Dodgers Rumors: Yankees looming in Corey Seager chase?

The shortstop market this offseason will be unlike any glut we’ve seen in recent years, with Dodgers World Series MVP Corey Seager likely standing atop the pile — assuming the Mets and Francisco Lindor are able to finish their business soon.

Seager has been the certified hottest hitter on the planet since the NLCS began, and several months away from the heat of competition did not harsh his vibe, as his spring has gotten off to a torrid start.

With all due respect to Carlos Correa and Trevor Story, the rest of the field is playing for second place.

And the second-place finisher will also get paid! It’s all good!

For months, though, Seager’s return to the Dodgers has seemed to be a fait accompli. After all, following the World Series, he couldn’t be more entrenched in the team’s culture. Justin Turner might be the perceived engine, but Seager and Mookie Betts are the ones who really make this team go (Cody Bellinger’s the hood ornament).

Unfortunately, now seems to be the time — much like in the Turner chase — when a few wayward speed bumps enter the picture from around the league.

Not sure how much stock you’d like to put in well-connected Yankees insider Bob Klapisch, but he firmly believes the team stayed mostly silent this offseason to duck under the luxury tax for a run at Seager next winter. Call it an open secret.

Will Dodgers star Corey Seager be a Yankees target?

The Yankees will allow their incumbent, 24-year-old Gleyber Torres, to catch and grab the shortstop position this season after only a 60-game sample size as the anointed starter to work with so far — one in which he showed up out of shape.

Early returns this spring are positive, but on the flip side … these are the Yankees. Their fans whine, cry and panic for an entire offseason about a lack of spending only to watch DJ LeMahieu return anyway, with a likely gigantic blow-everyone-away stretch coming in 2021-22.

The Dodgers have proven time and again that no deal will “block” them from pursuing any other signing, however, so don’t expect the Trevor Bauer contract to have any bearing on this. Los Angeles blew by the threshold that scared the Yankees off, and could easily do so again for Seager, Bellinger and the lot of them. Bauer could also opt out of his own accord before too long.

Dodgers fans should enjoy Seager’s run while it lasts simply because it’s more fun to enjoy things.

But just because someone is supposedly a Yankees target does not mean that player holds the Yankees in his heart.

Besides, New York has a ton of personnel movement to sort out before this makes any semblance of sense. We’d say Angelinos should wait this one out before trying to do the math.

Dodgers: MLB insider’s proposed Brewers-Mariners trade could give Seager brothers a new rivalry

The Brewers landing Kyle Seager from Seattle would improve their chances to compete while inflaming the rivalry between Dodgers star Corey Seager