Great Start To The Off-Season

The Yankees' Off-season Is Still Far Away From Being Completed Despite Its Great Start

By Derek McAdam

December 18, 2024

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The New York Yankees have made several transactions this off-season, so far, two of which have been for pitchers and one for a positional player. They first announced the signing of former Atlanta Braves’ starter Max Fried, who signed on Tuesday an eight-year, $218 million deal. Just days after the announcement of Fried agreeing to terms with the Yankees, Brian Cashman traded for Milwaukee Brewers’ reliever Devin Williams, a boost to the bullpen that has lost several arms to free agency this off-season.

Cashman ended up trading Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin to Milwaukee, which I thought was a decent trade for both teams. Cortes is in the final year of his deal and would likely have been an odd man out of the starting rotation. I also don’t see him fitting in well as a bullpen arm. Durbin seems to be the highlight of this trade for Milwaukee. The only issue is that he has not played at the Major League level, so I’ll be curious to see how he does.

On Tuesday, the Yankees acquired Chicago Cubs’ outfielder Cody Bellinger, who can also play first base. The Yankees only gave up Cody Poteet in the deal and even received $5 million to help pay Bellinger’s salary. I thought this was Cashman’s best off-season move of the three, since the Yankees did not give up as much as anticipated to get the deal done. Plus, Bellinger’s addition with help solve one of the hitters the Yankees’ lost in the off-season and allow their defense to improve in the outfield.

It seemed as if the Cubs were definitely going to trade Bellinger following their acquisition of Kyle Tucker, which I thought the Yankees made the correct decision in not trading for (especially after what they gave up for Bellinger). The Yankees did not want to trade away Luis Gil, the current AL Rookie of the Year, whose biggest flaw is his high walk rate. At least with Bellinger, the Yankees can get at least two seasons out of him, compared to only one with Tucker.

And while the Yankees’ off-season is off to a good start, there are still a couple more moves that need to be made. They are still in need of at least one more infielder and possibly two (depending on whether Bellinger plays first base or the outfield). However, I predict that the Yankees end up putting Bellinger in the outfield and looking for a first baseman in the free agency market, since there are several names including Pete Alonso, Christian Walker, and Paul Goldschmidt.

Juan Soto departing to the New York Mets was definitely a bittersweet moment for many Yankee fans. He brought an entire new look to the team and was a big factor in the Yankees getting to their first World Series since 2009. But, for the money that the Mets spent on him, it was a relief in that the Yankees did not spend the money, especially since their offer was only $5 million less than the $765 million that the Mets gave him.

With the money that the Yankees now have not tied up in Soto, they are able to be much more active in free agency and the trade market. Cashman would have still been able to acquire Williams, but I could not see Fried being a Yankee, nor would they be in a great position to pull the trigger on the Bellinger trade. And, the Yankees would not have the funds to be in the market for Alonso or Walker, or even a third base target such as Alex Bregman.

And while the Mets are not going to be a bad team in 2025, they still have some very questionable areas, specifically the starting rotation. Kodai Senga is likely the ace of the rotation, but who else in the rotation can be relied on? Clay Holmes has not been a starter in the Majors, and Frankie Montas had an average 2024 season at best. Sure, they added Soto to their lineup, but will they be able to retain Alonso? Even though Mets’ owner Steve Cohen is not afraid to spend the money, I don’t think their off-season moves have been anything great. They went all in on Soto, and it may hurt them in the end.

The Yankees’ starting lineup may not be as scary with Soto no longer there, but they still have the potential to be dangerous, especially with the Bellinger addition. And they are likely going to add another one or two bats to the lineup, which would pretty much be replacements for Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres. Rizzo was not the same player in his last couple of seasons with the Yankees. And Torres was hot down the stretch of the 2024 season, but he had plenty of base-running errors and fielding errors that were inexcusable.

Cashman is in a position that, with the correct moves, could make this team even better than last year’s team. As I mentioned, there are still a couple of positions that the Yankees need, and it wouldn’t hurt to add another arm or two to the bullpen. However, I have to give Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner credit where it is due. They truly are trying to get this team back to another World Series. And hopefully this time, they can win it.

But, we still have plenty of off-season left. And I’m sure it is going to get even more interesting once the first baseman market begins to take shape.