3 Yankees who could price themselves out of the Bronx this postseason

As the New York Yankees embark on their quest for a 28th World Series title, it feels like the future is looming over the present. That's largely because of Juan Soto's pending free agency: Brian Cashman gave up a lot to land the superstar outfielder last offseason, and every postseason game feels like a referendum on whether Soto will stick around on a long-term deal or whether the whole trade will have been for nought.

But Soto isn't the only player whose future in New York is hanging in the balance right now. While the Yankees' No. 1 priority is winning a ring, several big names have a lot riding on how they perform over the next few weeks. Here are three who might become too expensive to stay in pinstripes if they perform up to their potential in the playoffs.

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3. Clay Holmes

Hey, don't laugh. Holmes might have ceded the closer's role to breakout star Luke Weaver, but you need more than one high-leverage reliever to make it through October — and as Game 1 of the ALDS showed, Aaron Boone is still counting on his embattled righty to get some very big outs this postseason. That means that Holmes will have plenty of chances to earn back Yankees' fans confidence, and to rebuild his market ahead of free agency this winter.

Yankees fans grew frustrated with Holmes down the stretch of the regular season, and understandably so. But relief pitching is at a premium around the league, and plenty of teams will look at Holmes' overall numbers this year (3.14 ERA, 3.02 FIP, 9.7 K/9) and feel just fine about handing him a multiyear deal. Closer or not, if Holmes locks back in over this playoff run, he could vault toward the top of a relief market that will be short on reliable back-end options behind Kenley Jansen. And if there's one thing we know about Brian Cashman and Co., it's that they're loath to shell out for a reliever when they can simply reclaim one off the scrap heap (like they did with Holmes three years ago).

2. Gleyber Torres

Torres got off to a dismal start at the plate, but a .780 OPS in the second half has helped reestablish his value — especially considering the dearth of infielders set to the market this winter. There simply aren't a ton of league-average or better hitters who can play a respectable second base; seriously, he's biggest competition for free-agent dollars might be ... Ha-Seong Kim? Whit Merrifield?

Torres has always been a bit of a mercurial player, hot and cold offensively and a bit limited with the glove. But if he stays hot in October, he could find himself with a surprisingly hefty payday a few weeks from now. Given how lukewarm many in the Yankees organization have been about him in recent years — and the internal options they have looming as potential replacements — it feels unlikely that said payday would come from New York.

1. Gerrit Cole

This is the big one. Cole can opt out of the four years and $144 million remaining on his deal at the end of this season, and how much financial sense that would make hinges in large part on how he performs over the next few weeks. There are some red flags surrounding Cole; he just turned 34, he missed a large chunk of this season with an elbow injury and his velocity and whiff rate are both trending in the wrong direction. A shaky postseason, and suddenly teams might be wary of handing him the bag on free agency, making the prospect of opting in seem much more appealing.

But he's still Gerrit Cole, and he was still very good down the stretch of this season after he got healthy. Shove in October, and it's not at all hard to see a team with money to spend and a hole in the rotation convincing Cole that his market value is higher than the $36 million the Yankees are set to pay him next season. (Although with Blake Snell, Corbin Burnes and Max Fried also available, this does figure to be a fairly crowded pitching class.) Soto will be the Yankees' first, second and third priorities this winter, meaning that Cole might be headed elsewhere if he does decide to test the market.