Predicting landing spots for 4 former Yankees still stuck in free agency

The New York Yankees sit just about $3 million away from the dreaded Steve Cohen Tax threshold, and have made it perfectly clear they will not be passing that mark in 2023.

If you, the fan, want another significant addition made, you’ll have to hope some team covets Aaron Hicks and Josh Donaldson beyond reason. Maybe, if MLB opens up a trade pipeline to Korea, the Yankees can find someone to absorb their salaries. Until then, the Bombers might be stuck.

That means there probably isn’t a reunion in the cards between the Yankees and any of their former players who are still on the market.

You know we’re at the dullest point in the offseason when we’ve got to fend off takes on how the Yankees should give Gary Sánchez a second chance (to do what, exactly?), but here we are, spinning around and deflecting insta-boring takes with our double-bladed Take Lightsaber.

Despite Jon Heyman’s recent efforts to drum up support, Sánchez will likely be taking a one-year pay cut once he chooses his next home. So will these other recent ex-Yankees, who are still in need of new homes. They’ll be renting, not buying, but they’ll still be able to help a team (or help a tanker create a trade deadline asset out of thin air).

Apologies to other former Yankees like Andrew McCutchen (would be a good fit back in the Bronx!) and Ian Kennedy, whose career in New York feels like four decades ago. Both men are also still on the market, though the 38-year-old Kennedy probably isn’t in demand on a major-league deal.

Predicting landing spots for 4 former New York Yankees free agents

Aroldis Chapman Prediction: Miami Marlins

Rumors emerged last week that the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres were prepared to battle over who could be more disappointed by Chapman’s inability to reach his previous ceiling.

Alas … that all may have been BS? A week has passed, and no one’s been able to corroborate Carlos Baerga’s usually-reliable scooping.

That means it could be back to the drawing board for Chapman, the ex-Yankees closer who was finally felled in 2022 by a failed tattoo. When he bolted team workouts just before the ALDS, he fled to Miami, a landing spot that makes more sense for him entering 2023 than any of the Wild Card contenders do.

The last time we saw Chapman, his control had all but deserted him, and his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it velocity was down several ticks, to the point where you’d probably be able to catch up to it even if you blinked a time or two.

Best-case scenario, the Marlins will be able to flip Chapman to the Dodgers or Padres at the deadline after half of his one-year, $6 million contract has been absorbed already. Worst-case? He gets to relax in Miami as his career winds down. No harm, no foul.

Gary Sánchez Prediction: Arizona Diamondbacks

The longer Sánchez stays on the market, the more likely the Boston Red Sox are to be tempted into saying, “F*** it” and extending an offer to the slugger who — let’s face it — did his most damage over the Monster (and against David Price).

It’s true that Boston has a vacancy at catcher, with Reese McGuire currently topping the depth chart. However, if the Sox signed Sánchez, they would … still have a vacancy at catcher. Sánchez’s defensive metrics did increase in 2022 (to the point that they were above-average, per Jon Heyman), but he’s still a bat-first player whose offense was below-average in Minnesota. Boston would be better served signing a playoff-tested hitter in Yuli Gurriel to DH (alongside Justin Turner) and back up first base, as has been rumored, rather than trying their luck with Sánchez.

Our best guess is the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are relatively set at catcher (ex-Jays top prospect Gabriel Moreno, Carson Kelly), but could use an upgrade at DH (Josh Rojas currently atop the depth chart).

The D-Backs are closer than most believe to contention, even considering they’re stuck in a division with dragons. If Sánchez busts, this’ll be a relatively low-impact signing. If he booms, Arizona could prosper, rather than starting a .740-OPSing utility infielder in the DH slot everyday.

And also … we sure they’re set at catcher? We know for a fact that Carson Kelly, who hit .211 with a .616 OPS last year, is part of the solution? OK! Gotcha! Arizona over Boston for Sánchez, please, to avoid the headache.

And speaking of potential Bostonians…

Luke Voit Prediction: Cincinnati Reds

Spoiler Alert: Whichever team signs Luke Voit will be getting him at his most furious, and they’ll be happy they did so.

If it’s a team at the bottom of the totem pole (like the Cincinnati Reds or Oakland Athletics, who are somewhere between a team and a money laundering operation), they’ll be able to flip Voit to his fourth home in two years at the trade deadline. There’s a good chance that, after the Reds ditched Mike Moustakas last week, they’ll be looking for some cheap pop to insert into the lineup, and with Joey Votto in recovery mode this offseason after left shoulder/biceps surgery, they will have to fill both first base and DH innings.

Cincinnati would provide Voit with the path of least resistance to playing time, thanks to Votto’s issues and a dearth of names in their depth chart (unless you think Jake Fraley hasn’t earned any competition for reps).

Voit had a much better first half in San Diego (13 bombs in 82 games, 113 OPS+) than he did after being dealt to Washington (9 homers, .676 OPS in 53 games). Ultimately, the ex-Yankees slugger performs better in a playoff race than he does in exile, but he may need to grin and bear it in Cincinnati after his 2022 season wrapped with a whimper and a surprising non-tender.

He won’t end the season in Cincinnati, but he’ll rack up 15-20 first-half homers while playing his home games at the less-than-spacious at Great American Ball Park.

Bonus Prediction: He’ll be a San Diego Padre again by end of season.