The New York Yankees have watched all their competitors make big moves, but they’ve been largely silent this offseason. The Toronto Blue Jays, who won the division and beat the Yankees in the playoffs, have been wildly aggressive. The New York Mets have poached several Yankees. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who won the World Series, have done more.
The Yankees responded by making a blockbuster trade on Tuesday, but it doesn’t exactly fill the biggest needs, and they’re still well behind other teams in terms of talent acquisition this offseason.
New York Yankees land Ryan Weathers
Ryan Weathers has been a pretty decent pitcher for the Miami Marlins, and the New York Yankees have a good track record of making pitchers better than they were. They must have seen something that indicates they can unlock a new level with Weathers.
Lefties are useful in Yankee Stadium because of the short porch, and he’s on a very cheap salary. The Yankees also only parted with outfield prospects Dillon Lewis and Brendan Jones, as well as infield prospects Dylan Jasso and Juan Matheus.
The Yankees needed some pitching. For one thing, you can never have too much. For another, they have watched Devin Williams and Luke Weaver exit, and their starting rotation is currently quite injured.
Carlos Rodon had offseason surgery, and he won’t be ready by Opening Day. Gerrit Cole missed all of last year with Tommy John surgery, and he also won’t be ready by Opening Day. Clarke Schmidt, also Tommy John, went down midway through, and he will also not be ready.
The Yankees do have Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Luis Gil, but four pitchers do not make up a full rotation. Plus, only Fried and, debatably, Schlittler are mostly trustworthy at this point. Pitching was a need, even if it won’t be by June.
When Cole, Rodon, and Schmidt return, the Yankees will have a wealth of pitching, but some other players will likely be injured at that point. The Yankees are aiming to have the depth to withstand that and survive until Cole, the 2023 AL Cy Young, returns alongside Rodon and Schmidt.
Yankees still need offense
Obviously, there was a need for pitching in New York. The New York Yankees were precariously thin on arms. However, it might not have been the biggest need. Their offense needs an infusion of talent. Cody Bellinger is likely to return, but he and the Yanks are at an impasse with contract talks. There’s no telling how it might turn out.
Kyle Tucker seems likely to head to the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, or Toronto Blue Jays, all of whom would be damaging to the Yankees’ chances of winning the World Series in 2026. That said, the Yankees seem to be out on Tucker.
They missed out on Josh Naylor, Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman, Kyle Schwarber, and others. The remaining top offensive free agents are:
- JT Realmuto
- Cody Bellinger
- Marcell Ozuna
- Kyle Tucker
- Eugenio Suarez
- Bo Bichette
- Paul Goldschmidt
The Yankees aren’t getting Tucker. They’re unlikely to pursue Ozuna since he’s a DH. Realmuto wouldn’t make sense, either. That leaves Suarez, Bellinger, and Bichette. Suarez would be an interesting option, but he’d likely need to learn to play first base.
Bichette is an interesting one, but the Yankees have a second-baseman, third-baseman, and shortstop already, so it’s unclear where he fits. The Yankees have been linked to Bichette in free agency, but he is more likely to land with the Philadelphia Phillies.
That leaves Bellinger, who holds all the leverage and can squeeze the Yanks. They need offense, and he’s all that’s left other than another trade. There aren’t as many great players in the trade market now, so the Yankees may be in deep trouble.
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