Rumored Yankees target could help Brian Cashman win the Garrett Crochet sweepstakes

With Juan Soto off to the New York Mets, the heat is officially on Brian Cashman to keep this offseason from becoming an unmitigated disaster for the New York Yankees. Soto was a singular talent, the kind that hardly ever comes available and that can't be replaced on the open market; if Cashman is going to offset that loss and pacify a furious fan base, it's going to take a Herculean effort at the Winter Meetings and beyond.

So it's no surprise that, as the trade talks surrounding Chicago White Sox lefty Garrett Crochet heat up this week, the Yankees are hell-bent on getting a deal done. According to a report from The Athletic, the Yankees and Mets were "among the most aggressive suitors" for Crochet, setting up another crosstown bidding war that Cashman can't afford to lose.

But there's just one problem on that front: The Yankees' farm system, while certainly not terrible, isn't the deepest around, especially considering how many holes New York needs to fill on its Major League roster. If the team wants to outbid the rest of the league for Crochet without mortgaging their present and future, they're going to have to get very creative.

Luckily, Cashman's first free-agent target at the Winter Meetings might be able to help in a big way.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work onThe Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.

How Yankees signing Christian Walker would boost team's pursuit of Garrett Crochet

While Cashman has plenty of irons in the fire, it appears that former Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker is at or near the top of his wish list. Talks between the two sides began to ramp up on Tuesday afternoon, and it seems like a deal could get done before the end of the Winter Meetings.

Walker makes a ton of sense on his own merits. New York desperately needs to find an upgrade at first base, and the 33-year-old has been among the most consistent hitters in the league over the past few years, putting up an OPS+ of 120 or better in each of the last three seasons while hitting 95 homers over that span. Plus, he's an elite defensive first baseman, and his age means that he'll likely come much cheaper than someone like Pete Alonso.

But even beyond the very obvious upgrade Walker represents, he could also afford the Yankees some much-needed flexibility. With Walker in the fold and first base spoken for over at least the next two or three years, suddenly one of the team's most promising young talents, Ben Rice, becomes expendable. It's unclear whether the White Sox would have interest in Rice in a potential Crochet package, especially after he struggled in his first taste of the Majors in 2024. But the former 12th-round pick tore through every level of the Minors, consistently running OBPs north of .400, and he comes with some catching experience to boot.

Rice won't be the centerpiece of a deal. But the Yankees need as many assets as they can get to supplement top prospects like Jasson Dominguez or Spencer Jones if they want to outbid the Mets and anyone else who might be in on Crochet. Walker would be a tidy fit in the present, and he could help Cashman wheel and deal down the line.