It's going to be a wild offseason coming up for the New York Yankees, who will be at the center of free agency.
While the Juan Soto sweepstakes will rightfully dominate the headlines, the Yankees have other areas to address as well. Soto is clearly the priority, of course, but adding to the starting rotation could be in the cards.
In listing the top landing spots for Baltimore Orioles ace Corbin Burnes, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report had the Yankees come in as one of the options at No. 10 on the list.
Rymer also projected that Burnes will receive a $288 million contract in free agency this winter.
"Though they reportedly refused to part with Spencer Jones in a trade with the Brewers, the Yankees were nonetheless in on Burnes last winter. Maybe they'll circle back this winter, but presumably only if circumstances result in Gerrit Cole reaching free agency," Rymer wrote.
It's unlikely the Yankees will be able to sign Burnes and keep Cole by voiding his opt-out clause.
If the Yankees are going to sign Soto to a potentially historic deal, there simply won't be enough room for Burnes on the payroll. At least, Hal Steinbrenner isn't willing to go that deep into the luxury tax.
The Yankees only have about $106 million coming off the books in 2025. They still have the third-highest projected payroll in Major League Baseball, and nearly half of that freed-up money could go to Soto.
Though Burnes had a rough month of August (7.36 ERA), the Orioles ace has been stellar for the majority of the campaign. The 29-year-old is 13-7 with a 3.19 ERA, 154 strikeouts and 41 walks in 28 starts this season.
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