Yankees news: Alex Bregman honesty, Roki Sasaki bidding, Marcus Stroman trade?

After a flurry of December activity for the New York Yankees, from signing Max Fried to trading for Devin Williams and Cody Bellinger, things have quieted down significantly for Brian Cashman and Co. over the last couple of weeks. That doesn't mean there isn't still work to be done, though: The final infield spot remains a question mark, and there could be more shuffling to come in both the starting rotation and the bullpen before the offseason is through.

What might those moves be? That remains to be seen, although it's becoming increasingly likely that they'll be around the margins rather than the sort of blockbuster that fans are still hoping for. The latest batch of Yankees rumors addresses the status of the team's interest in stars like Alex Bregman and Roki Sasaki, as well as a potential trade partner for a player it's seemingly dying to get rid of.

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Yankees news: MLB insider gets real about Alex Bregman odds

It seemed like New York might be willing to make a real run at Bregman in the wake of his messy divorce from the Houston Astros. But that dream just about died before Christmas, when YES Network insider Jack Curry reported that the Yankees didn't have much interest in their former AL nemesis. And sure enough, not much has changed in the new year, at least according to the New York Post's Jon Heyman.

"Yankees I'll mention with Bregman, not gonna rule it out, third base isn't completely solved," Heyman said on a recent Bleacher Report live show. "I don't see that happening as a likelihood. I think they'll give LeMahieu a shot, [prospect Oswald] Peraza, some of the other guys potentially a shot."

This jives with all the other reporting recently around the Yankees and Bregman. Whether that's a wise move, considering LeMahieu's struggles at the plate (and staying healthy) recently, is another question, but at least as of right now, fans should start eyeing other infield options.

Yankees news: New York still long shot to land Roki Sasaki

New York's odds of landing Sasaki are a bit better, although this one also seems to be trending in the wrong direction. The good news is that the Yankees interested Sasaki enough to earn an in-person meeting, and at least according to his agent, Joel Wolfe, the fact that New York is 1) a big market and 2) on the East Coast isn't disqualifying. The bad news, however, is that this still seems like the Los Angeles Dodgers' race to lose.

L.A. can offer the 23-year-old just about everything he could want, from geographic proximity to Japan to championship pedigree to pitching development to the presence of countrymates Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Despite New York's interest, nothing we've heard in recent days would suggest that anything about Sasaki's presumed pecking order has changed.

Yankees news: Could Blue Jays be landing spot for Marcus Stroman?

Even if they don't land Sasaki, New York still has six pitchers for five rotation spots in Fried, Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil, Clarke Schmidt and Marcus Stroman. Of that group, Stroman is the obvious man out, both due to his performance in 2024 and due to the $18.5 million left on his contract this season.

Cashman hasn't exactly hid the fact that he's open to moving the veteran; the only question is whether he can find a team willing to take on at least some of that money. Luckily, there just so happens to be a team desperate to add pitching with lots of cash to burn, and it happens to be a place Stroman is familiar with: the Toronto Blue Jays, who have picked up steam in recent days as a potential landing spot.

At this point, Jays GM Ross Atkins is running out of options as he desperately searches for someone to take his money and come to Canada, and Stroman might fit the bill as an innings eater behind Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt. If Toronto can't find an upgrade elsewhere, they might be forced to tell the Yankees that they'll pay to take Stroman off their hands.