This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch¡¯s Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- As the Winter Meetings concluded a year ago this week, a bleary-eyed but pleased Brian Cashman sat alongside manager Aaron Boone in a San Diego conference room, with the Yankees general manager apologizing as his wrap-up commentary repeatedly wandered into non sequiturs.

He hadn¡¯t slept a wink, having spent the previous evening hammering out the details of a nine-year, $360 million contract with Aaron Judge¡¯s agent, taking the ball after Judge and managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner negotiated the terms of that deal in a late-night, international phone call that concluded with Judge being handed the title of team captain.

Cashman shouldn¡¯t expect to get much rest this week, either, as baseball¡¯s Winter Meetings fill the atriums and pathways of the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. Amidst the light shows and piped-in Christmas music, Cashman and his baseball operations staff will be working overtime to bring in a holiday haul.

Most prominently, Cashman has said that he needs both a center fielder and a left fielder, ones who are ¡°preferably left-handed.¡± Cashman added that he is ¡°always looking to try to reinforce our pitching¡± and noted that the club has ¡°an infield surplus¡± as they consider opening a lane for Oswald Peraza to play regularly -- perhaps by dealing Gleyber Torres, who is in his final year under contract.

Here are three of the most prominent names the Yankees are being connected to:

Juan Soto, OF, Padres
2023 stats: .275/.410/.519, 35 HRs, 109 RBIs, 158 OPS+

The latest: Talks between the Yankees and Padres reportedly snagged late last week after San Diego requested a multiplayer deal centered around right-handers Michael King and Drew Thorpe in exchange for Soto and outfielder Trent Grisham. Right-handers Clarke Schmidt, Jhony Brito and Randy V¨¢squez have also been mentioned as possible inclusions.

Thus far, the Yankees have considered the Padres¡¯ asking price too high for a rental of the 25-year-old Soto, who is eligible for free agency after the 2024 season. However, there¡¯s little debate that Soto would offer an immediate boost to a Yankees offense that lacked punch last season. Discussions could resume this week during the Winter Meetings.

Cody Bellinger, CF/1B, free agent
2023 stats: .307/.356/.525, 26 HRs, 97 RBIs, 133 OPS+

The latest: Bellinger remains high on the Yankees¡¯ wish list, though their early focus has seemed to be on Soto. The Giants are also known to be interested in Bellinger, who enjoyed a bounce-back campaign with the Cubs this past year after being non-tendered by the Dodgers.

Bellinger has a New York connection; his father, Clay, played three seasons for the Yanks from 1999-2001. Despite Bellinger¡¯s productive 2023 season, there is some concern about how a long-term contract might age: his 31.4% hard-hit rate ranked only in the 10th percentile among qualified big leaguers, per Statcast.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RHP, international free agent
2023 stats (Japan): 16-6, 1.21 ERA, 164 IP, 117 H, 28 BB, 169 K

The latest: Yamamoto has been called the Pedro Martinez of Japan, a talent whom the Yanks have been scouting for more than a year, including an international trip this past September in which Cashman watched the hurler toss a no-hitter for his Orix Buffaloes.

Both the Mets and Yankees are known to be interested in the 25-year-old, who is a three-time Sawamura Award winner (Japan¡¯s equivalent of the Cy Young Award) and could land a contract exceeding $200 million -- not including a posting fee to be paid to Yamamoto¡¯s former club.