Diamondbacks officially bury 2 Yankees offseason storylines once and for all

Though the New York Yankees have far bigger issues to solve this offseason, two areas of need were at third base and in the bullpen. It's been widely speculated the team wants a platoon partner for Ryan McMahon at the hot corner (a dumb investment in our opinion, but it is what it is), in addition to supplemental relievers.

Finding relief pitchers is a much easier task, given the larger pool to choose from. And some fans were nervous that New York would reunite with a guy who has let them down far too many times over the years. Thankfully, the Arizona Diamondbacks stepped in to end the discussion.

They are signing Jonathan Loaisiga to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training. Never forget this man pitched TWENTY total games for the Yankees from 2023-2024, yet Brian Cashman was spooked by the Mets' involvement in his market last offseason, prompting NYY's ridiculous $5 million offer. Loaisiga unsurprisingly accepted it and appeared in 30 games, featuring some of the worst work of his career.

The Yankees declined his team option for the 2026 season and he's been floating in free agency ever since. From $5 million to pennies. He should've been signed to a minor-league deal last offseason for how bad/ineffective he was from 2022-2024.

Diamondbacks sign former Yankee Jonathan Loaisiga, trade for Nolan Arenado

And then came the D-backs' big move. Minutes after the Loaisiga deal, they traded for St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado as Chaim Bloom continues his rebuild. They traded one prospect and received ample salary relief (they'll pay Arenado just $11 million total and St. Louis will cover the rest).

For the last two offseasons, New York was loosely linked to Arenado given their need at third base. The noise was more aggressive last year when the Bombers had no solidified guaranteed option to take over on Opening Day, and it was much quieter this time around with McMahon in the fold.

That said ... Arenado for $11 million total over the next two years might've actually been a great platoon situation for McMahon? How was this not at all considered? All it cost was the Diamondbacks' eighth-round selection in the 2025 MLB Draft and the Cardinals kicked in $31 million.

Whatever the case, Yankees fans no longer need to worry about either of these scenarios in the back of their minds any longer. There was always fear they could reunite with Loaisiga on a deal that cost them nothing, but fans didn't even view that as favorable because they already knew what they were getting.

As for Arenado, he obviously wasn't a preferred target, but it's now obvious McMahon will be the guy until further notice if New York wasn't willing to pay 25% of Arenado's remaining salary to provide some support at the hot corner.

What's next? No idea. But the options have been further narrowed.