The countdown to Spring Training is on. The New York Yankees take the field on February 21, less than four weeks away, against the Tampa Bay Rays at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, to get their preseason schedule underway. That game will be first of 33 in the Grapefruit League, ahead of their 2025 Opening Day, March 27 at Yankee Stadium. That’s when the Bronx Bombers open their bid for a repeat trip to the World Series, hoping for a better result this time, with an inter-league game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

What feels like a long, drawn-out offseason got started with the Yankees losing superstar Juan Soto, a key piece of their 2024 American League championship team, to their crosstown rivals, the New York Mets, on a record-setting $765 million, 15-year free agent contract. That seems like a long time ago now, and the season is fast approaching.

But the Yankees are still not fully ready to go.

They are still missing some key pieces — one of them being an infielder to replace another free agent loss, seven-year second baseman Gleyber Torres who took a $15 million, one-year deal from the Detroit Tigers. According to Torres himself, New York never even made him an offer to try to keep him.

New York Poised to Make a ‘Swoop’ For Bregman

The Yankees have not been believed to be seriously pursuing the top infielder on the free agent market, former Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. And Bregman, who has so far failed to find a contract offer to his satisfaction, is now reported to be returning to negotiations with his original team, the Astros.

Houston apparently cleared the way to make a deal with Bregman over the weekend, at least partially, by dealing closer Ryan Pressly to the Chicago Cubs. The trade strips Pressly’s $14 million salary off the Astros’ payroll, though Houston agreed to pay $5.5 million to the Cubs in cash in exchange for taking Pressly. The only return for the Astros beyond opening up space on the payroll is set to be 20-year-old pitcher Juan Bello, rated by Fangraphs as the No. 31 prospect in the Chicago system, out of 37 evaluated by the site.

But there’s a snag. Bregman is not signed yet and according to a report by baseball reporter Ari Alexander of KPRC TV in Houston, “the Astros’ original and standing offer of 6 years, $156 million is unlikely to get the deal done.”

Yankees Must Talk Bregman Into Taking Less

That could leave the door open for the Yankees to “swoop in” on Bregman,  according to Empire Sports Media writer Dylan Backer, though they would need to persuade Bregman to take less money to play in New York for the World Series contending Yankees, the ESM writer says.

“(The Yankees) have a glaring issue in the infield, as their internal options are simply not good enough for them,” Backer wrote. “Bregman could help fulfill that hole if the Yankees decide they want to restart talks with him, but it would need to be at an affordable price.”

Despite predicting a possible Yankees move for Bregman, Backer acknowledged that the Astros and New York’s longtime arch-rivals, the Boston Red Sox, may have the edge in the Bregman sweepstakes. “Ultimately, the main targets still appear to be the Red Sox and Astros, so New York would have to climb significant hurdles to sign him,” he wrote.

But according to Boston Globe reporter Alex Speier, the Red Sox may effectively be out on Bregman as well. Boston refuses to offer Bregman, who turns 31 on March 30, any contract longer than four years. So far, Bregman has brushed aside any offer shorter than five years, according to Speier’s report.

Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. Vankin is also the author of five nonfiction books on a variety of topics, as well as nine graphic novels including most recently “Last of the Gladiators” published by Dynamite Entertainment. More about Jonathan Vankin