Grading the Yankees' Winter Meetings recovery from losing Juan Soto

Let's cut to the chase: it is downright impossible to give the New York Yankees a wholly positive grade for a week that began by losing a generational talent to your neighbors. There is no way to "thumbs up" someone willingly turning down $760 million to go play for someone else. Head nod voraciously at a week full of side-swipes about suites and security guards? Can't be done!

That said, if the Yankees had brought back Juan Soto on the eve of the Winter Meetings, it seems safe to say they would've spent the rest of the event on the sidelines, much the same way the Mets did. After losing Soto, though? They doubled back with renewed aggression, determined to revamp their roster and craft a defensive depth chart that wasn't stuck together with duct tape and caramel, begging Soto to undo their latest error (often his latest error) with another titanic wallop.

Max Fried might've been their only sterling import during the three-day frenzy; the Yankees outbid the Red Sox and Rangers significantly to secure him with eight years and $218 million. Like Soto, breaking the existing record (David Price, the highest-ever lefty contract) clearly mattered to Fried. Cry "overpay" if you'd like, but the Yankees have the unique advantage to absorb a few bad years on the back end if they must. By that point, Carlos Rodón, Giancarlo Stanton, Gerrit Cole, and even Aaron Judge will no longer be under contract (crazy!). Armed with a knee-buckling curveball, Fried seems likely to age well as his velocity dips; he even revamped his sweeper usage last September. It's highly probable that Fried will stick to Gerrit Cole's tutelage closely, and a top three of Cole/Fried/Rodón looks much better than last October's unit.

Yankees Winter Meetings Grade: B, With the Potential to Rise Higher

Certainly, this remains an incomplete process, but groundwork was laid for greatness, and the Yankees seem to have hit the ground running in the right direction.

Now that Fried's under control, the Yankees can more comfortably move their pitching depth in exchange for the bats they require. It's true that pitching wasn't this team's primary weakness entering the offseason -- even before losing Soto -- and Fried represented an unexpected first salvo. Still, he gives them the flexibility to do so much more.

While a Christian Walker signing appeared close at one point, the reality is the Yankees spent most of the rest of the meetings talking trade. Kyle Tucker's unexpected availability, paired with the Texas Rangers acquiring Jake Burger's power for peanuts, made the Yankees realize they had high-ceiling options to pursue without the loss of draft picks.

Their offseason grade obviously goes down if they reach spring training without two of Tucker, Walker, Cody Bellinger, Nathaniel Lowe, Brandon Lowe, and Josh Naylor. At this moment, though, they seem intent on exploring all their options for offensive upgrades rather than hoping Caleb Durbin and Soto would get along. While they're not quite drunken sailors, they're at least a pleasant variety of tipsy.

Add in a relatively painless reunion with Jonathan Loaisiga (one year, that works), and the swap of Carlos Narvaez for a high-ceiling Red Sox pitching prospect (betting on arm talent from a strong system is usually a smart gamble), and the Yankees have gotten back on their feet again quickly.