Surely, Yankee coaches will overhaul Juan Soto's swing, and other tortured thoughts, as we await Yamamoto's decision

As the Moto Watch continues, some tidbits...

1. Can't you imagine the Death Barge brain trust eyeballing Juan Soto's God-given swing and concluding, "Total makeover needed!" He'll have to revamp his entire approach, with a higher launch angle and more strikeouts, the Yankee secret sauce. It might take months to break him down and then, bit by bit, rebuild Soto into a .190 hitter with banjo power, but if any organization can do it...

2. Speaking of bullshit, I cannot recall a Yankee roster more full of "ifs." Seriously. Read the room. Everywhere you look, it's... If Rodon...! If Volpe...! If Giancarlo...! If Rizzo... ! Et al. We are a big, steaming bag of "ifs." 

And we should expect at least half of them to be Nopes. That's frightening.

3. Of all the newcomers, I think Alex Verdugo tops the list of anticipated improvements. Why? He'll shave that ridiculous red beard, which made him look like one of the lower-tier seven dwarfs. Clean-shaven, he'll look 10 years younger.  I wonder what he looks like with a chin? 

4. Right now, having flushed their system of pitching depth, the Yankees are projecting Clayton Beeter as their 5th starter. Yikes! Beeter may someday be decent, in a Clarke Schmidt sort of way, but his ERA last season in Scranton was - gulp - 4.94. Four point nine four. People, I realize we are in a holding pattern, and we'll have to add somebody, but the current staff, as projected, is a full-bore disaster.  

If Yamamoto signs elsewhere, the Yankees absolutely must overpay Blake Snell, who, frankly, looks like the Second Coming of Carlos Rodon. 

Even if they sign Yamamoto, Yankee pitching looks thin as a Necco Wafer. Last year, after the usual round of injuries, we called up Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez, both MLB-worthy arms. This year, we're talking about Matt Krook and the cast of Glee - the pitching equivalents of Willie Calhoun and Franchy Cordero. This is dire.

5. I'm still trying to process the Dodgers voodoo economics on the Ohtani deal. For years, we heard how the Yankees would face massive luxury tax penalties if they went hog wild in spending. Last year, MLB warned Steve Cohen about overbidding. Since the era of Bud Selig, the phantom salary cap has kept down Yankee spending. 

Now, with their shell game, the Dodgers will pay Ohtani $2 million per year - the cost of a backup catcher - and defer their luxury tax obligations for 10 years. Thus, they can spend on Yamamoto and - frankly - anybody else.

I don't claim to understand the math. But from the naked eye, it sure looks as though MLB has opened the floodgates, and the Dodgers just jogged through. The Yankees better join the surge. It's a new world for deferring payments, right? Unless MLB has rules for NY teams and rules for everybody else?