The New York Yankees' primary objective for the 2024 offseason was to re-sign Juan Soto. But a five-way bidding war between them, the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Mets drove the price so high that they had no choice but to let him walk.
Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman pivoted to plan B, and the team signed Max Fried and Paul Goldschmidt and traded for Cody Bellinger before running out of money. They also traded Nestor Cortes and prospect Caleb Durbin to the Milwaukee Brewers for All-Star closer Devin Williams. But before any of that — before free agency officially opened — the Yankees made their first blunder of the offseason.
Yankees Offseason Recap: Cashman and ownership holding team back
Ace pitcher Gerrit Cole enacted a clause in his contract and opted out of the last four years of his deal, thus becoming a free agent. The team had a kicker: they could add a fifth year and opt him back in. However, they refused to do so, creating a stalemate between Cashman and super agent Scott Boras.
Eventually, Boras blinked, the whole thing disappeared, and Cole returned on his original four-year deal. Then, during spring training, Cole suffered an elbow injury, knocking him out for the entire 2025 season.
Hindsight is 20/20, and maybe it's not fair to say that Cashman should have let Cole walk when given the opportunity. After all, Cole is only one year removed from winning a Cy Young award and has been everything the Yankees could have hoped for since they signed him to a then-record deal in 2019.
But the writing was on the wall: Cole is 34 years old with 1954 innings pitched in his career. His K% has declined four years in a row (33.5%, 32.4%, 27.0%, 25.4%), his average fastball velocity has dropped three years in a row (97.8 MPH, 96.7 MPH, 95.9 MPH), and most importantly, he missed 16 starts in 2024 with an elbow injury that he suffered in spring training. And the Yankees lack the payroll flexibility to withstand losing him.
Cashman has blundered quite a bit while filling out the roster, dedicating nearly half the budget (~$140M) to injury-prone or underperforming players like Cole, Carlos Rodon, Marcus Stroman, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMaheiu, and Aaron Hicks.
Owner Hal Steinbrenner is reluctant to expand the payroll past the third luxury tax threshold, so the Yankees are entering the season with an obvious need for a third baseman. This penny-pinching leads fans to believe that the Yankees aren't serious about being the best team in baseball.
That line of argument extends to the idea that they only care about generating enough revenue to line their owner's pockets. It's hard to imagine Hal's father, George Steinbrenner, getting embarrassed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series and worrying about the luxury tax instead of putting the best team possible on the field. George would have matched the Mets' offer for Soto and splashed out to get the Yankees a top third baseman.
Yankees fans are lucky to have an owner willing to spend $300M a year on player salaries, and Hal Steinbrenner is right to wonder if a team needs a high payroll to win the World Series.
They shouldn't, but they do when Brian Cashman is the general manager. Cashman owes his early success to former GM Gene 'Stick' Michael, the man who drafted Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, et al., and traded for Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neill, David Cone, et al., key members of the Yankees dynasty from 1996-2000.
After the dynasty ended, Cashman won one World Series in 25 years despite always having one of the highest budgets in the league, and that World Series win came after signing three of the top free agents in the 2008 free agent class (CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and AJ Burnett), moves that anybody could have made given the resources.
One especially egregious decision that Cashman made early in his tenure, and it's anybody's guess why George Steinbrenner didn't fire him at the time, was replacing Andy Pettitte with Kevin Brown in 2004, which cost the Yankees the pennant and led to the most embarrassing defeat in franchise history in the ALCS.
Yankees 2025 Preview: No Soto, but new additions are promising
Despite his flaws, Cashman did a decent job turning over the roster after being jilted by Soto.
The 2025 Yankees are more well-rounded than their 2024 counterparts. It's a faster team and better defensively, too. By virtue of a weak American League, they should have no problems making the playoffs and are even the betting favorites to win the pennant.
They still have Aaron Judge, the best hitter since Barry Bonds. But they've already been battered by injuries — Cole, Stanton (who's out indefinitely with a strange elbow injury), 2024 Rookie of the Year Luis Gil (who will miss a couple of months with a strained lat), and Clarke Schmidt, a breakout performer in 2024, are due to start the season on the IL.
They'll need guys to step up. It's a make-it-or-break-it season for Anthony Volpe, who's played fantastic defense so far in his career but has been below-average with the bat. Jasson Dominguez, who once garnered (unfair) comparisons to Mickey Mantle, is finally ready to be an everyday player.
Fernando Cruz, who the Yankees acquired in a trade with the Reds, will need to be a high-leverage option out of the bullpen. Carlos Carrasco has the chance to show that he still has innings left in the tank. J.C. Escarra, the new backup catcher, spent eight years in the minor leagues and worked as a substitute teacher and Uber driver in the offseason. He can help keep vibes high in the clubhouse with his feel-good story.
Ben Rice, who's penciled in as the DH against righties until Stanton returns, must build on his impressive spring training performance. Will Warren might be the 2025 version of Luis Gil. Pablo Reyes needs to be a spark plug off the bench.
Meanwhile, down on the farm, guys like Spencer Jones, Everson Periera, and Jorbit Vivas must be ready when called upon.
Anything short of a World Series title is a disappointment for this group. With the injuries already piling up, the disappointment may not be far behind.