{"id":13762,"date":"2024-12-24T00:46:17","date_gmt":"2024-12-24T00:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762"},"modified":"2024-12-24T00:46:17","modified_gmt":"2024-12-24T00:46:17","slug":"breaking-analyst-yankees-are-heavy-favorites-to-sign-former-41-home-run-slugger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Analyst: Yankees Are \u2018Heavy Favorites\u2019 to Sign Former 41-Home Run Slugger"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-1747128251-e1734981948971.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"New York Yankees\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-content entry-content\">\n<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\">\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Yankees linked to Alex Bregman.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/new-york-yankees\/\">New York Yankees<\/a>\u00a0have done a nice job of rebuilding its team after losing Juan Soto in free agency.<\/p>\n<p>The Yankees signed starting pitcher Max Fried and traded for closer Devin Williams. New York then turned its attention by trading for Cody Bellinger and signing\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/new-york-yankees\/yankees-increased-interest-paul-goldschmidt\/\">Paul Goldschmidt<\/a>. After all the moves, the Yankees still need a third-baseman or second-baseman, depending on what position Jazz Chisholm Jr. plays.<\/p>\n<p>With that, Zach Pressnell of Newsweek believes the Yankees will turn their attention to Alex Bregman and he believes it\u2019s likely the star third-baseman will land in the Bronx.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGeneral manager Brian Cashman decided to go with a more affordable option at first base,\u201d Pressnell\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/sports\/mlb\/yankees-likely-sign-170-million-infielder-following-paul-goldschmidt-deal-2004714\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">wrote<\/a>. \u201cPete Alonso was another slugger on the market who the Yankees opted against. Keeping first base affordable opens the door to spending more money at third base, where the Yankees desperately need an upgrade. Who\u2019s the best option on the table?<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cAstros longtime third baseman Alex Bregman. Bregman has long been connected to the Yankees this winter,\u201d Pressnell added. \u201cBut there are a few other teams that make the race competitive. The Astros were once seen as the favorites, but since signing Walker, it seems like Houston is out of the Bregman race.<\/p>\n<p>The Yankees\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/mlb\/new-york-yankees\/yankees-linked-signing-alex-bregman\/\">have been in contact<\/a>\u00a0with Bregman in free agency and he certainly fits the roster. He would be a middle-of-the-order bat and would be a solid defensive third baseman for the Yankees\u2019.<\/p>\n<h2>Analyst Calls Yankees \u2018Heavy Favorite\u2019 to Sign Bregman<\/h2>\n<p>With New York not spending as much money on first base as expected, Pressnell says the Yankees\u2019 are favorites to sign Bregman.<\/p>\n<p>Bregman is one of the top free-agent hitters available, and Pressnell says the fit makes perfect sense for both sides.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the Yankees, the long-time Astro would fill the biggest hole on the roster in a huge way. Bregman would slot in at third base while Jazz Chisholm Jr. slides over to second base. This allows Chisholm to play his natural position while Bregman is a huge upgrade over former Yankee Gleyber Torres,\u201d Pressnell concluded. \u201cNew York should now be seen as the heavy favorite for Bregman.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bregman\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/player\/alex-bregman-608324\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">hit .260 with 26 home runs and 75 RBIs in 2024<\/a> with the Houston Astros. His career-high is 41 home runs which he accomplished in 2019 along with 119 RBIs.<\/p>\n<p>Bregman is a two-time All-Star and a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner.<\/p>\n<h2>What is Bregman Expected to Get in Free Agency?<\/h2>\n<p>Bregman is one of the top free-agent hitters available and is expected to get a multi-year deal.<\/p>\n<p>In MLBTradeRumors\u2019 annual Top 50 free agent predictions, the outlet predicted Bregman would sign a seven-year $182 million deal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBregman isn\u2019t hitting free agency at the ideal time. He\u2019ll play next season at 31. That\u2019s not \u201cold\u201d for a free agent, but it\u2019ll likely prevent him from securing anything larger than a seven-year deal\u2026 Whether a seven-year deal (or more) is there remains to be seen, but he should find offers of at least six years. Matt Chapman just signed a six-year, $151MM extension beginning in his age-32 season. That\u2019s going to be viewed as something of a floor for Bregman, and he should top that as the younger and more consistent offensive player,\u201d the article\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlbtraderumors.com\/2024\/11\/2024-25-top-50-mlb-free-agents-with-predictions.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">read<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Bregman was a key member of the Astros\u2019 World Series teams in 2017 and 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yankees linked to Alex Bregman. The\u00a0New York Yankees\u00a0have done a nice job of rebuilding its team after losing Juan Soto in free agency. The Yankees signed starting&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Analyst: Yankees Are \u2018Heavy Favorites\u2019 to Sign Former 41-Home Run Slugger - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Analyst: Yankees Are \u2018Heavy Favorites\u2019 to Sign Former 41-Home Run Slugger - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yankees linked to Alex Bregman. The\u00a0New York Yankees\u00a0have done a nice job of rebuilding its team after losing Juan Soto in free agency. The Yankees signed starting...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-24T00:46:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-1747128251-e1734981948971.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"780\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"438\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762\",\"name\":\"BREAKING: Analyst: Yankees Are \u2018Heavy Favorites\u2019 to Sign Former 41-Home Run Slugger - 24\/7 News America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-1747128251-e1734981948971.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-24T00:46:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-24T00:46:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-1747128251-e1734981948971.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-1747128251-e1734981948971.jpg\",\"width\":780,\"height\":438},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BREAKING: Analyst: Yankees Are \u2018Heavy Favorites\u2019 to Sign Former 41-Home Run Slugger\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"24\/7 News America\",\"description\":\"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914\",\"name\":\"Admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BREAKING: Analyst: Yankees Are \u2018Heavy Favorites\u2019 to Sign Former 41-Home Run Slugger - 24\/7 News America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BREAKING: Analyst: Yankees Are \u2018Heavy Favorites\u2019 to Sign Former 41-Home Run Slugger - 24\/7 News America","og_description":"Yankees linked to Alex Bregman. The\u00a0New York Yankees\u00a0have done a nice job of rebuilding its team after losing Juan Soto in free agency. The Yankees signed starting...","og_url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762","og_site_name":"24\/7 News America","article_published_time":"2024-12-24T00:46:17+00:00","og_image":[{"width":780,"height":438,"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-1747128251-e1734981948971.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762","name":"BREAKING: Analyst: Yankees Are \u2018Heavy Favorites\u2019 to Sign Former 41-Home Run Slugger - 24\/7 News America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-1747128251-e1734981948971.jpg","datePublished":"2024-12-24T00:46:17+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-24T00:46:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-1747128251-e1734981948971.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/GettyImages-1747128251-e1734981948971.jpg","width":780,"height":438},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=13762#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BREAKING: Analyst: Yankees Are \u2018Heavy Favorites\u2019 to Sign Former 41-Home Run Slugger"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/","name":"24\/7 News America","description":"Breaking Stories, Real Insights&quot;","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4fd584257b8aaef08c4e2bc73ee6a914","name":"Admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab07af1f129ef9c67f3a58e6273eac4d8eb51a1cb066ea995eb6d5f03eceb61b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Admin"},"url":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13762"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13764,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13762\/revisions\/13764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}