Go beyond the box score with the Bombers
Sign up for Inside the Yankees by Greg Joyce, exclusively on Sports+.
After the Yankees were swept by the Astros in the ALCS last October, they began an offseason in which they faced question marks all around the field.
A year later, plenty of holes — old ones and new ones — remain.
As the Yankees undergo an organizational deep dive to address the processes that led them to this postseason-less October, they also will take stock of what they have and what they need to add through trades and free agency.
Big picture: They need to get more athletic, more left-handed and less injury-prone.
On a more micro level, here’s where the Yankees stand around the diamond heading into a crucial offseason:
Catcher
The early bet here is Austin Wells and Jose Trevino will form a tandem behind the plate next season. How they split up playing time remains to be seen.
Wells impressed the Yankees during his September cameo, with his defense proving to be better than they expected — albeit in a small sample size. His left-handed bat — no small part of what he brings to the table to help diversify the lineup — also came alive over the second half of the month. Now he will have to show he can do both over the course of a full season.
Trevino said last month he is on track to be healthy for spring training after having wrist surgery in July. His offensive numbers have fallen off since the first half of 2022, but pitchers, including Gerrit Cole, love throwing to him and his defensive metrics remain some of the best in the game.
Kyle Higashioka still has one more year under contract but figures to be traded or non-tendered. Ben Rortvedt, meanwhile, is likely ticketed for Triple-A, though his stock has risen some (at least defensively) after showing he could handle a demanding ace like Cole.
First base
The Yankees need Anthony Rizzo to be the Anthony Rizzo they saw during the first two months of 2023 before he got into a collision with Fernando Tatis Jr. — at which point he was hitting .304 with an .880 OPS and 11 home runs through 53 games. Like Wells, having Rizzo’s lefty bat in the lineup is essential, but it needs to be productive and healthy.
Second base
The annual offseason question is back: What to do with Gleyber Torres? He was the Yankees’ most consistent hitter this season, yet he may be on the trade market again as he enters his final year under team control. Unless the Yankees are going to sign him to a contract extension — which seems unlikely — they at least have to see whether they could get an upgrade at another position (i.e. left field or center) by trading Torres.
If that’s the case, either DJ LeMahieu or Oswald Peraza could see regular at-bats here — if LeMahieu is able to build off how he looked in the second half of this season or if Peraza can find more consistency on offense.
Shortstop
Anthony Volpe went through his fair share of growing pains as a rookie hitter, but handled himself well defensively. Because of that, there are no indications the Yankees will move him off of shortstop. Now they just need him to take a leap in his second year and get back to being the hitter he was throughout his climb through the minor leagues.
Third base
LeMahieu and Peraza also will be in play here, especially if Torres is not traded.
The top two free agents at the hot corner will be Matt Chapman and Jeimer Candelario, the switch-hitter who was linked to the Yankees at the trade deadline before he was sent to the Cubs. At this point, though, it’s hard to envision the Yankees spending big money on either Chapman or Candelario when they have more pressing needs elsewhere. For example…
Left field
The Yankees failed to address this position last winter, and went into the season hoping either Oswaldo Cabrera or Aaron Hicks would take off with the job. Neither did. Cabrera took a step back in his sophomore season and Hicks was designated for assignment in May before revitalizing his career with the Orioles.
By the end of the season, the Yankees had started 10 different players in left field, more than any other position. And the hole still remains with Cabrera pegged for a utility role and Everson Pereira looking like he was not ready yet during a late-season call-up.
The biggest name to fill this hole would be Juan Soto, but it remains to be seen whether the Padres actually will make him available — or if the Yankees would stomach the prospect cost of a trade with only one year left on Soto’s contract.
Center field
After the Yankees waived Harrison Bader and all but guaranteed he won’t re-sign here this offseason, Jasson Dominguez looked the part for eight games before he tore his UCL and underwent Tommy John surgery.
With Dominguez not expected back until midseason — and even then, will he immediately join the Yankees or get some more seasoning at Triple-A? — they will need a stopgap at the very least. Kevin Kiermaier, a terrific defender and veteran left-handed bat, makes the most sense on a short-term deal.
Cody Bellinger also looms as the big fish in the free-agent market, another left-handed bat coming off a strong season with the Cubs. The Yankees were thought to be players for him at the trade deadline before the Cubs caught fire and kept him.
Right field
The first season of Aaron Judge’s nine-year, $360 million contract looked good, and would have been even better if not for the unpadded right-field wall at Dodger Stadium. Judge looks as if he will be able to avoid offseason surgery, at the very least.
Designated hitter
Giancarlo Stanton needs to have a big offseason while reworking his swing and getting more athletic and flexible physically. If his adjustments don’t result in better production, the Yankees will have to decide when to cut bait on the rest of his contract with $98 million still owed to him over the next four years.
Rotation
As currently constructed, the Yankees project to have a starting five of Cole, Carlos Rodon, Michael King, Nestor Cortes and Clarke Schmidt. That’s the AL Cy Young and some high-risk, high-reward behind him.
Rodon’s first season in pinstripes was brutal, but the Yankees remain confident his high-end stuff is still there. But he needs health and command to have it play.
King looked like the real deal after transitioning from the bullpen to a starting role. Until he makes 30 starts, though, there will be questions about whether he is physically ready for that kind of workload.
The Yankees likely won’t know that Cortes is fully healthy until the end of this month, when they hope to have him throw a bullpen session and prove he is past his rotator cuff strain.
Schmidt showed he can be a full-time starter in the league this year, though there is still more room for him to grow in 2024 — especially in facing a lineup a third time through so he can pitch deeper into games.
That said, Schmidt looms as a potential trade chip to help bring back a lineup piece, particularly if the Yankees have a real shot to land Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, though they will have plenty of competition.
As for Domingo German, who left the team in August to seek treatment for alcohol abuse, it would not be a surprise if he is non-tendered.
Bullpen
The relief corps posted the lowest ERA (3.34) in the majors this season but took some hits while they were at it, as we broke down in last week’s newsletter. They should get a boost from Scott Effross, who missed this season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, who will join Clay Holmes, Jonathan Loaisiga, Tommy Kahnle, Ian Hamilton and potentially Jhony Brito (in King’s former multi-inning role). Expect the Yankees to add a left-hander here if they do not re-sign Wandy Peralta.
Kansas City was one of the stranger places for the Yankees to end their season last weekend. The fact that neither team had anything to play for made it even more of a dud series.
But the trip did allow for a chance to visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, a must-see for those who travel to Kansas City in the future.
Those of us on the Yankees beat were lucky enough to have the museum’s president, Bob Kendrick, show us around and bring to life the exhibits with his incredible storytelling.
The Yankees visit Kansas City from June 10-13 next year. Kauffman Stadium was nice and the barbecue scene was as advertised, but visiting the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum might just be the highlight of your trip.
Looking back at past years’ stats can sometimes be surprising. For instance, coming into the year, who had …
• Brito and Schmidt being tied for second on the team with nine wins?
• Ryan Weber, Nick Ramirez, Hamilton, Brito and Deivi Garcia each recording saves?
• Ramirez posting the 12th-highest bWAR (0.9) on the team?
• Judge missing two months and still leading the team in RBIs (75)?