After the New York Yankees responded quickly following Juan Soto’s departure, the team has not made any significant moves since. The market appears to be at a standstill with several free agents still unsigned with less than a month until Spring Training.
The Yankees fulfilled their needs to address the first base and the outfield, but they still have a hole in the infield. As of now, Jazz Chisholm is projected to move back to second base while third base will be manned by an in-house candidate such as D.J. Lemahieu or Oswaldo Cabrera.
The Yankees are waiting to make moves until they can get off of Marcus Stroman’s contract
However, if they want to get back to the World Series, they will need another big upgrade in the infield. Furthermore, the reason for New York’s stagnation in the market is because of starting pitcher Marcus Stroman’s contract. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Yankees are in a “holding pattern” in the market until they can move off of the $18 million from his contract.
“Agents and opposing teams describe the Yankees more in a holding pattern, with the sense that they want to clear as much of Marcus Stroman’s $18 million 2025 obligation as possible to free up dollars to shop elsewhere,” Sherman wrote.
Sherman added that some lefty relief arms such as Tim Hill and Andrew Chafin along with utility pieces like Kike Hernandez could help fulfill their needs. They are in search of lineup depth and a reliable lefty out of the bullpen, but they will need the financial resources to do so.
The Yankees are shaving their payroll this offseason
Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has made a point of emphasis to shave payroll this winter, and so far they have done exactly that. Moving off of Stroman’s contract will provide them more flexibility to make important additions to the roster.
Stroman signed a two-year, $37 million with the Yankees last offseason. He pitched most of the season in the rotation before being relegated to the bullpen in September. He did not appear in a single game during the playoffs.
The Yankees already attempted to move on from his contract once this winter, as they offered him in a deal to acquire third baseman Nolan Arenado from the St. Louis Cardinals. However, St. Louis declined that offer, and the Yankees have had trouble finding a suitor ever since.
Nevertheless, it is clear that Stroman is not a part of the Yankees’ plans for 2025, and it will be interesting to see if they can find a potential suitor who is willing to take on his contract to help New York.
