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The New York Yankees have already started a offseason in which Brian Cashman will have to make important decisions to improve a team that fell short again in October.
During a new edition of the program The Yankists, Edwin Morel analyzed two of the topics that are generating conversation around the organization: the possible alternatives to reinforce the third base towards 2027 and the clarification made by Pat Murphy after his controversial comments about the Yankees.
In the case of third base, four players appeared in the analysis as names that could make sense for New York if management decides to explore the exchange market: Jordan Lawlar, Royce Lewis, Casey Schmitt and Jordan Westburg.
There is a fundamental clarification.
None of the four has been reported as the Yankees' confirmed target.
They are alternatives raised by their characteristics, contractual situations, offensive potential and possible needs of their respective teams.
For the Yankists, the real debate is not to ensure that New York will negotiate for one of them, but to determine which of those profiles could really help build a more complete lineup.
The third base appears among the needs of Yankees for 2027
New York ended 2026 with different questions within its offense.
One of them is in third base.
Ryan McMahon remains under contract and offers a significant defense, but his offensive production left room to consider other alternatives.
That doesn't necessarily mean that the Yankees have to part with McMahon.
They could also look for a right hitter capable of complementing their production, starting against certain pitchers, or competing for a larger function.
This detail is important because the New York Lineup has several left-handed hitters.
Finding more balance from the right side could give Aaron Boone more options depending on the rival.
And there begins the analysis of the four names treated in the Yankees.
Jordan Lawlar: Youth, Speed and an Opportunity to Explode
Jordan Lawlar probably represents the alternative with the largest projection component.
Arizona selected it with the sixth general election of the 2021 draft and for years it was considered among the most important prospects in the Major Leagues.
It was mainly developed as a shortstop, although it has the necessary athletics to move to third base and other positions.
That is immediately appealing to a team like the Yankees.
The versatility would allow it to be used in different ways and would not force New York to see it exclusively as a traditional third base.
But there is a major problem.
Injuries have repeatedly disrupted their development.
Lawlar has tools.
has speed.
He has youth.
He has defensive ability.
And it still maintains an interesting ceiling.
The question is if you can stay healthy long enough to turn those tools into consistent major league production.
Why could Arizona hear proposals?
The Diamondbacks situation makes Arizona a particularly interesting team for the Yankees.
They need controllable pitching and New York has different arms that could be attractive in a negotiation.
The Yankees, for their part, need to find production in other areas without necessarily entering every expensive free agency competition.
That creates a theoretical possibility of exchange.
But possibility does not mean negotiation.
So far there is no information indicating that Yankees has submitted an offer for Lawlar.
That was precisely one of the points pointed out during the Yankees: analyzing a player who fits does not mean presenting it as an operation that is already happening.
Royce Lewis: Probably the greatest talent, but also one of the biggest risks
Royce Lewis offers a completely different profile.
The Twins selected him with the first absolute pick of the 2017 draft.
When he has been healthy, he has shown conditions to be an offensive impact player.
It has also produced in moments of pressure.
Your problem has been to stay available.
Lewis has gone through the list of injuries and different physical problems have interrupted his continuity.
During 2026 he managed to play 125 games, the most of his career.
But it also registered a strike rate of 25.5%, the highest of its trajectory, while its home frequency decreased.
That creates a complicated evaluation.
The talent is still there.
But any interested team would have to wonder if they are acquiring a future impact piece or a player whose physical history will continue to prevent them from reaching their full potential.
Would Royce Lewis make sense for the Yankees?
From the Yankees' point of view, it would depend entirely on the price.
If Minnesota requires a package corresponding to the maximum value that Lewis once projected, the risk would be considerable.
If your injury history lowers the acquisition cost, then the conversation changes.
New York needs to improve.
But you don't need to despair.
A smart offseason consists precisely in identifying when a risk is correctly valued.
Casey Schmitt offers power right and versatility
Casey Schmitt may be one of the profiles that best responds to what the Yankees need.
The San Francisco player was building a major growth season before suffering an injury to the left meniscus.
