Third base rumors: Bregman, Arenado, Yankees, Tigers, Astros

With the Yankees needing help in the field, both Alex Bregmann AND Nolan Arenado were linked to the club this offseason, with the idea that one would become New York’s new third baseman and Jazz Chisholm Jr. he would become the full-time second baseman. However, during an edition of YES Network’s “Yankees Hot Stove” show earlier this week, Jack Curry said the Bronx Bombers were not involved in either Bregman or Arenado, and dismissed the idea that the Yankees have ever had an interest in trading for Arenado.

This is in contrast to last week’s report (by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, John Denton and Bryan Hoch) that the Yankees offered Marco Stroman to the Cardinals as part of a trade package for Arenado, though St. Louis rejected the deal. As always with seemingly contradictory offseason reports, the truth may lie somewhere in the middle. Hypothetically, it could be that New York’s interest in Arenado was limited to this scenario that would see Stroman’s salary wiped off the team’s books.

Whatever the depth of the Yankees’ interest in Arenado, it could be a moot point if Arenado himself isn’t interested in joining the team. The Yankees are not one of the six clubs (Angels, Dodgers, Padres, Phillies, Mets, Red Sox) Arenado is reportedly willing to give up his protection without a trade to join, and Arenado has already vetoed a proposed trade deal with the Astros. An agreement with New York was hypothesized Paul Goldschmidt was created in part to entice Arenado to accept a trade to the Bronx to join his old teammate, but Curry’s report appears to close the door on that possibility.

In addition to signing Goldschmidt and Massimo Frittothe Yankees also traded Cody Bellinger, Devin WilliamsAND Fernando Cruzas GM Brian Cashman aggressively reloaded the roster afterward Juan Soto left to sign with the Mets. Even with some loopholes left to address, New York is scheduled (by RosterResource) for a luxury tax figure of $303.2 million, and thus the team has already exceeded the maximum penalty threshold of $301 million.

The Yankees could reduce their tax burden by looking to move Stroman or another unfavorable contract, but the salary situation could hint at why Arenado or Bregman aren’t (or are no longer) on the radar. Signing Bregman would require a much higher investment than taking most or all of Arenado’s contract in a trade, plus since Bregman rejected Houston’s qualifying offer, the Yankees would have to give up two draft picks and $1 million of international cash bonuses. Given that the Bombers have already paid that extra penalty to sign another qualified free agent in Fried, the club would most likely prefer to avoid further depleting its draft pool and bonus pool by adding Bregman.

If the Yankees are truly out on Bregman, that leaves the Phillies, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Mets and Tigers as teams known to have some level of interest in Bregman’s services this winter. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press shed a little more light on the Tigers’ connection in the latest edition of the Days of Roar podcast, noting that “there’s been an increase in the Tigers’ prioritization of Bregman” with the development of the offseason, with “more dialogue, more conversation” between the club and Bregman’s camp.

Heading into the offseason, Detroit was seen as a logical landing spot for Bregman for multiple reasons: His past history with the coach AJ Hinchthe lack of long-term money on the Tigers’ books and the perception that the Tigers would be aggressive in the wake of their Cinderella run to the ALDS last season. This last point hasn’t worked to date, how Alex CobbThe $15 million annual deal represents the Motown team’s only major winter investment.

Bregman’s asking price of at least $200 million appears to be the stumbling block, as the Tigers are unwilling to spend at that level. What remains unclear is whether Detroit is willing to at least come close to meeting Bregman’s demands, or whether the team is aiming for a lower level overall. Most free agents or trade targets publicly linked to the Tigers in rumors this winter (e.g. Goldschmidt, Carlo Santana, Walker Buehler, Kirby Yates, Erick Fedde, Steven Matz, Andrew Heaney, Kyle Gibson) are already under contract on short-term agreements or would likely only require one or two year investments. Aside from Bregman, Jack Flaherty AND Ha-Seong Kim it’s the other free agents on the Tigers’ target list who would require bigger contracts, and Kim’s situation is also fluid due to the lingering uncertainty surrounding his shoulder surgery.

Bregman already turned down a six-year, $156 million offer from the Astros earlier this winter, which was the first step toward what now appears to be the end of a reunion possibility between the third baseman and the his long-standing team. Acquire a corner interior Isaac Paredes In the Kyle Tucker the trade left open the possibility that Bregman could still be re-signed and Paredes could play first base in Houston, but the Astros’ three-year, $60 million deal with the first baseman Christian Walker now he answered the team’s needs in the inside corner.

While not officially stating that the Astros were now on Bregman, GM Dana Brown left things pretty clear by stating, “Paredes will play third and Walker first“when speaking to reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle) earlier this week. Brown felt”the negotiations stalled” with Bregman pitching, leaving the Astros looking for an alternative.

“I thought we made a really competitive offer and showed that we wanted it [Bregman] Backwards,” Brown said. “But we had to pursue other options, we couldn’t just sit there. We blocked Paredes early in that rally knowing he could play third or first. And then when the opportunity presents itself to add another club [Walker] it came, we jumped on it.”