Yankees apparently weren’t aggressive in Freddie Freeman, Carlos Correa pursuits

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman revealed that the team did not make official offers to either Freddie Freeman or Carlos Correa in free agency.

New York Yankees fans had some high hopes that the team would spend money in one of the deeper free agency classes in recent memory. Those hopes never became a reality, as the Yankees did not spend cash on top free agents like first baseman Freddie Freeman or Carlos Correa.

General manager Brian Cashman appeared on the “Carton and Roberts Show” on WFAN on Monday, and revealed that while the team was in contact with Correa’s and Freeman’s representation, they never made an official offer to either player.

Yankees: Brian Cashman confirms team never made official offers to Freddie Freeman, Carlos Correa

That certainly was not something that Yankee fans wanted to hear. The team that was notorious big spenders in the offseason in the past, opted against making an official offer to the top players available.

The Yankees did have needs at shortstop and first base this offseason, and Freeman and Correa certainly would have filled those roles to help the team compete. Yet, that was not in the team’s plans. The team does, however, have a high luxury tax payroll, which is estimated at $262.1 million, per FanGraphs.

Freeman signed a six-year, $162 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Correa signed a three-year, $105.3 million deal with the Minnesota Twins.

New York filled the void at first base by re-signing Anthony Rizzo, their trade deadline acquisition last season, to a two-year, $32 million contract that includes an opt-out after the 2022 season.

Through the team’s first three games of the season against the Boston Red Sox, Rizzo hit two home runs and knocked in a league-leading six runs.

The Yankees addressed shortstop by trading for Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Twins, who had just acquired him from the Texas Rangers. Along with Kiner-Falefa, the team acquired slugging third baseman Josh Donaldson and catcher Ben Rortvedt in exchange for infielder Gio Urshela and catcher Gary Sanchez.

Kiner-Falefa is known as one of the top defensive shortstops in the game and is under team control through the 2023 season. The Yankees do have Anthony Volpe in the farm system, and he is a highly touted shortstop prospect in the league, ranking as the 10th-best prospect in the entire league. It is only a matter of time before Volpe receives a call-up and gets the chance to prove that he can be the starting shortstop for the foreseeable future.

Through the first three games of the season, the Yankees have a 2-1 record.  There is still plenty of the season left to go. It will remain to be seen if the moves they made will result in them winning that coveted 28th World Series title, especially since they compete in a tough AL East division.