He had connected 21 home runs and registered an OPS+ of 115.
In addition, he produced especially well against left-handed pitchers.
He ended up batting .314 against pitchers on that side, with Ops of .820.
That is exactly the type of feature that may interest New York.
a right bat.
power.
Ability to defend different positions.
and experience both in third and in other parts of the picture.
Schmitt would not necessarily have to come as an absolute owner
This is an important part of the analysis.
The Yankees could look for a player who complements McMahon instead of replacing him immediately.
Schmitt would have characteristics to fulfill such a function.
You can start in front of lefties.
You can move through the box.
It can offer power from the bank.
And if you end up consistently producing, Aaron Boone could increase his game time.
Everything would depend again on the price that San Francisco requests.
The Giants and Yankees have recently shown that they can negotiate with each other, which at least removes a barrier that exists with other organizations.
Jordan Westburg may be the most complete player in the group
Jordan Westburg is perhaps the most intriguing name when bat, defense, and versatility are combined.
When you have been healthy, you have shown impact player potential.
You can defend different positions within the frame.
Bat to the right.
And it still has years of contractual control.
That naturally increases its value.
But again the same element that surrounds several of these candidates appears.
health.
Westburg lost the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery and his return is projected for spring training.
Before proposing any serious negotiation, the Yankees would have to have absolute confidence in their recovery.
Negotiating with Baltimore would be tricky, but not impossible
There is also another element.
Westburg belongs to the Orioles.
Exchange important talent within the same division always requires an additional evaluation.
No team wants to directly strengthen a rival that they will face repeatedly throughout the season.
However, Baltimore has already demonstrated a willingness to perform certain operations within the division when it considers that the return is worthwhile.
That means it wouldn't be impossible.
But it would probably be expensive.
The four names have something in common: they also have risks
This was one of the central points of the analysis carried out on the Yankees.
There is no perfect solution.
Lawlar has talent, but injuries have slowed his development.
Lewis possesses enormous offensive capacity, but his physical history generates concern.
Schmitt had been producing before injuring his knee.
Westburg is returning from major surgery.
That also helps explain why they could be accessible.
If they were young, cheap, healthy, and questionless players, their respective teams would have little reason to consider moving them.
Cashman's job will be to determine which risk has the greatest chance of becoming a profit.
Yankees doesn't need just another home run
The profile of the player acquired will also be important.
New York needs power, but the 2026 offensive problem is not solved by simply accumulating more players who depend on the home run.
The Yankees need better turns.
greater capacity to place the ball in play.
More production against quality pitching.
defensive flexibility.
speed.
and an alignment capable of adapting to different types of matches.
The third base can become an opportunity to add some of those features.
Ryan McMahon still counts in planning
It would also be wrong to write about this need as if the Yankees do not currently have a third base.
McMahon is still under contract and New York has an important economic commitment to him.
His defense still has value.
That makes moving it not necessarily easy.
One option could be to reduce your exposure to certain pitchers and combine it with a right bat.
Another would be to acquire a sufficiently versatile player so that both can coexist inside the roster.
That is why a third base movement has to be evaluated within the complete construction of the equipment.
Anthony Volpe and Luis García Jr. also affect that decision
The Yankees consider that they have options for second base.
Anthony Volpe can compete for that position.
Luis García Jr. also appears within the conversation, although his best offensive performance came after establishing himself as first baseman.
Garcia comes from connecting 30 home runs and producing an .831 OPS in 2026.
Moving it defensively simply to fill another position could end up affecting something that worked.
It can also become an attractive exchange piece if New York receives a better positioned bat in exchange.
All this shows that decisions cannot be made in isolation.
Teruaki Sato represents another alternative outside the exchange market
During this offseason there is also a completely different option.
Teruaki Sato was placed on the international market after an extraordinary season in Japan.
The 27-year third baseman won the Central League Triple Crown with an average of .306, 39 home runs and 106 RBIs.
He also won his second consecutive Most Valuable Player award.
For Yankees it would represent a different route.
