Of course, given their stable and strong performances over the past few seasons, if the Yankees want to sign either of these two players, they're sure to have to shell out a contract with a long term and an average annual salary close to $30 million. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Moreover, whether it's Arenado or Machado, neither of them are known for having a good temper, and just figuring out how to integrate them into the team will require head coach Don Mattingly to put in a lot of effort.

The second issue is the on-base stability during offense—if you take a closer look at the hitters within the Yankees, you'll find that most of them are famous for their explosive power, high strikeout rates, and reliance on long hits.

It's not that this type of hitter is bad, but a team cannot have only this one type of player, otherwise, it's easy to be deliberately targeted by the opponent's formation.

Especially in the more unpredictable playoffs, if a team wants to go further, they can't just rely on the big home run explosions, they need someone who can consistently get on base and connect the offense.

In this way, a hitter with a high batting average and on-base percentage, and preferably someone who can also contribute defensively is quite necessary, especially considering that left fielder Brett Gardner will turn 36 midway through next season, so ideally, this player can also play left field competently.

With these criteria, the best candidate seemed evident: Michael Brantley, the main left fielder for the Cleveland Indians, one of the representative figures of skillful hitting, with an average batting average over .300 in his 10-year MLB career, consistently contributing more than 150 hits each year when healthy.

And most importantly, Brantley's contract amount won't be as massive as Arenado's or Machado's, and he has expressed a willingness to accept a short-term deal, which allows the Yankees to maintain operational flexibility over the next few seasons without repeating the mistake of the Ellsbury contract, which in hindsight has turned into a worthless paper.

With a target in sight, the Yankees' negotiation team quickly got into action: both Machado and Brantley are hot items in this winter's free agency market. Reportedly, the rebuilding San Diego Padres are interested in making the former their franchise player, while the latter has already received a renewal contract from the Indians, along with pursuits from the Astros and other teams.

The signing process with Brantley was relatively simple, considering Brantley is nearing the end of his career and still hasn't won a championship, it's indeed hard for him to refuse an invitation from the Yankees, a team with championship pedigree; not to mention, the offer they made him was quite substantial.

The Yankees offered Brantley a 2-year, $32 million contract, securing this defensively excellent and skillfully hitting outfielder, taking a solid step toward perfecting the team composition.

"Brantley has already signed, now let's see who will fill the third base vacancy…" In the meeting room, Cashman and Mattingly sat face to face, and Cashman said, "We've scheduled a meeting with Machado's team for tomorrow afternoon, Donnie, do you think we need to do any additional preparation?"

Don Mattingly lowered his head, thinking for a moment, and finally made a call:

"Lin, can you join us for tomorrow's meeting with Machado?"