Yankees Off-Season Review

3 games short of a World Series leads management back to the drawing board...

Photo Credit - Scott Galvin/Imagn Images

First and foremost, I wanted to reflect on the Yankee’s 2024 season. I know most will look at the 2024 season as a failure (as do I), but even with failure comes learning lessons. The Yankees were just three games away from being crowned World Series Champions, yet they fell short, and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated them in just five games. Anyone who followed major league baseball this year knows the Yankees were fundamentally flawed all season. They didn’t do the little things right, the bullpen was never a safe bet, starters were mismanaged, and they relied too much on Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Giancarlo Stanton.

The Dodgers, decimated by injuries all season long, were able to withstand the plague to go on and win a World Series! Now, how were they able to do this? Most ignorant people would immediately point to money, which is not necessarily wrong, but this lacks understanding. Yes, the Dodgers spend more money than most teams (5th in total payroll in 2024). That being said, they develop players just as well as any organization in baseball. 

Similar to the Dodgers, the Yankees will spend money on top talent. The issue is that they don’t produce productive prospects the way the Dodgers do. 

MLB.com published an article in August ranking the farm systems of all 30 teams. These teams had contributions from Jim Callis, Sam Dykstra, and Jonathan Mayo, who are some of the industry’s best when it comes to baseball analysis. This article ranked the Yankees' farm system 18th out of 30 teams. Bottom half for a World Series contender? That is simply unacceptable. 

MLB Pipeline past rankings of the Yankees farm system since mid-2022:

2024 preseason rank: 11

2023 midseason rank: 21

2023 preseason rank: 13

2022 midseason rank: 12

As a comparison, here are MLB Pipeline’s past rankings for the Dodgers since mid-2022:

2024 midseason rank: 5

2024 preseason rank: 8

2023 midseason rank: 6

2023 preseason rank: 2

2022 midseason rank: 2

Do you see what I am seeing? The Yankees must fix this issue, as they seem to lack the depth they rostered back when winning championships consistently. Now, the Yankees aren’t going to flip this system to a top-10 system without making some trades or simply hiring better evaluators and development coaches, which takes time. As much as I’d like the Yankees to start this process, this won’t solve the team’s issues for the 2025 season, but it can certainly help start making the Yankees less reliant on free agency year over year moving forward. 

That being said, the Yankees management team is currently focused on free agency as they need to drastically improve the roster to get back to the World Series. I will say the Yankees do get to head into the offseason knowing they have their man Aaron Judge leading the way for the bats and Gerrit Cole leading the rotation in 2025.

Photo Credit - AP Photo / Kevin M. Fox

I will not go on and on as everyone and their mother understand they need to resign Juan Soto to a long-term deal. This is 100% the main priority this offseason as the Yankees' offseason will be seen as a disaster if they fail to sign the future Hall of Famer. The Yankees need to sign several hitters to maintain a competitive roster for 2025. As for the pitching, they have some pieces, but like every team in baseball, they can always use more pitching. 

Let’s start with the priority outside of Juan Soto, and that is first base. Anthony Rizzo will not and should not be back with New York in 2025, as he was awful with his bat and glove in 2024. I am not saying Rizzo cannot be useful on another team, but he no longer has a place on this roster.

1B

Notable FA’s - Pete Alonso, Christian Walker, Alex Bregman (Agent Scott Boras just hinted Bregman is open to a position switch but likely to 2B), Carlos Santana

The 1B market is not deep but is top-heavy with hitters like Alonso, Walker, and Bregman. Now I doubt the Yankees sign Alonso unless they miss on Soto (which would be a nightmare), as they will not have the money to sign him and improve other areas of the roster. Christian Walker is super intriguing, and I’d like for the Yankees to go out and get him even if they have to overpay a tad, as Walker can mash. He will not cost as much as Alonso, as he is 33 years old, but he could bring similar production. Alex Bregman is also interesting as he is a talented bat but would be better suited for third base, which would effectively move Jazz Chisholm Jr. over to 2nd, which would solve another issue in the Yankees lineup but still leave the hole open at 1B. Carlos Santana is 38 years old but just batted .240 across 150 games while winning a Gold Glove. Depending on how the money works out and where Soto/Bregman land, I think it is huge for the Yankees' offseason. If they can get Bregman and Santana to sign, this would solve a lot of problems and be done cost-effectively.

