Alex Cora has a spidey sense that the Yankees have a trick up their sleeve.
At the MLB winter meetings in Nashville on Tuesday, Cora, the Red Sox manager, revealed a conversation that he had with Yankees skipper Aaron Boone that brought him to this conclusion.
“I called Aaron Boone yesterday, FaceTimed him, and he gave me this kinda-like smile, this look. He was very happy. So something big might happen over there,” Cora said, according to MassLive.
This would be welcome news for Yankees fans, who are anxious about the team repairing its roster after they went 82-80 and missed the playoffs this past season.
For his part at winter meetings, Boone expressed admiration for Juan Soto and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — Soto has one year left on his deal with the Padres whereas Yamamoto is a free agent — but gave no indication there is an imminent move to acquire either player.
“He’s a machine offensively,” Boone said of Soto on Tuesday. “On-base, power, has accomplished a ton already at a young age, durable, has been a central figure on a world championship team. Has come with a lot of fanfare and been one of the rock-solid performers in our sport on the offensive side of the ball, year in and year out. He’s a great player.”
Yamamoto, a 25-year-old pitcher out of Japan, would also be high on Boone’s wish-list.
“It’s hard to find a 25-year-old pitcher that’s as decorated as he is and has had the level of success he’s had at this point in his career over there and on the world stage in the WBC,” Boone said. “Our reports are that this guy’s really good, as I think the industry sees it the same way. It feels like there’s going to be a lot of suitors for him.
“But I feel quite confident that he’s going to come over here and be a really special top-of-the-rotation type pitcher.”