Yankees' Anthony Volpe Endorses Shohei Ohtani Contract Pursuit: 'Best of the Best'

New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe would be happy if the team decided to pursue the best player in Major League Baseball.

Speaking to TMZ Sports, Volpe exclaimed "yeah" when asked if he would like to see the Yankees go after Shohei Ohtani in free agency.

"I mean, I think he's the best of the best," he added.

It appears as if there is going to be a big market for Ohtani, who is expected to be named AL MVP for the second time in three seasons when the award gets announced next week.

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand cited eight different teams expected to be in the running, but the Yankees were not among them.

One potential issue is the Yankees have so many issues on their roster, and Hal Steinbrenner may not want to invest the kind of money it will take to sign Ohtani. They handed out $562 million in contracts last offseason to sign Aaron Judge, Carlos Rodón and Anthony Rizzo.

General manager Brian Cashman told reporters at the GM meetings this week the team wants to add two outfielders and reinforce their pitching staff this offseason.

The Yankees currently project to spend $253 million in 2024 between payroll and luxury tax payments, and that's before any potential offseason additions.

Considering some analysts are predicting a contract averaging at least $44 million per season for Ohtani, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the Yankees focus their attention elsewhere.

It is surprising to see the Yankees potentially not go after the biggest star in the sport, but they might also be under the impression Ohtani doesn't love some aspects that would come with playing home games at Yankee Stadium.