This should be Yankees' plan after Kyle Tucker trade miss (and Cody Bellinger deal)

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Owner Hal Steinbrenner have shown a propensity to spend this offseason, sticking in the Juan Soto sweepstakes until the bitter end. In addition to the Soto negotiations, the Yankees signed Max Fried to a $218 million contract and were heavily interested in trading for Kyle Tucker, who is now employed by the Chicago Cubs.

Tucker was a notable miss, however, and here's how the Yankees can pivot to try and somewhat replace Soto's production. The good news is that they traded for Cody Bellinger on Tuesday, which is a great start, but more needs to be done.

As the Yankees pivot toward their next acquisitions, let's define their needs. Depending where Jazz Chisholm will play, either third base or second base will need to be filled. Anthony Rizzo and DJ Lemahieu have battled health and performance decline recently, opening up first base too.

Unless Jasson Dominguez or Trent Grisham are set to patrol the outfield on an everyday basis with Aaron Judge and Bellinger, at least left field remains open at the moment. Add in Fried, Jonathan Loaisiga and Devin Williams, all signs point to an expensive winter.

Regardless of where Chisholm is set to play, Ha-Seong Kim should be priority No. 1 on the dirt. After seven solid seasons in the KBO, Kim ventured stateside, turning in four productive years with the San Diego Padres. After declining his $8 million mutual option, Kim is on the open market without a qualifying offer attached to him (a big key here). Kim's career offensive numbers have been rather vanilla, as he's posted a .242/.326/.380 line with a 10.4% walk rate. All this adds up to a 101 wRC+, just a hair above league average.

So why Kim? For one, he hardly swings and misses, ranking in the 92nd percentile of whiff rate in 2024. As a team, New York whiffed 23.8% of the time, comfortably below the league average of 25.3%, but they could still use less of that. Kim has experience at both third base and second base, playing both at an above-average clip in 2023, according to Statcast's Outs Above Average.

The one concern here is that Kim is making a return from shoulder surgery and seems to have a delayed timetable for 2025. If there's hope in his progress, however, the Yankees should jump on the opportunity.

At first base, Carlos Santana seems to have fought off Father Time for one more year. Even at 38, hea produced a 3.0 fWAR, earning his first Gold Glove as well. Santana being a switch-hitter adds a left-handed element to a Yankees lineup in desperate need. Sticking with the theme of plate discipline, Santana has run a career walk rate of 14.1%. He was also more apt at lifting the ball this past season, averaging a career-high launch angle of 16.1 degrees. The Yankees have been linked to Santana in the past, and his combination of power, plate discipline, and defense (14 Outs Above Average) are exactly what was missed at first base in 2024.

In the outfield, missing on Soto and Tucker make any backup plan a bit less intriguing. Bryan Hoch reported last week that Dominguez is likely to play center field this season, though that may have changed after the Bellinger trade. Either way, left field is seemingly open. Enter Joc Pederson, who is known for his slugging, belting 209 career home runs. Only problem? He has not played the field since 2023. Still, Pederson is relatively cheap, with FanGraphs' Crowd Sourcing predicting a $14 million AAV. That price seems like a no-brainer for a lefty slugger with a career 120 wRC+. Plus, the right field fence will continue to tantalize lefties.

The Yankees have encountered issues with their defensive tightness and their overall offensive consistency. It won't be easy to address those deficiencies at once, so even if some of these feel like imperfect fits, they should serve as upgrades in some sense while keeping the payroll in check.