Williams is one of the top names in the closer market. He landed at No. 16 on our Top 50 Free Agents list, placing him second among relievers, behind only Edwin Diaz. The 31-year-old is expected to have many suitors, with the Reds and Red Sox linked to him last week, and the Mets, Tigers and Giants joining the mix this week. The Dodgers and Marlins have also been linked to Williams.
sent to New York Caleb Durbin And Nestor Cortes to Milwaukee for Williams in December 2024. He struggled in his first month with the team and lost the closer role in May. An injury to fill in closer Lucas Weaver allowed Williams to regain the role, and he pitched well in June and July. The trade deadline acquisition of David Bednar pushed Williams back to setup duty. He finished the year with his best stretch of the campaign, posting 13 scoreless innings from September 7 through the postseason.
Williams said he “definitely be openTo return to the Yankees in October. As for whether being closer would affect his next destination, Williams said:depends on the scenario.” Although Weaver is a free agent, New York still has the acquisition of Bednar and other trade deadlines Camilo Doval under team control for next season.
Williams isn’t the only high-profile free agent on the Yankees’ radar. General manager Brian Cashman told reporters Thursday: including Bryan Hoch of MLB.comthat he has been in contact with agent Casey Close about various players. That list of possible targets includes: Kyle Tucker, Kyle Schwarber, Michael Kingand former Yankee Paul Goudschmidt. Cashman also mentioned interest in Tatsuya Imaiwhich was posted by the Seibu Lions earlier this week. “We certainly involve all these players in the market” said Cashman.
Tucker will likely have as many candidates as Williams, maybe more. Toronto is considered the favorite by some teams to land the star outfielder, but the Dodgers, Yankees and Orioles have been linked to him. Since he is the big prize in free agency this season, more teams will no doubt emerge as potential suitors.
New York then got another outfielder Trent Grisham accepted the qualifying bid, but then lost one Cody Bellinger has terminated his contract. Jasson Dominguez stands next to Grisham and Aaron Judgebut he hasn’t performed well enough to keep the Yankees from pursuing a huge upgrade in Tucker. They could also contact Bellinger again.
As for payment for these potential acquisitions, Cashman was non-committal on whether the payroll would exceed $300 million. “I think it could go both ways. So it just depends on how things work out and what opportunities arise.he told reporters, including Hoch. FanGraphs’ RosterResource tool Currently, the Yankees’ payroll is about $260 million next season. Grisham’s deal added about $22 million to the ledger, and he’ll be just the team’s sixth-highest paid player next year. New York’s payroll was about $296 million last season, after topping out at $300 million in 2024.
A deal for Tucker, Schwarber, Williams or any of the other big names will likely require a major commitment over many years. The Yankees have already made several such deals between Judge, Max Fried, Gerrit KoolAnd Carlos Rodonall of which have large contracts until 2028. However, Cashman expressed confidence that he could make it work. “The task right now is to find out what’s available, and they all come at different prices points,” Cashman said.There may be cheap players available who are good, or there may be very expensive players available who are good.”
Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images
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