MLB Rumors: Cardinals reunions dead, Mets under-the-radar steal, Yankees foolish confidence
MLB Rumors: Yankees showing blind confidence they'll land star starting pitcher
If nothing else, we've already seen the New York Yankees make one of the biggest splashes of the 2023-24 MLB offseason when they landed superstar slugger Juan Soto in a blockbuster trade with the San Diego Padres. But fans have been hoping for more, particularly as it pertains to upgrading their starting pitching.
Despite losing out, alongside many other contenders, to the Dodgers on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman have remained confident that the Yankees will land one of the big fish still on the market, either in free agency or via the trade market.
MLB insider Jon Heyman recently reported via the New York post that the Yankees have remained in pursuit of both Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery in free agency. Moreover, they have continued talks with the Chicago White Sox about a trade for Dylan Cease in addition to poking around with the Miami Marlins for one of their young arms, be it Jesus Luzardo or otherwise.
However, Heyman also reported on X/Twitter that, though the Yankees remain invested in these pursuits, they are far apart with the White Sox in trade talks for Cease and also are not close to the deals that either Snell or Montgomery wants.
Yankees still far apart on Cease talks and also apart on Snell/Montgomery but seem very hopeful they’ll eventually land a top starter https://t.co/17Z9KJ6Dl9
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 7, 2024
That report certainly doesn't match the confidence that the Yankees appear to be exuding regarding acquiring one of the top arms in free agency or on the trade block. Does Cashman and the rest of the front office just expect one of these players or the White Sox to realize they're dealing with the Pinstripes and to forego getting what they perceive to be adequate value? That's not how this works, especially with the allure of the Yankees taking somewhat of a hit in recent years with the team's lack of success relatively.
At the end of the day, perhaps the Yankees sit up in their chairs when a big domino falls and are willing to meet either a player's or trade partner's demands. As of now, however, it seems like they might foolishly be thinking that they won't have to pay what the price tag says.