Yankees News: Roki Sasaki meeting, NYY sign underrated minor-leaguer, Nolan Arenado

The New York Yankees have already gone further with Roki Sasaki than they ever did with the last high-profile Japanese amateur free agent Shohei Ohtani: they've secured an in-person meeting.

And though they're far from the current favorites to land the right-hander, we all know how much "favored" status did for the Yankees during the Ohtani pursuit. Against all odds, it got them eliminated first.

While the Dodgers and Padres are widely thought of as dueling favorites in this chase, where money isn't an obstacle or even a deciding factor, Brian Cashman seemed thankful on Wednesday for the chance to differentiate the Yankees' brand and tentpoles during an in-person conversation.

“I’m going to be very candid, I’m going to be very transparent,” Cashman told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. “It’s our one shot to separate ourselves. If there is West Coast bias, the only way to overcome that is how we can help and support him in any way, shape or form we can. So we will be very transparent, and if that still doesn’t get us the player, so be it.”

Yankees News: Yankees meet with Roki Sasaki, sign former fan favorite SF Giants minor-leaguer

Sasaki will cost only International Bonus pool money, placing any team whose presentation wins him over on equal footing with their competitors financially. Hopefully, the Yankees prove there was a good reason why Sasaki's agent Joel Wolfe told the gathered masses at the Winter Meetings that he thought his client "could handle" New York, despite previous trepidation around the media.

While the Sasaki pursuit takes left-center stage, the Yankees are also shoring up their prospect depth. According to the waiver wire, the Yankees have added fan favorite Giants prospect Ismael Munguia to their system.

Munguia, if he evolves into his idealized form, could approximate Steven Kwan's impact in Cleveland; the 5'7" gnat endeared himself to Giants fans with his relentless offensive chippiness. Last season, he hit .286 with an .805 OPS across Double-A and Triple-A, slumping a bit when he reached the highest level (.250 in 50 games with Sacramento).

Joyfully, he also bats lefty.

Nolan Arenado trade spike affects Yankees target Alex Bregman

Elsewhere across the league, the Yankees' rivals in Houston got more confusing on Wednesday when it was revealed that Nolan Arenado invoked his no-trade clause to block a deal that would've brought him to the Astros, shifting Isaac Paredes to first base. While the door is now technically open for Yankees target Alex Bregman to return to Houston, the Astros seemingly won't budge on their $156 million offer to Bregman, but were reportedly willing to cover $59 million of the $74 million left on Arenado's deal. Jim Crane's unilateral opposition to long-term deals appears to be winning out once again.

New York is also still in on Arenado, somehow; according to St. Louis' Derrick Goold, the Yankees are one of "five-ish" teams to make contact regarding the slick fielder. Other known destinations include the Red Sox, Astros (spiked), Angels, and a mystery team.

Neither Bregman nor Arenado would be an ideal fit into New York's current offseason plan, but at the very least, making Houston a little hot under the collar is always worth it.