RUMOR: YANKEES ARE NOT SPENDING BIG BUCKS ON A SHORTSTOP

One thing we know about shortstop is that Gleyber Torres won't be playing it again in 2022. The Yankees have said it, but now we sit and wait to see who the Yankees put at shortstop instead.

And as we sit, we wonder about potential names the Yankees will chase. What about Corey Seager? Or Marcus Semien? Then there is Carlos Correa who I can't stand but someone is going to pay him and I just sit back and hope that it won't be the Yankees. We can't forget that the Yankees have been tied to Trevor Story also. But....what if it's NONE of these names?

That could be the case, at least that is what both the New York Post AND the NY Daily News have reported. We are in the Hot Stove season so why not speculate? What if the Yankees don't go for one of the big dogs on the market? It might not be a bad thing.

The Yankees already have long term deals on the books with Gerrit Cole, Giancarlo Stanton, a stupid contract with Aaron Hicks and the Yankees are interested in keeping Aaron Judge long term. None of these big name short stops are going to sign for a short term deal so if they are serious about a long term deal with Judge, an expensive shortstop deal doesn't make sense. Sure, they are the Yankees and they can "afford it" if they want to....but that doesn't make it a good idea.

The Yankees are high on Oswaldo Peraza and Anthony Volpe, two of their best prospects and believe they are close to major league ready. The Yankees don't want another big deal that blocks their path to the majors and could still upgrade their shortstop with a shorter stop gap.

Let's face it, an upgrade from Torres at shortstop wouldn't be very hard. The Yankees had interest at the trade deadline for Andrelton Simmons who offers reliable defense but not much offense. Another name that I think the Yankees may consider is Chris Taylor, but he still has some defensive concerns as well. Not as bad as Torres, but still a concern. I think the Yankees will consider a less obvious path here because they are thinking about future financial commitments.

I am interested to see who the new Yankee shortstop will be, because I am not convinced it is a big name. After all, Cashman likes to bargain shop and we've seen it for a while now AND a big name shortstop only means they would be buying more future payroll inflexibility.

  --Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

     BYB Senior Managing Editor

    Twitter: @nyprincessj