Yankees' rumored position change could back them into Nolan Arenado corner

The New York Yankees have some tidying left to do this offseason, but their pitching staff is looking pristine, their defense appears tighter, and their lineup is looking balanced, despite the "walking headfirst into a closed door" effect of losing Juan Soto on that difficult Sunday night.

Still, one hole remains in the batting order and defensive alignment. The Yankees never reached out to Gleyber Torres after he hit free agency (makes sense), and the second baseman, in need of a clean break, reached a one-year, $15 million accord with the Tigers last week. Could the Yankees have afforded that? It doesn't matter; they didn't want to pay it.

Now, an infield gap without an obvious solution persists. Free agency, outside of potential wizards like Jose Iglesias and expensive solutions like Alex Bregman, is fairly barren. The trade market? There are more than a few second basemen available, but the Yankees will have to get creative to obtain them.

Or, as they appear intent on doing, they can always go with the in-house solution. Jazz Chisholm played third base while Torres manned second after coming over at the trade deadline last summer. He did so ably, considering he'd never touched the position before professionally. On Thursday's edition of Yankees Hot Stove, Jack Curry strongly implied that the Yankees prefer Chisholm at second base moving forward.

Catering to the strengths of the guy you already have is probably a wise move. Still, it begs the question: who, exactly, other than Nolan Arenado, is a potential difference-maker at third base? If Chisholm moves, the Yankees have limited their trade options this winter, meaning that a DJ LeMahieu/Oswaldo Cabrera platoon (at least, pre-trade deadline) might be more likely.

Yankees reportedly prefer Jazz Chisholm at second base, limiting their free agent options

Show of hands: Who wants to read the details of Jeimer Candelario's contract? Follow-up question: Have you just eaten lunch, or would a barf be okay right now?

Candelario's a deal the Reds would love to shed, and Rockies stalwart Ryan McMahon still feels appealing, if Colorado ever crosses the necessary threshold and decides to shop him. Still, McMahon is far from an offensive sure thing, and his price tag will be astronomical. Eugenio Suarez? Nice thought, but the Diamondbacks are a top-five team in the NL and just added Corbin Burnes. They'd have to be Mariners-level cheap to deal Suarez away from a contender.

That leaves the Yankees mostly with marginal upgrades, internal terrifiers, and Arenado. Conflicting reports have emerged regarding their connection to St. Louis' former MVP. They may or may not have ever offered Marcus Stroman's money in exchange for him, and they may or may not have gotten laughed out of the room. Signing Paul Goldschmidt could've nudged them in Arenado's direction, or it could've impacted nothing at all.

Arenado's troublesome back injury has lowered his offensive ceiling, and Yankee Stadium's dimensions would double down on that regression. Still, a 2.0-WAR third baseman with elite defense being paid out for "only" three years sounds joyous, compared to an attempt to shoehorn LeMahieu in there.

If the Yankees needed a second baseman, they'd have plenty of creative options to address the deficiency with athleticism. But they need a third sacker, and their choices may have already dwindled to one.