The New York Yankees set aside more than half a million dollars meant for Juan Soto.
And then he signed with the New York Mets in free agency, leaving the Bronx for Queens.
That meant the Yanks had all sorts of cash left over to spend elsewhere, and they mostly dished it out to three players: Max Fried, Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams.
In the regular season, that was a two-thirds success story. Fried was a true ace, and Bellinger was a star. Williams struggled from the outset.
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In the postseason, it didn't work out so well.
Statistician @JayHayKid shared these numbers on X:
In the end, the Yankees “Plan B” didn’t work
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) October 9, 2025
Max Fried: great in the regular season, 0 wins in 2 postseason starts
Cody Bellinger: good in the regular season, hit .214 with a .651 OPS in the postseason (+ will opt out)
Devin Williams: bad and now a free agent
And no Juan Soto
As pointed out there, two of these guys will be gone.
Williams was a trade acquisition from the Brewers with just this year left on his contract.
Bellinger had the opt-out clause built into his contract so he could parlay a solid season into bigger money, and now he'll go and do that. The Yankees could re-sign him, but it's not a guarantee.
Fried will be around for the foreseeable future, and he should remain effective for years to come.
But it'll be the Mets reaping the benefits of Soto for the next decade-and-a-half, and it'll be the Yankees continuing to try and figure out how to pick up the pieces.
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