There’s not only a Juan Soto-sized hole in the Yankees’ lineup roughly halfway through the offseason — they also have to figure out first base.
With Anthony Rizzo and his $6 million buyout leaving him a free agent, the Yankees could still turn to the Cubs and look for a trade for Cody Bellinger.
As The Post’s Jon Heyman reported, the Yankees remain in conversations with Chicago regarding the 29-year-old Bellinger, who is coming off a solid — but unspectacular — season.
There is still a gap in terms of how much the Cubs will be asked to pay down the two years and $52.5 million Bellinger has remaining on his deal, according to Heyman, especially coming off a season in which his production slipped after a bounceback 2023.
And Bellinger also fits the Yankees roster because of his ability to play both the outfield and first base.
Without Soto, the Yankees can move Aaron Judge back to right field and have Jasson Dominguez in center, but Dominguez hasn’t proven himself on an everyday basis at the major league level.
Bellinger has extensive experience in the majors in right and center, as well as first base — although he started just 13 games at first last season.
The Cubs are coming off their acquisition of Kyle Tucker from the Astros and if Bellinger doesn’t end up in The Bronx, the Yankees could turn to a more traditional first baseman.
At the top of the free agent list are Pete Alonso and Christian Walker.
Carlos Santana is also on the open market.
Cleveland’s Josh Naylor and Nathaniel Lowe of the Rangers could be attainable in trades, each with left-handed swings that have interested the Yankees in the past.
Clearly, the Yankees need an upgrade at the position, since the combination of injuries to Rizzo and ineffectiveness of DJ LeMahieu and rookie Ben Rice left the team with the lowest OPS among first basemen in the majors (.594) last season.
Asked about the roster on Friday following the announcement of the acquisition of closer Devin Williams from Milwaukee, general manager Brian Cashman said he was open to adding a position player either through trade or free agency.
The Yankees could pivot to third base, where they continue to be interested in Alex Bregman, despite his ties to the scandal-scarred 2017 Astros, and they are in the market for another outfielder — especially if they don’t land Bellinger.
They’ve been linked to the switch-hitting Anthony Santander, but he would have to play right field, keeping Judge in center — which the Yankees would prefer to avoid.
Since missing out on Soto, the Yankees have added Max Fried to the rotation on an eight-year, $218 million deal and traded for a new closer in Williams — with Nestor Cortes and prospect Caleb Durbin going to the Brewers.
As Cashman added Friday, “I have no idea what the roster will look like yet.”
For now, that includes first base.
The Yankees made one more international amateur signing this week before the end of this year’s signing period, picking up lefty-hitting shortstop Stiven Marinez from the Dominican Republic on a $1.65 million deal, taking advantage of the added international signing money they received in last week’s trade that sent catcher Carlos Narvaez to Boston.
The Marinez signing was first reported by Baseball America.
