With Juan Soto gone, Yankees have turned focus to getting better defensively

DALLAS — Brian Cashman arrived here early Sunday night for the winter meetings a bit later than expected after his 3 p.m. flight out of LaGuardia was delayed about 1 1⁄2 hours.

It wasn’t long after he checked into his room at the Hilton Anatole, site of the 2024 meetings, that he received a phone call that changed the Yankees’ offseason.

It was Juan Soto’s agent, Scott Boras, telling Cashman that the 26-year-old outfielder — who had helped the Yankees make their first World Series appearance since 2009 — had chosen the Mets and their 15-year, $765 million offer, which included a $75 million signing bonus.

The Yankees didn’t exactly lowball Soto, with owner Hal Steinbrenner offering 16 years and $760 million. It was an offer that pretty much no one in the organization was comfortable with, something longtime general manager Brian Cashman hinted at in discussing Soto’s departure.

“It certainly went well beyond [where] I would have expected,” Cashman said.

The start of the organization’s pivot came quickly, with the Yankees on Tuesday agreeing to an eight-year, $218 million contract with lefthander Max Fried, a two-time All-Star who is 73-36 with a 3.07 ERA in eight big-league seasons, all of those with Atlanta.

“It’s about run prevention and run creation,” Cashman said.

Fried should help in two ways with the former. In addition to being a talented pitcher, he fields the position well, as evidenced by his three Gold Gloves.

“Obviously, the No. 1 thing, when you get on the bump, is how good a pitcher you are,” Aaron Boone said. “But those other things — controlling the running game, fielding your position — are all things that are so valuable.”

Fried, of course, was signed first and foremost because of his pitching prowess. But the Yankees, who by any objective measure have not consistently been a good defensive team for a while now, appear to have had an awakening when it comes to the importance of that side of the ball.

Defense is not something that has been stressed throughout the organization, which vice president of baseball operations Tim Naehring gave voice to earlier in the week.

“The one thing, talking with Boonie over the years, starting in spring training, playing better fundamentally sound baseball to me is where it all starts,” Naehring said on the YES Network. “We have great talent. We have an ace [Gerrit Cole] on a staff, we have an MVP-type guy [Aaron Judge], but everybody, for me, and that starts in the minor leagues through the major-league club, [needs to] continue to play fundamentally sound baseball . . . Physical errors are going to happen, but we have to make sure we continue to work on the fundamentals.”

As obvious as those remarks might have been to anyone with a working set of eyes, those are the kinds of comments that previously might have gotten Naehring called into the proverbial principal’s office for speaking out of school.

That’s because during the last decade, what generally has been stressed by the franchise’s at-times autocratic wing of the analytics department are things such as exit velocity for hitters and spin rate for pitchers.

Defense, not so much.

But early indications are that part of the pivot from Soto, never known for his fielding, is a renewed emphasis on defense. That’s among the reasons that Christian Walker, a three-time Gold Glover at first, is one of the Yankees’ top targets to play there next season. Another possibility is Cody Bellinger, a desired lefthanded hitter, yes, but also considered a strong defender at both first base and in centerfield.

Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker, a Gold Glove winner in addition to being one of the best lefthanded hitters in the sport, is a serious trade target. The Yankees also look “hellbent” (to use one of Boone’s words from last spring training) on finding a true third baseman so Jazz Chisholm Jr. can shift to his more natural position at second.

Replacing what Soto brought on offense can’t be casually dismissed. The deadly one-two combination he and Judge formed is simply irreplaceable.

But that doesn’t mean it can’t be overcome, and a good start in doing so is what seems — “seems” still is the operative word at this stage — to be an organization getting defensive about its defense.

But this time, in a good way.