Yankees should finish offseason strong with these 3 moves

Yesterday at 09:45 AM

The New York Yankees are the best in the American League according to most, as while they lost a huge piece in Juan Soto, their top competitors also lost a significant piece at positions of need. Kyle Tucker was traded to the Cubs and Corbin Burnes signed with the Diamondbacks, and while the Astros and Orioles have remained unable to patch up all of their holes, Brian Cashman has made a flurry of moves in an attempt to keep this team ahead of the pack.

Some have argued that with the state of the American League, the desire to spend on the roster shouldn’t be as strong, but I disagree. It should be a motivation to capitalize on a weaker pool of competition, and with no real fourth infielder and a bullpen that lacks a left-handed option, the Yankees should be on the attack to acquire upgrades. With these three moves, the Yankees would make a considerable upgrade to their roster and finish the winter strong.

Step 1: Find a Way To Dump Marcus Stroman’s Money

The New York Yankees need to move off of some cash they gave to Marcus Stroman last winter, and one of the ways they should push his value is to attach some more to entice a team enough on a potential deal. I would discuss a deal with a team like the Miami Marlins, who just lost young starter Braxton Garrett to Tommy John Surgery and are in some potential trouble with the MLBPA due to their lack of spending. They’ve brought in too much revenue-sharing income for their current payroll, and the Yankees could provide young talent alongside Stroman to complete a potential deal.

Heading to Miami alongside Marcus Stroman are RHP Yoendrys Gomez and C Engleth Urena, with Gomez needing a spot on the 26-man roster this season and Urena being a 20-year-old catching prospect who impressed in Rookie Ball. Gomez is an immediate boost to the Marlins’ bullpen and can start in a pinch, while Urena had a 161 wRC+ in the Florida Complex League, walking more than he struck out while pulling the ball in the air often. He has excellent game power and bat-to-ball skills while having the projectability to improve as a defender.

Stroman gives the Marlins a veteran starter, and the Yankees would be sending $5 million to cover part of the 2025 salary while also attaching $8 million for 2026 if the option is vested. It makes that 2026 option a lot less scary for a team since it would be a one-year $10 million if Stroman exceeds the 130 IP mark, which I assume would only occur if he performed at an acceptable level. The Marlins could trade the veteran at the deadline if he performed well enough and bring back another prospect or two while complying with the MLBPA; it’s a win-win for both sides here.

With the extra $13.5 million in Luxury Tax space for the season, the Yankees would be at around $289 million in terms of their Luxury Tax salary, and they’re not done making moves just yet.

Step 2: Swing a Trade For An Infield Bat to Round Out the Lineup

The Baltimore Orioles could use some more pitching depth and the New York Yankees could use an infielder; I think a trade could be had between these two AL East rivals. If the Yankees can trade with the Red Sox, they can trade with the Orioles, who have sent them Zack Britton before, although that came right before Mike Elias was hired. Ramon Urias is a surplus on the Orioles’ bench, taking up a spot on their 26-man roster in a crowded infield that could be occupied by a cheaper and younger player from their farm system.

Urias has been an inconsistent defender at 2B and 3B, having some seasons where he looks like a Gold Glover and others where he’s outright terrible, but his bat should be enticing for the Bronx Bombers. He posted a 115 wRC+ last season and likely would have had a better season had he not played his home games at Camden Yards, which has quickly become a hellhole for right-handed hitters. He would have hit three more HRs had he played all of his games at Yankee Stadium, but his numbers as a whole would have been better in the Bronx.

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With the Orioles needing to assemble some more depth on their pitching staff, perhaps Mark Leiter Jr. could bring these two teams to an agreement on a deal. His 33.6% K% in 2024 could indicate a breakout season in 2025, and Baltimore could make a serious upgrade to a bullpen that is already pretty nasty now that Felix Bautista is back as their closer after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.

The Yankees’ payroll would go up by $3.2 million, but without Mark Leiter Jr. it means that they won’t see their payroll go up any further because of arbitration. Sitting at ~$292.2 million, the Yankees would have about $12 million between this hypothetical payroll and what they’re projected to pay after they settle Mark Leiter Jr.’s arbitration case. Let’s say the cap here is $310 million; the Yankees would have some wiggle move to make another improvement of note to their roster.

Step 3: Make a Stunning Signing To Make a Strength Even More Unstoppable

You have about $18 million of wiggle room? Spend it. The Yankees should not be looking at a weak American League as a reason to tread waters, they should view it as an opportunity to dominate on their way back to the World Series. If the Yankees offered Tanner Scott a three-year deal at $51 million with an opt-out after each season, they might be able to land his services, and there would be zero penalties outside of re-entering the Steve Cohen threshold.

No reliever has accumulated more WAR (4.5) over the last two seasons than Tanner Scott, who is just sixth in HR/9 (0.36) as a result of his 50.4% GB%. To pair with elite damage prevention abilities, Scott can punch tickets at a high clip,

Among qualified left-handed relievers, no one has a better Stuff+ than Scott since the start of the 2023 season, and this past season he was fourth among all qualified relievers in that metric.

Tanner Scott, 99mph ⛽️ pic.twitter.com/d3TUxTH0Yu

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 12, 2024

The Yankees being in a weak American League should be their excuse to be all-in, as adding Tanner Scott on top of their already-existing bullpen would give them a comfortable advantage over their competition. The Yankees are currently projected by FanGraphs to have the second-most WAR in MLB behind the Dodgers, but in terms of projected records, New York sits tied with the Mets for fourth behind the Dodgers, Braves, and Phillies.

On one hand, it’s great that the Yankees are considered the best team in the AL, with betting odds backing up the notion that they’re the favorites to win the pennant, but they’re favorites by default. This isn’t a team with a dominant projection for the upcoming season, they’re expected to be a little worse than last year’s squad entering the season and have remained at the top merely because the Orioles and Astros have seen some big names leave the roster while other contenders haven’t had a game-changing offseason.

Things can change in a hurry too; what if the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman? How about the Orioles landing Luis Castillo? It doesn’t take much for Texas to add a closer on this market either.

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In a league where the second-best team in terms of projected win-loss record would be sixth in the National League, the Yankees should be willing to go the extra mile to make this roster that much better. Tanner Scott is a luxury for a position group that’s already expected to provide tons of value for the Yankees, but he’s also a player who just makes you that much better. You would push for 88-89 projected wins, being firmly above the rest of the AL, and creating a serious gap in the division as well.

The lack of competition in the American League is great, but what’s more concerning is the fact that the Yankees are only projected to win 1.7 more games than the second-best team. All it takes is one injury to a player like Jazz Chisholm or Carlos Rodon for the team to slot behind the Rangers, who could add another reliever before things are all said and done. I mentioned Bregman for the Red Sox, who would certainly reduce the projected win gap to about 0.5-1, if not give Boston close to even odds at winning the AL East.

It wouldn’t take these three exact moves for me to feel as if the Yankees finished the offseason strong, I understand that teams do not have to accept what I deem fair, but the message is that the front office should control what they can. Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman cannot force John Henry into failing on a promise to spend again. They cannot make the Orioles nickel-and-dime their rotation for the rest of the offseason. They cannot push the Astros further away from analytics, which helped them build a dominant roster.

They’ve lucked into all of that; the top talent has all packed up and headed to the National League, and the only thing the Yankees can control is the amount of talent they import. Everyone in the AL has decided to be unserious this winter; make the most of that opportunity while you still can.