Live from MLB Winter Meetings: What Yankees' trade for Alex Verdugo means for Juan Soto

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - In his everyday wear, Brian Cashman prefers hoodies and polo shirts, khakis and comfortable shoes.

But for each trip to the Baseball Winter Meetings, the Yankees general manager packs a sportscoat and slacks - just in case there's a press conference announcing a major pinstriped acquisition.

At the Opryland Resort this week, the Yankees are under a ton of scrutiny, with a definite need to make some impact moves - either via trades or free agent signings - to spin out of their current malaise.

This space will be our gathering point for news, notes, the latest lobby buzz, thoughts and opinions on the Yankees' direction here in Music City.

Yankees lose three pitchers in MLB Rule 5 Draft

Controllable, young pitching is what it’ll take to pry Juan Soto from San Diego.

While they were deeply into trade talks with the Padres on Wednesday afternoon, the Yankees lost three valued young arms in the Rule 5 Draft.

Left off the Yankees' 40-man roster and exposed to the Rule 5 Draft, right-handers Mitch Spence (Oakland Athletics), Matt Sauer (Kansas City Royals) and Carson Coleman (Texas Rangers) were all selected in the Major League phase.

Those teams must carry the selected player all season on their 26-man active roster or else offer them back to the Yankees.

Spence and Sauer (ranked as the Yanks' No. 25 prospect by MLB Pipeline) were the first two selections, while Coleman was the 10th pick.

In the Class AAA phase, the Yankees selected right-hander Gabriel Barbosa from the Colorado Rockies and right-hander Kervin Castro from the Houston Astros.

The Yankees lost first baseman Eric Wagaman (Los Angeles Angels), catcher Michael Gasper (Boston Red Sox), right-hander Michael Gomez (Tampa Bay Rays) and third baseman Marcos Cabrera (Pittsburgh Pirates) in the minor league phase.

First wave of winter moves

One thought after the Yankees' unexpected trade for Boston's Alex Verdugo was that, perhaps, the San Diego Padres' attention was refocused on making a Juan Soto deal.

The Yankees' action here might motivate San Diego, altering the dull nature of trade discussions over Soto.

Maybe it won't be the baseball version of the Music City Miracle, with the Yanks coming home with Soto and an agreement with Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto (he's expected to meet with clubs next week), but that exacta is still in play.

Heading toward free agency next year, Verdugo could be a useful rental piece, with a lefty swing that will benefit more in the Bronx.

But his game hasn't risen to the heights Boston anticipated when they sent the great Mookie Betts to Dodger Stadium in their pre-season 2020 trade, leading to this unique moment with the Red Sox unloading one of their lineup regulars to Yankee Stadium. And if Verdugo is playing left field, with Aaron Judge in right, who is playing center field?

Is it possible Verdugo is flipped by the Yanks?

If the Yankees get their target in Soto, they’ll still have to address center field.

How untouchable is Michael King?

There are big plans for Michael King in the Yankees’ 2024 rotation, and his name has been a non-starter in trade talks for Juan Soto.

But asked Tuesday if King was considered an untouchable in any trade discussions, GM Brian Cashman said: “I don’t think after the year we’ve had there’d be very few untouchables.

“But obviously we value Michael King a lot. He’s been a very good player for us and makes us better by having him here. Despite having a bad year, we have a lot of players that teams are interested in. That’s a good thing.’’

Cashman later expanded on that subject.

“Do I want to trade Gleyber Torres? Do I want to trade Michael King? Do I want to trade any of these guys? The answer would be no.

“I like the players we have. I think the team is better than it showed last year. My job is to add to it, but you have to give to get.’’

Incidentally, Cashman said he’s not in the market for a third baseman, with DJ LeMahieu and Oswald Peraza as in-house candidates.

A Yankees winter nightmare scenario

With the Yankees still in a staring match with the Padres in the stalled Juan Soto trade talks, you get to wondering…

How much of a threat are the Toronto Blue Jays here?

