After reaching the World Series in 2024, the Yankees were unable to come away with their first title in 15 years, losing in five games to the Los Angeles Dodgers. With Juan Soto entering free agency, stars such as Gerrit Cole and Aaron Judge entering their mid-30s, and much of their already questionable bullpen departing in free agency, it would’ve been reasonable to consider the Yankees’ championship window closed.
With Soto departing for the Mets prior to the Winter Meetings, this sentiment was all but reassured—until Brian Cashman and the Yankees made it clear they weren’t giving up yet. The Yankees then reached an agreement with star pitcher Max Fried just a day later.
The Yankees kept their foot on the gas for the next few weeks, trading for Devin Williams and Cody Bellinger, but have since (mostly) cooled off. The Yankees are now a vastly different team, and still have questions to be answered about how they will compete without Juan Soto, former closer Clay Holmes, and much more.
To compare these two teams, I will be reviewing their players lost and added – players retained on new deals such as Jonathan Loáisiga will also be noted. All projections will be found via Steamer’s 2025 projections on Fangraphs.
Players Lost
Juan Soto – 2024 – 7.9 bWAR, 8.1 fWAR | 2025 – projected 6.5 fWAR
Losing Soto to the Mets on a record contract with a potential value of over $800 million was not how the Yankees wanted their offseason to begin. Still, by not signing Soto to the biggest contract in MLB history, the Yankees opened about $50 million in spending on their 2025 payroll, which they quickly allocated elsewhere.
While no team would be better without Juan Soto’s generational offensive talent, the Yankees have the chance to take the money they were willing to offer Soto and invest in the team elsewhere, softening the blow and fixing other problems that were certainly present in 2024.
Gleyber Torres – 2024 – 1.8 bWAR, 1.7 fWAR | 2025 – projected 3.0 fWAR
Torres has been the Yankees starting second baseman for half a decade now, and after becoming their leadoff hitter in 2025, Torres departing on a 1-year, $15 million deal with the Tigers leaves multiple holes in the Yankees’ team construction.
Nestor Cortes – 2024 – 2.6 bWAR, 3.1 fWAR | 2025 – projected 1.9 fWAR
After being traded to the Brewers alongside Caleb Durbin for Devin Williams, the Yankees lost a valuable member of their rotation from the past few years.
Still, Cortes was projected as the Yankees’ SP5 or SP6 in 2025 after signing Max Fried and will get a consistent starting opportunity on a competitive Brewers team.
Anthony Rizzo – 2024 – 0.2 bWAR, -0.2 fWAR | 2025 – projected 0.4 fWAR
Alex Verdugo – 2024 – 0.8 bWAR, 0.6 fWAR | 2025 – projected 1.2 fWAR
Jon Berti – 2024 – 0.6 bWAR, 0.3 fWAR | 2025 – projected 0.0 fWAR
Bullpen – Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle, Tim Hill, Cody Poteet, Tim Mayza
With Clay Holmes converting to a starter, these former Yankees bullpen arms are all likely to see big changes in 2025, although there’s still a good chance a few of these players return.
Hill and Kahnle in particular have been linked to the Yankees multiple times this offseason, and would likely be helpful additions to a threatening but risky 2025 bullpen.
Catching Depth – Jose Trevino, Carlos Narváez – 2024 – 0.6 bWAR, 1.6 fWAR | 2025 – projected 2.2 fWAR
While Austin Wells is poised to take over the starting catcher role for the Yankees after a 115-game rookie season in 2024, losing an extremely valuable defensive catcher in Trevino is a tough pill to swallow.
Still, the Yankees believe in Wells to take another step forward in 2025, and newly acquired Alex Jackson could see some valuable innings as well.
Players Added
Max Fried – 2024 – 3.5 bWAR, 3.4 fWAR | 2025 – projected 3.3 fWAR
Fried, one of the best pitchers in baseball over the last half-decade, signed a huge contract with the Yankees shortly after Juan Soto’s deal with the Mets was announced. As the Yankees struggled to establish a true #2 starter throughout 2024, Fried’s signing adds a dominant arm to one of the best pitching staffs in MLB.
Cody Bellinger – 2024 – 2.2 bWAR, 2.2 fWAR | 2025 – projected 2.7 fWAR
Traded for Cody Poteet, Bellinger is likely the Yankees starting center or left fielder in 2025. With his above-average defense and baserunning, Bellinger’s floor is high despite his risky bat and expensive contract.
Paul Goldschmidt – 2024 – 1.3 bWAR, 1.1 fWAR | 2025 – projected 1.9 fWAR
Now 37, Goldschmidt is a solid player with a weird 2024 season, now looking to provide stability at first base for the Yankees after the position was a major question mark in 2024.
Bullpen – Devin Williams, Fernando Cruz
As mentioned earlier, the Yankees bullpen will be vastly different from 2024 in the 2025 season. Adding an elite closer in Williams and a swing-and-miss arm in Cruz fills two holes that were big problems in 2024.
While Luke Weaver stepped in at closer for the postseason, where he delivered one of the most dominant postseasons by a Yankees reliever since Mariano Rivera, he is likely best fit for a high-leverage long relief role in 2025.
Other internal candidates with promise for roles in the Yankees’ bullpen include Clayton Beeter and Yoendrys Gómez, with newly resigned Jonathan Loáisiga poised for a rebound season after missing almost all of 2024.
Catching Depth – Alex Jackson – 2024 – -0.4 bWAR, -0.1 fWAR | 2025 – projected 0.7 fWAR
Jackson had a rough 2024 in the majors, posting a minuscule 26 OPS+ with above-average framing metrics. While his MiLB numbers are promising, there’s a chance the Yankees look elsewhere for a backup catcher.
Totals
By net WAR, it’s clear the Yankees did not get better via free agency this offseason – losing valuable players like Juan Soto, Gleyber Torres, and Clay Holmes will do that, but I believe this difference stems from two key places: second base and catching depth.
While Torres caught lots of criticism over his time with the Yankees, he was almost always a valuable player – after a slump to begin 2024, he had a .780 OPS in the second half while primarily batting leadoff, which he continued to do throughout the 2024 playoffs. Without an external addition, second base (or third base, if Jazz Chisholm Jr. moves back to second) will be a massive liability in 2025.
In addition, catching depth was a major strength of the Yankees in recent years, and losing Trevino seriously hurts this. While his hitting has always been shaky, the Platinum Glove winner is a perfect backup for a young catcher like Austin Wells, and the Yankees will have to get the best out of players like Alex Jackson to replicate some of Trevino’s value.
The Yankees are far from a complete team and still have work to be done to make a return to the World Series in 2025. Still, I believe the Yankees are in a good spot.
While they have lost a few key players in free agency, they have made smart trades and can look to blossoming stars such as Jasson Domínguez and Ben Rice to provide value at a lesser cost. New arms such as Max Fried and Devin Williams add strength to an already impressive pitching staff, and a few more moves could put the Yankees right back into championship contention.