has officially departed the Bronx in favor of Queens, as the superstar slugger agreed to a with the Mets worth $765MM last night. Now that they know Soto will not be returning to the club in 2025, the Yankees are now poised to pivot towards a number of other notable free agent targets, spreading the money they wouldve spent on Soto around their roster. While the team is sure to have a number of irons in the fire as they attempt to reconstruct their roster without Soto in the mix, reported this morning that the club is expected to make a strong push for free agent first baseman after in him earlier this winter. Walker, 34 in March, has been a fixture of the Diamondbacks lineup at first base since longtime franchise face was traded to the Cardinals prior to the 2019 season but has found a new gear in his early thirties. Over the past three seasons, Walker has slashed a strong .250/.322/.481 (120 wRC+) with a 20.8% strikeout rate, a 9.9% walk rate, and 95 homers in 447 games for Arizona. Hes done that while providing high quality defense at first base, winning the NLs Gold Glove award at the position in each of the past three campaigns. That combination of solid offense and elite defense at the position have made Walker one of the leagues most valuable commodities at first base in recent years. His 10.8 fWAR since the start of the 2022 season is tied with for fifth-best in the majors among qualified first basemen, trailing only , , , and Goldschmidt in that time. Meanwhile, Walker ranked fifth in fWAR and seventh in wRC+ among Chad Kuhl Jersey qualified hitters at first base this year while trailing only Freeman, Harper, and in both categories. Its the sort of production that virtually any team could benefit from, but the Yankees in particular could use a big boost at first base. Incumbent first baseman departed for free agency last month after a injury-marred campaign that saw him hit just .228/.301/.335 (84 wRC+) in 92 games, and the clubs internal solutions at the position are lackluster. Rookie struggled to a 73 wRC+ in his first taste of big league action last year, while was one of the worst hitters in baseball this past year with a .204/.269/.259 slash line during his age-35 season. Adding Walker would improve both the clubs offense and defense in a substantial way, offering a steady solution at first base. Whats more, the $60MM price tag over three years that Walker would land at the outset of the offseason is hardly cost-prohibitive, and should leave the Yankees with plenty of financial flexibility to stay aggre sive in upgrading other areas of the roster. Third base and the outfield appear to be the most obvious places for the club to upgrade, but a pursuit of a top-flight starter such as or cant be ruled out either. The Yankees have both players this offseason and appear to have real interest in pairing one of the two remaining aces available in free agency with atop the clubs rotation. Of the two, reports that the club prefers Fried over Burnes. Adding either pitcher would surely require the club to trade at least one of their existing starters, with southpaw and veteran righty standing out as the most speculated-upon trade candidates. Turning back to the lineup, the Yankees have reported interest in top free agent infielder , which earlier this morning. One other option to fill the clubs vacancy at the hot corner could be Cardinals veteran . reported this morning that the Yankees are among a select handful of teams that the Cards have approached regarding the po sibility of an Arenado trade, though its unclear to what level the Yankees reciprocated that interest in a deal if they did so at all. The 33-year-old has a full no-trade clause in his deal with the Cardinals, and his ability to be choosy about his destination has seemingly contributed to a trade market for the veteran star. Presumably, the Yankees are one of the teams Arenado would approve a trade to if the Cardinals are broaching the subject with the club. He could be a sensible fit for the Bronx given his strong defense at third base that would form an impre sive left side of the infield alongside shortstop while allowing to move back to second base. With that being said, there are questions about Arenados offense at this stage of his career. While hes just two years removed from finishing as a finalist for the NL MVP award, those two seasons havent been kind to him as he slashed just .269/.320/.426 (104 wRC+) in a combined 247 games. Hes been approximately a three-win player over the past two seasons, but with three years remaining on his contract its fair to wonder if further regre sion on either side of the ball could be in Arenados future. As for the outfield, the Yankees have been connected to as a potential back-up for Soto, with reporting yesterday indicating the club has in his services. the clubs interest in Hernandez differently, however, reporting that the clubs talks with the slugger are very preliminary as the club has been focused on Soto to this point in the winter. Of course, now that Soto is off the board its easy to imagine the clubs interest in Hernandez becoming far more serious. While no player can replace Sotos bat in the lineup and pairing another right-handed bat with Judge and Stanton in the middle of the Yankees lineup is far from ideal, Hernandezs 134 wRC+ in 2024 would still offer the club a legitimate middle-of-the-order threat theyll be lacking now that Soto has moved on. 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