About Spring Training: Wrapping Things Up

About Spring Training: Wrapping Things Up

By Tim Kabel

March 22, 2025

***

Spring Training is winding down. There are only four days left, including today, before the Yankees open the regular season on Thursday at Yankee Stadium against the Milwaukee Brewers.  I have a few thoughts on Spring Training and the roster as the Yankees prepare to open the regular season.

·      Well, common sense prevailed. Yesterday, Dominic Smith opted out of his Yankees’ minor league contract.  The Yankees now have 24 hours to add him to the Major League roster or he will become a free agent. It is highly unlikely that the Yankees will add him to the Major League roster. This means that Smith must have either been told or simply realized that Ben Rice will be the primary designated hitter. Having both Smith and Rice on the team would be redundant (and duplicative) as they are both left-handed hitting first baseman and designated hitters. Rice has the advantage of being a catcher as well. Smith had a very good spring training for the Yankees. Unfortunately for him, Rice had a better one. Many Yankees’ fans, including me, were worried that Aaron Boone would play Smith over Rice (as opposed to chicken over rice) on a regular basis until Smith faltered to the point that Boone had to turn to Rice. Well, that option seemingly no longer exists. It is possible that on Opening Day, Boone could fool us all and do something like use Aaron Judge as the designated hitter and put Trent Grisham in the outfield. I don't think he will because Rice hit so well in Spring Training that Boone will have to use him as the designated hitter, at least for now. For those of us who want the Yankees to use their younger players more this season, this is very good news.

·      It is likely that Clarke Schmidt will begin the season on the IL so he can build up his arm strength before joining the rotation. That means that the starting rotation will most likely consist of Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Will Warren, and Carlos Carrasco for at least one turn through the rotation, if not two. It is possible that the Yankees will make a trade before Opening Day. They seem to acquire someone at the end of Spring Training almost every year. Last year, it was Jon Berti. I think a right-handed hitting infielder might be more likely than a starting pitcher, but we will see.

·      Barring unforeseen developments, Jasson Dominguez will be the Opening Day leftfielder for the New York Yankees. There really was not a great deal of question about that and there were no other major contenders for the role. Trent Grisham was the only other possibility, and he was not much of a possibility. Dominguez managed to mollify the worries and anxiety of some of the fans and media by working very hard to improve his defense in leftfield. There may be an occasional issue during the year, but I think for the most part, he will settle into the role very nicely.  As I have written several times, I anticipate that he will have a very good season and will begin to realize the tremendous potential we have heard about for so long.

·      Losing Juan Soto will be almost impossible to overcome. Other than Aaron Judge, the Yankees don't have anyone on this roster who can equal Soto’s offensive abilities. In reality, there are very few players in the Major Leagues who can equal his abilities. That is why he has that huge contract. However, when you look at the bigger picture, things seem a little different. Would you rather have a lineup that featured Anthony Rizzo, Alex Verdugo, and Juan Soto or one that included Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, and Jasson Dominguez. Bellinger most likely will not equal the offensive numbers that Soto produced last year. However, the difference between them might not be that great. On the other hand, I believe that Goldschmidt and Dominguez will produce better offensive numbers than Rizzo and Verdugo, by a wide margin. If they don't, the Yankees will struggle this season.

·      It is very likely that the Yankees’ starting lineup on Opening Day will have only two players, Aaron Judge and Paul Goldschmidt, over the age of 30. That is a major development as Brian Cashman has been saying for years that he wanted the team to be younger and more athletic. It seems that it is finally happening. Injuries to Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu played a role in this, but the youth movement is clearly underway. Again, The Yankees could acquire a veteran third baseman to supplant Oswaldo Cabrera in the coming days but if they don’t, Cabrera will be the starter.

·      It does not appear that Oswald Peraza will win the third base job. He may still be on the roster as a backup infielder, since he is excellent defensively and can play third base, second base, and shortstop. He is out of options so unless he is on the 26-man roster on Opening Day, he will either be released or traded. Another option is Pablo Reyes, a journeyman who has done well in Spring Training and is a right-handed bat. He can play all over the diamond so, he may be on the team. I'm not sure if there's enough flexibility to keep both Reyes and Peraza but it will probably go down to the wire.

·      I do anticipate the Yankees acquiring somebody. They do almost every year just as the season is about to begin. I would prefer not to see them unload a bushel basket of prospects for Dylan Cease because it will be a situation similar to the one they had with Juan Soto last year. Cease will be a free agent at the end of the year so I would recommend that the Yankees cease and desist pursuing him now. They should not trade for Nolan Arenado either. We have gone over this multiple times, but they would be better served by letting Oswaldo Cabrera play. He might very well have a solid season. The problem with Arenado is then he is older and is already starting to fade. He also has three years left on his very expensive contract. I suspect the Yankees envision George Lombard, Jr. as their third baseman of the future. Maybe Cabrera will hold down the fort until he is ready.

·      I will end with a fun prediction. The Yankees will beat the Brewers 8-4 on Opening Day. The Yankees will get home runs from Aaron Judge, Jasson Dominguez, and Ben Rice.