2B/3B

Notable FA’s - Gleyber Torres, Alex Bregman (3B), Ha-Seong Kim (SS), Willy Adames (SS)

Yes, three of the four players I am listing here would require a position change, but Bregman and Adames’ camps have already hinted at the openness to change positions, especially if it makes sense. As this is the Yankees (yes, I will be biased here), I cannot see this being a discussion that would stop one or more of these players from joining the Yankees. As for Gleyber, I believe he will be too expensive for what the Yanks would like to pay him. Bregman is likely to cost even more, but by adding Bregman, you solved third and second base in one transaction as Bregman would take over 3B, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. would be sent to 2B. Ha-Seong Kim is an option, but I haven’t heard much about connecting him to NY. Willy Adames would be costly, but he is open to moving positions and would also solve 2B. If they don’t go with any of these guys, it probably means they won the Soto sweepstakes and are now being cheap, so they will sign an aging veteran such as Kyle Farmer or Whit Merrifield.

OF Depth (Preferably a CF)

Notable FA’s  - Juan Soto, Teoscar Hernandez, Anthony Santander, Tyler O’Neill, Michael Conforto, Tommy Pham

Even though First Base has the most dire need, Outfield is probably the most interesting. In my mind, this can go a few ways, but it comes down to signing Juan Soto. If they land Soto, he will own the RF position, while Judge will (hopefully) move over to the left, and Jasson Dominguez can take over in Center Field. Yes, the Yankees will obviously look to add another CF, as Dominguez is still young and developing. If the Yankees do not sign Soto, they can get multiple outfielders to bolster the lineup, like Anthony Santander or Teoscar Hernandez, and then another proven veteran on the older side who will not command as much money like Tommy Pham or Jesse Winker. Fingers crossed, it is the first option!

Rotation Depth

Notable FA’s - Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, Yusei Kikuchi, Max Fried, Nathan Eovaldi, Jack Flaherty, Sean Manaea, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Charlie Morton, Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler

The Yankees should add 1-2 starters, but I don’t think they will add a top-tier arm as they won’t have the money to do so if they sign Soto. That being said, I will not waste time on dream scenarios that involve the addition of Blake Snell or Max Fried to the roster. Instead, I will focus on backend arms that can give this rotation depth. I would love to see the Yankees go after players like Andrew Heaney, Jose Quintana, Jose Urquidy, or Anthony DeSclafani. If they do not sign Soto, I would love to add Walker Buehler, as he won’t be as costly as some of the other pitchers who are free agents but could be as good as any of them when he is on. He was great during the playoffs and is now fully recovered from his 2nd Tommy John surgery.

Bullpen

Notable FA’s - Tanner Scott, Jeff Hoffman, David Robertson, Aroldis Chapman, Carlos Estevez, Shawn Armstrong, Kirby Yates, A.J. Minter, Craig Kimbrel, Paul Sewald

The big thing I care about when it comes to the Yankees adding a reliever is the closing experience. The Yankees (cough cough Clay Holmes) led the league in blown saves in 2024. It is a must that they land a solid closer this offseason, especially if they wish to finish games strong in 2025. Getting Luke Weaver back is huge, and he was electric in 2024, but you need depth. Losing Tommy Kahnle and Tim Hill is not ideal, but they are replaceable. Who knows, the Yankees could bring them back, but my gut tells me they have priced themselves out of a contract with the Yanks. Signing Jeff Hoffman or Kirby Yates would be clutch. They will be tough to sign as they are going to be expensive. The reliever market has plenty of good arms, so my bet is the Yankees will address that last as they know they have Weaver back, and they can build this position out after the Soto decision.

Manager 

The Yankees exercised the club option on Aaron Boone’s contract for 2025. 

Say what you want about Aaron Boone, the guy would run through a wall for his players. I know that is not what is needed in order to win baseball games but his attitude is something that I can appreciate. There is no point in complaining as he will be the manager on Opening Day in 2025. If the Yankees should part ways with him during the season…well we will talk about that if/when that happens.

Closeout

I am in good spirits even after watching that World Series meltdown. 

The Yankees want to compete and will figure out a way how to do so more years than not. I feel good about landing Soto and will be pissed if they don’t find a way to get it done, but it won’t be the end of the world if they fail to do so. They will be able to allocate that cash to other areas of need. If the Yankees can land Soto and simply bolster the bullpen to complement Weaver and add a few bats that can simply get on base, the Yankees should have another great season ahead of them in 2025!