The New York Yankees have been agile this offseason after losing free-agent slugger Juan Soto to the Mets.
General manager Brian Cashman quickly switched his focus to run-prevention by signing starter Max Fried and trading for closer Devin Williams.
He brought in a perfect bat for Yankee Stadium in the trade for Cody Bellinger and added some versatility with the first baseman/center fielder.
Now, he’s adapting to what the Yankees need at first base. Early in the offseason, the Yankees and Gold-Glove first baseman Christian Walker seemed to be the perfect fit.
The Yankees were talking to the 33-year-old Walker in the immediate aftermath of their failure to land Soto, but those talks cooled off before the end of the Winter Meetings.
Now, former Reds GM and analyst for MLB Network Radio, Jim Bowden predicts the Diamondbacks are under more pressure to re-sign Walker.
“Walker has won three consecutive NL Gold Glove awards at first base and has averaged 32 home runs per season over that span. He’s one of the Diamondbacks’ leaders and a backbone of their team. If they want to return to the playoffs, it’s imperative they re-sign Walker, even if they have to go to a fourth year to get a deal done. It will probably take four years and $100 million to land Walker, who will turn 34 in March. It would be especially risky at the back end of the deal, but that’s the price to do business in 2024,” Bowden wrote in The Athletic.
More MLB: Yankees have to battle deep-pocketed Mets for another free agent
