Rangers GM all but officially killed Yankees-Corey Seager trade dream

New York Yankees fans have felt their hearts flutter anytime Corey Seager’s name has emerged in trade buzz this offseason. An upgrade to Anthony Volpe would be a wonderful gift in 2026, and Seager mock trades have been a-churning.

In the end, though, it always felt way too good to be true that the Yanks were actually on the verge of snagging a two-time World Series MVP shortstop still very much in his prime. Despite Seager’s $31 AAV over the next six years not being ridiculous, there have always been whispers that New York’s front office considers it too rich.

And even if Brian Cashman and Co. were going all-in on Seager right now, it sounds like the Yankees would be running into a rock-solid barrier in the form of Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young.

Yankees News: Rangers PBO Chris Young shuts down Corey Seager trade buzz

Young appeared on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM on Sunday and addressed the Seager buzz. “We are not shopping Corey Seager, I want to make that very clear,” Young said. Alrighty then.

MLB Trade Rumors still considers Seager not utterly untouchable (in a Tarik Skubal sort of way) and also noted that the Boston Red Sox have checked in on Seager. But Young’s remarks are about as crystal clear as it gets, which should convince Yankees fans to stop dreaming about the star slugger.

Fans shouldn’t be too disappointed, seeing as multiple factors made a Seager trade highly unlikely, not least of all the Yankees’ sheepish attitude towards spending these days. Amid an offseason in which Hal Steinbrenner suggested the Yankees aren’t a profitable organization, it would have seemed odd for Cashman to launch the Yanks into the top level of the luxury tax (for a third straight year) by plopping Seager’s deal onto his and Steinbrenner’s plate.

If the Yankees are going to drop around $30 million AAV on a Volpe upgrade, they might as well acquire someone younger like Bo Bichette, especially since paying Bichette would remove his services from the Toronto Blue Jays, who are currently the Yankees’ biggest problem, even if Aaron Boone wants to downplay it.

Alas, while the Jays swing big for the Kyle Tuckers and Dylan Ceases of the market, the Yankees will continue to bide their time with the Amed Rosarios and Cade Winquests, hoping that everything will magically come together in 2026. Seager would have been an interruption from New York's regularly scheduled programming, but we were fooling ourselves.