Yankees: 4 ways they lost the free agent shortstop frenzy

Losing Trevor Story to the Red Sox is kicking the Yankees while they’re down

Yankees fans were already unsure of how the team handled this offseason. They didn’t get Freddie Freeman or Matt Olson. They brought back Anthony Rizzo to play first base. All they need to do now is re-sign Brett Gardner to fill up the phone lines at WFAN with fans foaming at the mouth insisting they’ll never watch a game ever again.

The final piece of bad news in this free agent shortstop frenzy came when it became official that Trevor Story would sign with the rival Boston Red Sox. How could this possibly happen? The Red Sox already had Xander Bogaerts.

The story on Story was that he wanted to play shortstop. This eliminated the Red Sox from possibly signing him until options were running out and Story decided to change his mind. He’ll play second base for the team in 2022 and will remain there unless shortstop opens up.

The Yankees missed on every top free agent shortstop candidate. After they did land a guy in a trade, that same team went out and added a player many wanted first and foremost all along. Then, in a final twist of the knife, the last possible option signed with their most bitter of rivals.

Baseball games are won on the field and not in the offseason. Even so, Yankees fans can’t help but feel like they’re beginning this season behind in the standings.