Yankees may have dodged disaster after getting blasted for Winter Meetings decision

Perhaps someday we'll be forced to recant this column under penalty of embarrassment. For now, we stand by it: the New York Yankees "cheaped out" at the Winter Meetings and appear to have come out all the better for it. As of mid-April, the accusations no longer hold merit.

In the moments after Juan Soto's, uh, pivot to the Mets and Max Fried's record-setting contract with the Yankees, rumor had it that Brian Cashman wasn't done. Despite sacrificing both significant cash and two draft picks to bring Fried into the fold, several different sources all crowed at the same time that the Yankees were closing in on a deal for Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker.

If the Yankees had retained Soto, they wouldn't have lost a draft pick in any capacity. Bringing Fried home reinforced their rotation, but it also cost them $1 million in international bonus money, as well as their second- and fifth-round picks. Adding Walker's .803 OPS in 2024 would've cost even more pool money and a heftier pick penalty.

In the end, whether the Yankees really were "closing in" or not, they decided to pass on the penalties Walker's arrival would've imposed.

Yankees Rumors: Offseason Christian Walker contract would've put Yankees in a brutal early spot

Several weeks later, they landed on Paul Goldschmidt on a one-year deal, hopeful that he could serve as an effective stopgap without tying them down in the longer term. Through Goldschmidt's first 17 games, he's hitting .349 with an .867 OPS, putting his head down and grinding the way he used to at his peak.

Walker, after agreeing to a three-year, $60 million, draft-pick-depleting deal with the Houston Astros? One homer, a .154 batting average, and a .482 OPS. He will be 36 years old when the deal ends, and will ostensibly block his current team from pursuing Japanese free agent slugger Munetaka Murakami next winter, if they so desire.

The Yankees and Astros chose alternate paths here, and while the idea of the Yankees getting deep into conversations with Walker only to remember, "Oh, yeah, draft picks!" sounds remarkably foolish, the bottom line is that New York was averse to many layers of his cost and preferred Goldschmidt on a shorter timeline. They may have inherently preferred the player they got as well.

If you yelled at the Yankees in December for cheaping out, you should be thankful they landed on Fried first, deeming him worthy of surrendering draft pick compensation, then pivoted before sandbagging themselves.