With the New York Yankees in a stalemate with the San Diego Padres in Juan Soto trade discussions, the team decided to deal for Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo. While the Yankees are still eyeing a Soto trade, their acquisition of Verdugo changes the playing field.

Now that the Yankees have Verdugo, they aren't as willing to take on Trent Grisham from the Padres, via Jon Heyman of the New York Post. With Verdugo in place, New York doesn't want to add an outfielder who hit under .200 this past season.

Soto stalemate

The Yankees have exchanged names with the Padres on a Juan Soto trade

When talks began between the Yankees and Padres, Grisham was attached to Soto. San Diego asked New York for a treasure trove of prospects, with Grisham supposedly offsetting the cost. However, now that the Yankees have Verdugo, they no longer can nor want to carry Grisham on their roster.

While they're happy to have landed a player of Verdugo's caliber, excluding Grisham from a Juan Soto trade could hamper the Yankees. San Diego was planning on adding his salary to their deal. Now, both sides must work out a new framework that works for either party.

It seemed like the original framework was a bit off the hinges to begin with. The Padres reportedly asked for upwards of eight prospects in a deal. New York balked, leading them to their stalemate.

With Alex Verdugo now in town, the Yankees did add to their offense. But landing Soto in their lineup has seemingly been New York's crown jewel this offseason. Even if/when the Yankees pull off their trade for Soto, Grisham will now no longer be a part of it.