One of three prospects or Isiah Kiner-Falefa could be Yankees' shortstop in 2023, Brian Cashman says

LAS VEGAS — The Yankees had little interest in Carlos Correa last offseason when the All-Star shortstop was on the free-agent market.

All indications suggest they’ll have the same level of interest — meaning virtually none — this offseason in Correa, who opted out of his deal with the Twins and again hit the market.

The same goes for the other star free-agent shortstops, headlined by Trea Turner and Xander Bogaerts.

“There’s obviously a lot of great, talented players that are available in the marketplace, via trade or free agency, some of which play positions that we already have placeholders for or look forward to people taking a hold of it,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said earlier this week at the general managers’ meetings. “But at this time of year, I think you just have to stay flexible and open-minded to make sure you evaluate all real opportunities.”  

All teams declare themselves “open-minded” at this time of year, and there’s always varying degrees of truth in it.

In the case of the Yankees and shortstop for 2023, the safe way to bet at the moment is that it will be one of the club’s top infield prospects — Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza or Anthony Volpe — manning the position, or Isiah Kiner-Falefa, the primary shortstop in 2022, as a fallback option.

The trio of Cabrera, Peraza and Volpe was among the primary reasons the Yankees steered clear of Correa and others in last year’s free-agent shortstop class and the reason they are likely to do so again.

“I think we have people that can handle the position and I think we have people pushing up [who] want an opportunity to prove that they’re ready for the next stop [the big leagues],” Cashman said.

Cabrera, 23, and Peraza, 22, made their major-league debuts in 2022 and showed flashes of being able to stick at that level long-term.

That was especially the case with Cabrera, who played multiple positions well — including in the outfield, where he  had no previous experience — after his August call-up.

Peraza, currently viewed by the organization as a shortstop and only a shortstop, received limited reps at the position after his August debut but showed on defense some of what has had rival scouts raving throughout his climb through the minors.

As for the much-hyped Volpe, the 21-year-old has been a standout at each step of his minor-league climb, including where he finished 2022, Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

“He’s got to go and compete in spring training next year,” Cashman said. “He’s had an amazing run to his pro career, which has been all minor leagues so far. So Volpe, along with Peraza and Cabrera, those guys will be expected to be in spring training and competing for everyday reps with everybody else that’s still standing . . . We’ll see. He’s [Volpe] done everything he needs to do to push himself into this opportunity and we’ll see where it takes him.”

Though he made it clear that the Yankees will give every opportunity in  spring training for one of the prospects to win the shortstop job, Cashman didn’t throw Kiner-Falefa under the bus despite his generally disappointing first season in pinstripes.  

“Obviously, we have a shortstop in Kiner-Falefa that helped us win 99 games last year — with the crew we had assembled last year — and win the American League East, which was second-to-none in terms of [toughest] division,” Cashman said. “So I think we have coverage already. Now it’s just exploring, like every position, [and asking], ‘Can we be better? Are there better options, whether it’s at shortstop or any other position on the field, as well as in the rotation or the bullpen.”

By Erik Boland

erik.boland@newsday.comeboland11

Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.