About the Off-Season: Wrapping Things Up

About the Off-Season: Wrapping Things Up

By Tim Kabel

December 5, 2024

***

We are now into December and Christmas is less than three weeks away. Baseball's Winter Meetings begin next Monday. It is expected that Juan Soto will have signed his new contract before the meetings end. It is possible that he will do so before the Winter Meetings even begin. He is reportedly eliminating teams from the pool and will soon make a decision. I still firmly believe that the Yankees will re-sign Soto. It is certainly possible that they will not, but I do not want to devote time or energy to discussing Plan B. There are certainly options available to the Yankees if they do not sign Juan Soto. We will deal with that if we must. For now, let's assume that the Yankees re-sign him.

It will be a wonderful thing if the Yankees do bring Juan Soto back. However, that will not be enough. The team has spots to fill and improvements to make. If we approach this with the understanding that Jazz Chisholm, Jr. will return to third base, then we have the following scenario: The Yankees will be set at catcher with Austin Wells and either Jose Trevino or one of the minor leaguers as the backup. Anthony Volpe will be the shortstop and as mentioned, Jazz Chisholm, Jr. will be the third baseman. That leaves openings at first base and second base.

Let's discuss first base first. Ben Rice is the best internal option. I know some people think that DJ LeMahieu might miraculously return to an earlier version of himself but, that won't happen, and the best thing would be for the Yankees to simply release him. I think Rice will develop into a solid major leaguer, but it is possible the Yankees may not want to have so many youngsters in the lineup at once. With Aaron Boone as the manager, that would make sense, as he has never been tremendous at developing young players. It only seems to happen when those players are either thrust upon him or need to play as a result of injuries to other players. 

I have advocated for the Yankees to trade for Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and I still think that would be the best option but, that would involve the Blue Jays being ready, willing, and able to trade him. I don't know that they are. Since they are actively pursuing Juan Soto, it would seem logical that they would not want to trade their best player. So, who should the Yankees get to play first base? There have been multiple players suggested for this role. 

The one thing we do know for sure is that the first baseman in 2025 will not be Anthony Rizzo. There have been articles suggesting that the Yankees would sign either Christian Walker or Pete Alonso. Trades have been suggested for Cody Bellinger, Yandy Diaz, and Nolan Arenado, who would have to switch positions. There have been others as well but let's stick with those possibilities. Of those players, my first choice would be Cody Bellinger, as he is younger than the others and when he is healthy, he is a tremendous player. It would be better if he were a right-handed batter but, he's not. I really don't think it matters that much because he is a solid offensive player. I have previously stated that I felt Walker and Arenado were too old. Although Yandy Diaz is not a spring chicken, he hits for a higher average and can get on base frequently, which could be very helpful for the Yankees. Plus, he is a right-handed hitter. Of the proposed options for a first baseman for the Yankees in 2025 and beyond, my first choice would be Cody Bellinger and my second choice would be Yandy Diaz.

If the Yankees do re-sign Juan Soto, they will need to trim the payroll wherever possible. In addition, Caleb Durban has demonstrated that he could very well be ready for the Major Leagues. He hits for a high average, gets on base, and is in superb base runner. He could play second base on a daily basis and bat leadoff. I believe the Yankees will give him a chance to win the job in spring training. It is clear that the Yankees will not bring back Gleyber Torres. There has been some talk of them signing Willy Adames and having him play second base but, I think he would be too costly for the Yankees, as would Alex Bregman from the Astros. The Yankees could potentially afford either of those players even with Soto under contract but, they might be better off spending that money elsewhere and going with Durbin at second base.

The main question with the outfield would be the alignment. If Soto returns to rightfield, would Aaron Judge continue to play centerfield, pushing Jasson Dominguez to leftfield? Or would the Yankees shift things around and move Dominguez to center and either Judge or Soto in left field and the other one in right field? I think it is fair to say that Jasson Dominguez will be a starting outfielder for the Yankees next season. Hopefully, the injuries he suffered at the end of 2023 and in 2024 are behind him and he can fulfill the potential that everyone agrees is there.

At this point, Giancarlo Stanton will be the everyday designated hitter. If the Yankees could find a way to trade him, they would be better served by doing so but, the reality is he may be almost untradable due to his age and his contract. It is also highly likely that he made become injured at some point during the season, missing a substantial amount of time. I'm not wishing for that to happen but based on his history, it seems likely.

I believe the Yankees can and will upgrade their starting rotation. I do not think Marcus Stroman will be on the team next year, as they seemed to have little to no faith in him at the end of the season, evidenced by the fact that he did not appear at all in the postseason. Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt will all have spots in the starting rotation, although depending on what moves the Yankees make, Schmidt could become a force in the bullpen. Nestor Cortes will also be included somehow, unless he is not on the team. There have been rumors that he will be traded, and I suspect he will be. I expect the Yankees will sign one of the following pitchers: Corbin Burnes, Jack Flaherty, Walker Buehler, Max Fried, or Roki Sasaki. Adding one of those pitchers to the group the Yankees already have will give them a dominant starting rotation.

The Yankees clearly need to upgrade the bullpen. They cannot go into 2025 with another collection of misfits, reclamation projects, has-beens, and never-wozzers While it is true that Luke Weaver emerged as a very effective closer down the stretch and into the postseason, I'm not sure if relying on him to do that permanently is the best course of action. I think he can be a very important part of the bullpen, but the Yankees might be better served by trading for someone like Devin Williams from the Brewers or Mason Miller from the A’s. Depending on which starting pitcher the Yankees acquire, Clarke Schmidt could potentially move to the bullpen and assume a major role there. Regardless of how it breaks down, the Yankees need to retool their bullpen. 

Once Juan Soto’s decision is made, and hopefully that is to return to the Yankees, the Yankees can then turn their focus to building the team around him, Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, and the others. There needs to be more than one present under the tree for the New York Yankees’ fans this season. Even though the main present will hopefully be an extremely impressive Juan.