Power ranking Yankees’ 3 high-profile first base options for 2022

2. Matt Olson

Too much ink has been spilled on Matt Olson at this point, but … yeah, got to get him. Can’t be left on the floor as the Dodgers and Braves play musical chairs, especially if the price is somewhat palatable.

And, we’ll go one higher here, too: gotta add a starting pitcher to the deal. Gotta.

Frankie Montas. Chris Bassitt. Sean Manaea. That’s our personal ranking of the trio, knowing full well Manaea is the most likely addition. We’ve just … seen enough of the 92-throwing lefties at this point. Not that we’d say no! But still.

Yes, there was a time when it felt like Olson to the Yankees was already a done deal — and several, well-publicized Goof Rumors did nothing to dissuade us from that thought. But, on a macro level, who else was getting in there? Boston? The Dodgers? Atlanta? Max Muncy and Freddie Freeman were still sure things, and Boston loves their prospects (and doesn’t have that many of them). They could sign Kyle Schwarber and use their rookies. Truly, it felt like the Yankees or bust, which had us pitching deals like, “Oswald Peraza, Luke Voit, and whatever you want out of the Grab Bag.”

Now, the competition’s poised to be a little heftier when the MLB lockout is lifted. Despite rumors of an extreme fire sale, Oakland hasn’t done much of anything yet, and will have a whole roster for the exchangin’ in mid-March, unless they run out of time first. What a disaster that’s going to be!

Two years worth of Olson and the short porch will be worth those pieces plus Luis Gil and a back-end Top 10 type, but it’ll all pay off if we can finally push the ball past the damn one-yard line. We’re talking about a 150-OPS+ player. Those don’t grow on trees.