You hear Toronto being mentioned as a significant player for Shohei Ohtani (but who knows how he feels about leaving SoCal, which was a geographic priority for him six years ago).

And you’ve begun to hear if Ohtani goes to the Dodgers, Giants or back to the Angels, the Blue Jays could pivot quickly toward more intense discussions for Soto.

At this rate, Toronto might wind up posing the biggest challenge to the Yanks’ chances of trading for Soto.

And Soto (or the longshot bid for Ohtani) in the AL East, and not in pinstripes, would be a Yankee winter nightmare scenario.

Yankees' interest in Jung-Hoo Lee

On the Juan Soto trade front, the current impasse in discussions between the Yankees and Padres might be temporary.

But what if it isn’t?

As desperate as the Yankees might seem to make a Soto deal, or to spend lavishly on free agent Cody Bellinger, there’s enough cost risk involved to consider other alternatives.

Lefty-hitting, South Korean outfielder Jung-Hoo Lee will reportedly be posted by the KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes on Tuesday morning, starting a 30-day window for negotiations.

Of course, the Yankees are tied to interest in Lee, but so are several other clubs, including the Mets.

Lee, 25, is a .340-career hitter known for his low strikeout rate, with some developing power and the ability to play all three outfield spots.

But there’s some leap of faith required, hoping Lee’s star will keep rising at the MLB level.

Lee also wouldn’t be as expensive as Bellinger, or cost them any top prospects, etc., as a Soto deal requires, but the Yanks would still be expected to make at least another splashy winter move.

They’re also chasing Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, along with the Mets.

As with Yamamoto, Lee’s signing requires a posting fee be paid to his former club. Incidentally, Lee, Bellinger and Soto are all represented by Scott Boras.

The sights on the way to Row 24

It was an All-Star cast of various baseball illuminati on our packed Sunday afternoon flight to Nashville from Newark.

The field included Yankees executive Omar Minaya, the YES Network's Meredith Marakovits, former big-league pitcher Al Leiter, and MLB Network colleagues Matt Vasgersian and Brian Kenny along with several fellow baseball scribes.

Keeping Michael King out of the Juan Soto talks

Given the small pool of impact free-agent position players and the Yankees’ acute need to bolster their lineup, the San Diego Padres would seem to have an advantage.

Juan Soto is the prize, but what’s the reasonable price for the slugging lefty-hitting outfielder who’ll be eligible for free agency after the 2024 season?

Can a trade be made without the Yanks having to include Michael King, but still provide San Diego with enough pitching?

According to USA TODAY baseball columnist Bob Nightengale, discussion between the Yanks and Padres about Soto had reached “a complete stalemate’’ due to San Diego’s asking price.

That ask, Nightengale wrote, was King, Drew Thorpe, Clarke Schmidt, Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito and two more prospects for Soto and lefty-hitting center fielder Trent Grisham.

And that kind of a seven-player haul for potentially one year of Soto isn’t going to fly, though the Yanks must come across with the right measure of prospects and big-league ready pitching.

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The Yanks plan to slot King into their 2024 rotation (while also pursuing Japan’s Yoshinobu Yamamoto), so he might be a non-starter in trade talks for Soto.

Thorpe was honored as baseball’s top Pitching Prospect of the Year for 2023, and the Yanks also have incentive to hang onto prized young right-handers Chase Hampton and Will Warren.

But at least one from that trio might expect to be included in a Soto deal, along with Schmidt, maybe one of Vasquez or Brito, and another pitcher from the Yankees’ top 20 prospects list.

Is a package of four or five such pitchers enough to get a deal done, with the Yanks absorbing the $6 million or so Grisham (arbitration eligible) will make, on top of the anticipated $33 million Soto would cost in his final arb year?

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Yankees at MLB Winter Meetings 2023: News, rumors, free agency updates