The New York Yankees have had a rough offseason in terms of acquiring the best talent available. They were outbid by cross-town rival New York Mets for Juan Soto and have now been told they are out of the running for Japanese sensation Roki Saski.
Source: The Yankees have been told Sasaki will not be signing with them.
— JackCurryYES (@JackCurryYES) January 13, 2025
The starting rotation will still be fine as Max Fried was acquired in free agency, and Gerrit Cole chose to return after originally opting out of the remainder of his contract. Those two join incumbents Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt in the rotation.
Though the Yankees have enough talent to return to the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets have been on a spending spree this offseason. In order to avoid being outmatched by baseball's best teams, where should the Yankees turn now that Sasaki has moved on?
Who do the Yankees need to pursue next?
How would you grade the Yankees offseason to this point? pic.twitter.com/MRD0Igegvh
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 3, 2025
Since the starting rotation is set, Marcus Stroman is expendable. The Yankees have tried to dump his $18 million contract and 2026 vesting option of the same amount, but teams have not yet agreed to a trade.
The team returns four players from last season's sixth-ranked bullpen ERA. They have acquired two-time All-Star closer Devin Williams and Fernando Cruz in trades with the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds, respectively.
The Yankees need another bullpen arm and a lefty, preferably, as everyone else in the bullpen is a righty. A perfect fit to solve both needs is a name fans would be ecstatic to sign: Tanner Scott.
Surprisingly, Scott, the top reliever in free agency, is still available. Last season, Scott posted a combined ERA of 1.75 over 72 innings between the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres with 84 strikeouts while converting 22 of 24 save opportunities.
The Yankees will not need Scott to close games with Williams slotted in as the closer, but the southpaw would help the team by facing left-handed hitters late in games. Scott ranked in the 92nd percentile in whiff percentage in 2024, so he has the swing-and-miss stuff you want out of a late-game reliever.
Another glaring need this offseason is a second or third baseman. Gleyber Torres left in free agency, leaving Oswaldo Cabrera, DJ LeMahieu, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Oswald Peraza as possible options to cover both positions.
The #Yankees need an infielder to round out their offseason, and we've got 3⃣ players who could be potential targets on the trade market!
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) January 4, 2025
WATCH: https://t.co/NEGcFElMpW pic.twitter.com/Ppxo5GyeIQ
Like Scott, it is surprising that Alex Bregman is still available. Bregman could fill the hot corner position and allow Chisholm Jr. to return to his more natural position, second base. Bregman would, too, fill the "splash" acquisition fans are waiting for, assuming they can look past his ties with a bitter rival.
The third baseman has spent his nine-year career with the Houston Astros. Last season, he hit .260/.315/.453 with 26 HRs and 75 RBIs. In 2024, Baseball Savant ranked Bregman in the 96th percentile in squared-up percentage, and he would have plenty of opportunities to do damage ahead of Aaron Judge in the lineup
What the Yankees probably don't need is another starter, given the addition of Fried to an already strong group. Pursuing Sasaki made sense given his talent and cheap acquisition cost, but they shouldn't waste more resources on building out what's already the strongest part of the roster.
Bregman has been a popular name amongst the rumor mill, but if the Yankees could sign him and/or Scott, it would be a home run acquisition, leaving fans satisfied and optimistic for the 2025 season.