But will they act?

St. Louis Cardinals v San Francisco Giants

St. Louis Cardinals v San Francisco Giants / Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/GettyImages

Trades! They’re fun, especially when your front office is willing to gamble. New York Yankees fans don’t feel that way, however, because Brian Cashman rarely takes the plunge. He either targets an absolute surefire win (Juan Soto) or swaps nothing for nothing (re: everything else).

If there was any offseason for Cashman to take a bit of a plunge, most fans would agree it’s this one (even though it feels like we say that every year). But if the Yankees re-sign Juan Soto, they won’t have much money to work with and they’ll be forced to upgrade via trades.

Right on cue, Jim Bowden of The Athletic released his “Fifteen notable MLB players who could be traded this offseason” this week and now Yankees fans are truly wondering if the former GM’s insight could lead them to some positive offseason news.

Here’s who he had on his extensive list:

    Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Toronto Blue Jays
    Garrett Crochet, SP, Chicago White Sox
    Zac Gallen, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
    Ryan Helsley, RP, St. Louis Cardinals
    Luis Robert Jr., OF, Chicago White Sox
    Devin Williams, RP, Milwaukee Brewers
    Wilyer Abreu, OF, Boston Red Sox
    Sonny Gray, SP, St. Louis Cardinals
    Yandy Diaz, 1B, Tampa Bay Rays
    Ryan Pressly, RP, Houston Astros
    Nolan Arenado, 3B, St. Louis Cardinals
    Chris Bassitt, SP, Toronto Blue Jays
    LaMonte Wade Jr., 1B/OF, San Francisco Giants
    Jordan Montgomery, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks
    Mike Yastrzemski, OF, San Francisco Giants

Outside of Vladdy, Crochet, Gallen and Abreu, does anybody seem out of reach? We’ll exclude Gray and Montgomery as well to avoid former Yankees, which still provides Cashman with nine possible players to chase. If we want to be even more conservative, take out Robert Jr., Arenado and Pressly, all of whom come with relatively elevated salaries.

Yankees could make bullpen makeover with Ryan Helsley or Devin Williams via trade

A bullpen makeover featuring Helsley or Williams would be massive. There are two first base options in Diaz (who the Yankees tried to acquire at the 2024 trade deadline) and Wade Jr.

For outfield depth purposes, Yastrzemski would be terrific. If the Yankees wanted to see if the Blue Jays would make a deal, targeting Bassitt would be their best bet because Toronto certainly wants to rid that salary (and it’d be a short-term cost for New York).

The Yankees could, in theory, fill a majority of their needs by making reasonable deals here. Acquiring Helsley/Williams, Diaz/Wade Jr. and Yastrzemski/Bassitt would effectively end their offseason (assuming Soto is re-signed, too). It would cost a decent amount of prospect capital, but nothing that would be prohibitive (such as the White Sox reportedly not viewing Jasson Dominguez + Spencer Jones as a reputable package for Crochet).

Trade talks will materialize in the coming weeks and packages will gradually come into focus, so Yankees fans should keep their eye on a number of these players as the market unfolds.