They would not have to deliver prospects.
But yes, compete with money.
And as with any player who makes the leap from Japan, there is uncertainty about how his production will translate into major leagues.
The second theme of the Yankists: Pat Murphy clarifies the controversy
The same edition of the Yankees also tackled a story that had generated quite a bit of conversation around the Yankees.
Pat Murphy, manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, decided to publicly explain his comments after a video of the championship celebration went viral.
In that recording, Murphy talked to Jake Bauers and used very strong words to refer to the former player's team in New York.
The initial impression was that Murphy was directly attacking the Yankees.
He later explained that this was not the context he intended to convey.
Murphy assures that it was a recurring joke with Jake Bauers
The Milwaukee leader explained that he had been joking with Bauers for some time about his next free agency.
The idea was that, after getting a major contract, Bauers could go to another team and forget the collective way of playing the Brewers had built.
Murphy acknowledged that he used the Yankees in that conversation because Bauers had previously played in New York.
But he assured that he did not intend to specifically accuse the 2026 team of being selfish.
Nor did he claim that he personally knew the inner workings of the current clubhouse.
The manager acknowledged that he regretted using those words.
Pat Murphy directly called Brian Cashman
The clarification went beyond an interview.
Murphy revealed that when he learned that the video had begun to circulate, he immediately called Brian Cashman.
According to the leader, he had a good conversation with the general manager of the Yankees to explain the context.
Murphy also spoke positively of Cashman and made it clear that he did not intend to start a confrontation between organizations.
That helps close some of a controversy that had grown considerably after the Milwaukee celebration.
The clarification does not completely eliminate the debate caused by his words
Although Murphy clarified his intentions, the reaction that the video generated also shows something that the Yankees cannot ignore.
There is currently a conversation around the identity of the team.
Jorge Posada has spoken about responsibility.
Joe Girardi has questioned certain aspects of the execution.
Other ex-members have commented on fundamentals and leadership.
The organization has defended its way of handling these issues internally.
That means that not all external criticisms necessarily describe what actually happens inside the Clubhouse.
But it also doesn't mean that they should be automatically discarded.
The Yankistas: winter must be lace and not only with names
During the show, Edwin Morel raised a fundamental issue for this offseason.
The Yankees need to improve.
That's clear.
But improving does not simply mean acquiring the best-known player available.
It means building better.
Jordan Lawlar.
Royce Lewis.
Casey Schmitt.
Jordan Westburg.
Each offers something different.
Each also represents a different risk.
And so far none has been confirmed as New York's target.
The analysis should start by identifying what the roster really needs and then determining which player fits best.
Brian Cashman will have to find value without compromising the entire future
The Yankees have interesting prospects.
They have young arms.
They have players that other teams would surely request in a negotiation.
But they should not let go of their best talent simply to show that they made a move.
The goal is to find value.
Buy low if an opportunity appears.
take advantage of the existing depth.
And get a player who really improves the lineup.
After another early elimination, the pressure exists.
But decisions made under desperation tend to become the most expensive.
The third base will be only part of the work
New York also needs to rebuild important parts of the bullpen.
Seek more offensive balance.
You may need depth in the center garden.
There is also room for a complementary right receiver.
That means Cashman can't spend all of his resources by solving a single position.
The third base matters.
But the championship will not depend on a single movement.
Yankees offseason has really started
The names begin to appear.
The scenarios begin to be discussed.
And the Yankists will continue to analyze each possibility, always differentiating between confirmed information, rumors and simple market alternatives.
For now, Jordan Lawlar, Royce Lewis, Casey Schmitt and Jordan Westburg are part of the debate on how New York could improve third base.
They are not confirmed negotiations.
Meanwhile, Pat Murphy has already clarified his words, acknowledged that he regretted the way he expressed himself and spoke directly with Brian Cashman.
They are two different stories, but both are part of the same moment of the Yankees.
An organization trying to determine what it needs to change in 2027 as conversations around its identity, its roster and its way of competing continue to grow.
Now the really important thing will come.
Move from analysis to decisions.