New York Yankees fans are all too familiar with the “Yankees Tax” in trade talks, which turns out to be an elevated asking price for the same player other teams are vying for. Nobody wants to bend to Brian Cashman. Nobody wants to make the Yankees better. We get it.

Last year, Cashman and Co. pulled off the Juan Soto trade with the Padres, though, as a number of factors were in their favor. San Diego needed to clear payroll, and Soto was about to make ~$30 million in arbitration. They also needed pitching depth, something the Yankees had in droves. In the end, the two sides made it work in a win-win deal.

But this time around, the Padres have other coveted assets that they will not be parting with as easily. Dylan Cease is the first name that comes to mind, as the Cy Young-caliber right-hander is due about $14 million in 2025. Reports have suggested he’s being shopped in trade talks alongside Luis Arráez. Both of those players should be of interest to the Yankees.

Unfortunately, the Yankees may not have the proper assets to get a deal done, whereas other AL East rivals do. We saw the Boston Red Sox give up a haul of prospects for Garrett Crochet. Now, the Orioles, with plenty of top young talent, are reportedly eyeing Cease.

In what’s appearing to be a good development for the Yankees, the talks aren’t going to well for the O’s. According to Orioles insider Roch Kubatko, the Padres are asking for any combination of Samuel Basallo, Jordan Westburg and Coby Mayo, but Baltimore has said those players are not on the table. If that’s the case, it sure doesn’t look like they’ll have much of a chance at landing Cease.

Just for reference, Westburg was an All-Star in 2024 as a 25-year-old, while Basallo and Mayo are consistently ranked in the top three of the organization’s prospect pool by various outlets. That’s a steep asking price, and one we know Baltimore probably won’t budge on because of how they value their cost-effective young talent.

And that’s good news for the Yankees in 2025. The Orioles need to get better now if they want to contend and maximize their window while guys like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, Jackson Holliday and Westburg remain cheap. Now is the time to spend and sacrifice some of that surplus of young talent.

But if we’re to believe previous reporting, the Orioles don’t seem to have that same type of urgency. For the second straight year, Baltimore choked out of the playoffs after unimpressive showings in the ALDS and Wild Card series. They have not won a playoff game since 2014, and have been swept in their last four series in October.

If that’s not sounding the alarm bells in their front office, we don’t know what will. But right now consider the Yankees lucky as the Padres maintain a hard stance in trade talks and the Orioles refuse to push to envelope.