hard contact. That formula works pretty much everywhere, which means that the move doesn’t change a ton for Fried from a fantasy perspective heading into next season as he remains a certifiable top 20-range option among starting pitchers.

Fried is believed to have the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees as his frontrunners. The 30-year-old southpaw will likely be leaving Atlanta after a solid eight-year run with a 3.07 career ERA and 73-36 career win-loss record. Fried would pitch near the top of the rotation for either team, and would present fantasy intrigue with any of those AL East clubs.

Now that the Yankees know that Juan Soto will be playing a few miles down the road, New York will be targeting a few bats to help replace that production, including Walker. The 33-year-old is now only a power threat who has hit 95 homers over the last three seasons, but he’s an excellent defender at first base; a position the Yankees have a clear need at. There will be other competitors for Walker’s services, but on paper, this is a pretty strong fit.

Tucker is a free agent at the end of 2025 season, and Astros general manager Dana Brown hinted that Houston is willing to listen in on offers on Tucker. Morosi also notes that the Astros are willing to play the waiting game and keep Tucker through 2025 in hopes of re-signing him; similiar to what they did with Alex Bregman, who they are still hopeful of bringing back. Tucker is one of the best bats in the sport and the top free agent in the 2026 class, and a team like New York or Chicago will have to give up a bundle to acquire his services for the season.