Max Fried signing paves path for a Yankees blockbuster trade in the making

When the New York Yankees lost out on Juan Soto, it was safe to assume that a natural pivot would've been to one of the best bats on the market like Teoscar Hernandez or Anthony Santander. Instead, Brian Cashman elected to sign the second-best pitcher on the market, Max Fried, to a massive eight-year deal.

Fried is certainly a better player than guys like Hernandez and Santander, but he also didn't address as pressing of a need. Fried makes New York's rotation a lot better, obviously, but they already had a talented staff without him.

The Yankees now not only have one of the best rotations in baseball, but they have one of the deepest staffs in the sport as well. They have seven MLB-caliber starters and solid depth in Triple-A, which for 2025, is a tremendous luxury and opens up all kinds of exciting possibilities.

Having depth is important, but the Yankees might have enough of it to the point where they can seriously consider making a blockbuster trade. Obviously Gerrit Cole and Fried aren't going anywhere, and it's unlikely that Carlos Rodon gets moved, but pretty much anyone else feels available for the right price.

Given that luxury, the Yankees have dabbled in the Kyle Tucker sweepstakes. In fact, Joel Sherman of the NY Post reported that the Yankees are among the most serious pursuers of Tucker, and have a player, Luis Gil, that the Astros are "very interested in."

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Max Fried signing paves way for Yankees to field better team without Juan Soto

A trade sending Kyle Tucker to the Yankees is hard to envision given Houston's rivalry with the Yankees, but if they like Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year winner, then the Yankees might have what it takes to get him.

If the Yankees are able to pull off a deal, then an argument can be made that they'd be even better than the team they had last season with Soto. No, Tucker isn't Soto, but Tucker and Fried would turn what looked like a disastrous offseason into a major success. The Yankees might even be better off, if they can find a way to convince Tucker to remain in the Bronx long-term.

Even if Tucker is a bit of a pipe dream, the Yankees have Gil, the reigning Rookie of the Year winner, to shop for a different big bat. If they can't find a hitter good enough, they can still trade from the likes of Clarke Schmidt, Nestor Cortes, and Marcus Stroman for some offensive help.

Losing Soto stinks, and Fried doesn't fix the offense, but the Yankees have a clear path to trading for an offensive piece or two that can help catapult this team back to World Series contention even without Soto.