One of the more puzzling decisions made by the New York Yankees this offseason was the team’s failure to even make an effort to retain their second baseman of seven years running, Gleyber Torres. While it is true Torres’ offensive production has declined in recent years – his .709 OPS in 2024 was the second-lowest of his career and worst since 2021 – the Yankees not only let him go without making him an offer, they apparently had no plan to fill the second base gap.
By failing to extend the predetermined $21.05 million qualifying offer to Torres, the Yankees guaranteed they would not even receive draft-pick compensation when Torres signed elsewhere as a free agent – which he did on Dec. 27, inking a one-year, $15 million deal with the Detroit Tigers. One candidate linked to the Yankees, however, who according to Fox Sports writer Deesha Thosar would have been the “best fit” for the Yankees, was former San Diego Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim.
But now the Yankees will have to keep looking because they did not move to sign Kim – apparently weighed down by one pitcher’s bad contract. Kim on Wednesday signed a two-year, $29 million contract with a team not usually known for its free agent acquisitions, the Tampa Bay Rays. According to Empire Sports Media founder Alexander Wilson, the Yankees “never made a serious push to land (Kim). Now, they’ll have to look elsewhere to shore up their infield, which still lacks a clear everyday solution.”
Why would the Yankees pass on a free agent who – though he would need to slide over to second base – made such an apparently clear Torres replacement? Adam Weinrib, a writer for the Fansided Yankees Go Yard blog, believes the answer lies on the pitching staff. Or, more precisely, in a pitcher the Yankees would like to remove from their staff – Marcus Stroman.
More MLB: Dodgers Owner’s $100 Million Donation to Rebuild LA is Larger Than Multiple MLB Teams’ Payrolls The Yankees’ current payroll is estimated at $284 million, according to Fangraphs, which puts the team above the third Competitive Balance Tax (also known as “luxury tax”) threshold. That means they must pay at least a 45 percent surcharge on any amount over that $281 million limit – as well as a 50 percent surcharge for having exceeded the CBT limit for three straight years or more. To bring that number down, they need to shed Stroman’s $18 million salary for 2015, especially given they have no role for the 33-year-old veteran in their starting rotation at this point.
The Yankees have not considered adding even a bargain-priced infielder with Stroman still on the books, according to Weinrib. “Obviously, if the Yankees have no interest in budging for a $5 million wild card while they wait for Stroman to head to a new locale, there was no chance they’d invest the necessary cash to lure Ha-Seong Kim, the versatile and singles-hitting Padres infielder,” he wrote.
Kim’s injury status may have also helped scare off the Yankees. After an offseason shoulder surgery, the former Korean Baseball Organization star is not expected to return to the diamond until May for Tampa Bay.
