Yankees news: Tucker viewed as backup plan to Bellinger

MLB Trade Rumors | Mark Polishuk: The Yankees have yet to make their first big splash of free agency, but it appears that Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger have emerged as their most prominent targets. If a recent report from Jon Heyman is to believed, there is a clear hierarchy of prioritization between the two players, with the front office viewing Tucker as a backup plan in case they can’t sign Bellinger. Heyman reports that the Yankees are more drawn by Bellinger’s defensive flexibility to play all three outfield positions over Tucker’s offensive upside and age (Tucker is a year-and-a-half younger). They also were impressed by Bellinger’s ability to perform in the Bronx. However, the obvious reason for their preference of Bellinger is the respective costs for both players, Bellinger pegged for a deal in the neighborhood of $150 million while some in the industry believe Tucker could command north of $400 million.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: We’re almost to the Winter Meetings and it’s still unclear how the Yankees will address their roster or allocate their payroll. Owner Hal Steinbrenner doubled down on his belief that a high payroll is not necessary to contend. He refuted the notion that the Dodgers’ league-high payroll across the last two seasons was instrumental in them repeating as World Series champions, declaring that there was a weak correlation at best between spending and winning. What’s more, Brian Cashman revealed that he has been given concrete salary levels beyond which he will tap out on pursuit of a player as we saw with their failed courtship of Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Juan Soto. For now, it looks like the plan is to roll it back with the same infield and starting rotation, Cashman hoping that pitchers returning from injury will be enough to improve on last year’s group. The most likely areas where additions will be made remain an outfielder and a reliever.

MLB.com | Mark Feinsand: Feinsand ran through the most likely trade candidate for all 30 teams and singled out Spencer Jones as the Yankees’ representative. He’s the Yankees’ No. 4 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and is coming off an impressive campaign of 35 home runs and a .933 OPS across Double-A and Triple-A. However, given their pursuit of an outfielder in free agency, Trent Grisham returning on the Qualifying Offer, Jasson Domínguez’s presence on the roster and Jones’ boom-or-bust risk given his high strikeout and in-zone whiff rates, Jones could be the odd man out and thus becomes a valuable trade chip.