Lennon: The Yankees are taking a different approach with the acquisitions of Williams and Fried

Perhaps the timing is a coincidence, but the Yankees addressed the loss of Juan Soto with two notable Ws this week, sidestepping the hype surrounding the free-agent slugger’s move from the Bronx to Queens.

The day after general manager Brian Cashman received the call from Soto’s agent Scott Boras, he quickly reached out to former Atlanta star Max Fried and signed him to an eight-year, $218 million contract.

On Friday, which happened to be less than 24 hours after Soto’s loudly celebrated debut at Citi Field, the Yankees struck again, securing arguably the game’s best closer, Devin Williams, in a trade with the Brewers.

We are repeatedly told by both parties that these moves are not a Mets-Yankees issue. Sure, different leagues. But same city, and it’s hardly an exaggeration to assume that Cashman had to make some PR repairs after Soto left, in addition to updating a roster that no longer featured the MVP-quality partner of Aaron Judge.

But at least for now, Cashman hasn’t taken a linear approach to filling this troubling hole in the Yankees’ lineup. Instead, he has strengthened his strengths in two areas and made them even more impressive, making his rivals green with envy.

Last week’s two moves were linked, as Fried’s acquisition resulted in a rotation surplus that allowed Cashman to trade Nestor Cortes (along with much of his projected $8 million salary) and promising infield prospect Caleb Durbin to the Brewers to hand over.

Cortes survived the trade impasse at last season’s deadline, but was the most valuable chip among the Yankees’ expendables as Marcus Stroman is a tough sell at $18.5 million for next year, especially after his disappointing loss (5.98 ERA) in the second half. Not a huge loss for the Yankees as they essentially traded Cortes for Fried in the rotation.

The big prize for the Brewers could be Durbin, who had worked his way into the second base conversation after a standout minor league season.

But the Yankees can’t afford to worry about the future. Just like last season, when Cashman’s November tirade (after an 82-80 season) resulted in Soto losing the World Series or bust, he must be absolutely obsessed with getting to the Fall Classic.

It was great to get there, and it certainly legitimized trading most of the organization’s pitching prospects to the Padres for Soto’s one-year rental. But the sour taste of that humiliating Game 5 loss to the Dodgers, coupled with the fact that Soto is now settled in Flushing, has Cashman just as desperate to finish the job this time around.

“We will continue to do what we always do — no retreat, no surrender,” Cashman said Wednesday as the MLB winter meetings concluded in Dallas. “Just focus on the task at hand, which is finding the best possible players to give your manager and your fan base the opportunity to compete at the highest level day in and day out.”

Interesting thanks to the paying customers there, but Cashman has delivered on its promise. The Yankees didn’t waste a minute blowing away the market for Fried, a two-time All-Star who twice finished in the Top 5 for the Cy Young Award, and there’s nothing better than Williams when it comes to lethal bullpen weapons .

Williams, whose crazy changeup is so nasty he’s nicknamed “The Airbender,” missed the first four months of last season with two stress fractures in his back but returned with a 1.25 ERA and a 15.8 K rate /9 returned 22 appearances (21 2/3 innings). Since 2020, his Rookie of the Year season, Williams’ 1.70 ERA trails only the Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase (1.62) and his 14.6 K/9 rate trails only the Edwin Diaz of the Guardians Mets (15.0).

You may recall that Williams’ last appearance as a Brewer was the failed save in Game 5 of the Wild Card Series loss to the Mets, and one of his final throws was the changeup that Pete Alonso hit over the right field fence for the go-ahead three- Run homer. There has been some speculation that the Mets noticed Williams tipping his pitches, so it could be an issue that needs to be addressed when he eventually puts on pinstripes.

But that’s a minor flaw for an otherwise dominant closer, and pairing Williams with the emerging Luke Weaver in a setup role now creates a lockdown in the back end of the Yankees’ bullpen. In this case, Cashman made a zigzag attack when everyone else thought he would zig, and he secured the highest relief prize available.

Williams is another rental as the minor Brewers clearly had no intention of matching his price in free agency, but Cashman is primarily locked in on 2025.

Now that strategy needs to include a power bat, preferably left-handed, because the Yankees’ lineup looks pretty suspect aside from Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. The perfect candidate was the Astros’ Kyle Tucker — a Soto guy without the hype (who can play defense and run the bases) — but that option disappeared Friday when the Cubs made the four-player trade that included the third baseman Pitcher Isaac Paredes sent Hayden Wesneski and third base prospect Cam Smith, the 14th overall pick in last June’s draft, to the Astros.

However, the Tucker trade could mean Cody Bellinger – another Yankees target – will soon be dealt, and the Astros now appear poised to move on from free agent Alex Bregman.

The Yankees may not have gotten Soto, but they’re getting better this offseason and still have most of the $700 million in their pockets to move on. Cashman knows he needs this post-Soto strategy to fully pay off.

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a Baseball Hall of Fame voter and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.