Who To Sign

Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman both gave "State of the Yankees" press conferences this week.  Cashman's was rosy, optimistic and, frankly, completely detached from the reality of the 2023 season.  Steinbrenner was more direct, saying that last season was unacceptable and there will be some changes.  I think he meant regarding front office personnel and the coaching staff, but we also know the Yankees' roster will look significantly different in 2024.

Now that Hot Stove season is about to get underway, it's time to start thinking about what some of those roster changes might be.  Plenty of names have already been thrown out there, some of which make more sense than others.  Some who would be perfect fits, some who would not.  And some who would be perfect placeholders.

One of those perfect placeholders is Kevin Kiermaier.  Kiermaier's name has been mentioned a lot lately, and it's easy to see why.  Because he's a guy you can absolutely envision wearing Yankee pinstripes next season.

They know Kiermaier well.  He's an elite center fielder who's spent his entire career in the AL East with the Rays and Blue Jays.  So they know what they'd be getting.  He's not a great hitter, but so what?  You can bat him ninth.  Jasson Dominguez is the center fielder of the future, but he's out until the All*Star break at the earliest, probably longer.  Signing Kiermaier to a one-year deal won't change that.  He'd be a reliable stopgap while they wait for Dominguez (yes, he's pretty much the left-handed equivalent of Harrison Bader, but they need a center fielder to start the season, so I'm all for a Kiermaier signing).

Of course, there's another center field option who gives them the opportunity to make a very old-school "Yankees" move.  The type of signing George Steinbrenner would make.  Former National League MVP Cody Bellinger, who, get this, is a left-handed power hitter.  A left-handed hitter at Yankee Stadium?!  What a concept!

Bellinger, who resurrected his career last season with the Cubs, will obviously be far more costly than Kiermaier.  He'll probably command a multi-year deal, too.  I can definitely see it, though, even if Bellinger isn't exactly an ideal fit.  Signing him for one year obviously means he plays center field next season.  If the only way to get Bellinger is with a multi-year deal, though, it would actually give them several options beyond just 2024.

He can also play first base.  A very important detail since Anthony Rizzo doesn't really have a backup, an issue that was heavily exposed last season.  Rizzo is only signed thru 2024.  So, it's very conceivable that, if they decide to move on from Rizzo, Bellinger just slides over to first base in 2025 when Dominguez reclaims the center field job full-time.  Or, he could slide over and fill the left field vacancy that they've had for about three years.  (Bellinger has never played left field, but is athletic enough that I don't think it would be an issue.)

It sounds like they're finally gonna do something about left field this winter.  I've heard rumors of a Gleyber Torres-for-Alex Verdugo trade, which I think is a terrible idea.  For a few reasons (which I'll get into in a minute).  That's not the answer, though.  Especially because if they want to really make an old-school Yankees move, they'll swing a blockbuster trade with the Padres for Juan Soto.

Soto is a 25-year-old, in-his-prime superstar who, along with Judge and Dominguez, would solidify the Yankees' outfield for the next decade.  Most importantly, he's a left-handed hitter they could insert right into the middle of the lineup.  It'll take a lot to get Soto.  Somebody like an Everon Pereira and/or an Oswald Peraza.  If it means they can get Soto, though, I say do it.

Another player being discussed is Soto's Padres teammate Josh Hader.  Hader will have plenty of suitors.  The Yankees should be right at the top of that list.  This is a team that has historically had elite closers like Goose Gossage, Dave Righetti, Aroldis Chapman and, of course, the greatest ever, Mariano Rivera.  Nothing against Clay Holmes, but he's not any of them.  And, frankly, he's no Josh Hader either.  Bring in Hader, make Holmes the setup man, and maybe the bullpen will actually be as good as everybody thinks it is.

The Yankees have five catchers on the 40-man roster.  At least two of them figure to be moved.  Kyle Higashioka and Ben Rortvedt appear to be the most likely candidates.  Whether it be for Soto or someone else.  They also have a "surplus" of infielders that they may want to alleviate by making a trade.  I'm strongly against trading Gleyber Torres, however.  Especially since I don't think the "surplus" is nearly as bad as some others.

Like left field, third base has been a problem area.  Well, third base became a problem area because of the Josh Donaldson trade, but I digress.  Anyway, Matt Chapman has been floated around as a possibility, but I'm not on board with that one.  Because, again, I think third base doesn't need to be addressed as much as other areas.  Not when they can address third base and the infield "surplus" at the same time.

For most of the last two seasons, they had five infielders for four spots, plus Stanton and Judge.  That meant that, unless Stanton and Judge were both in the outfield, somebody had to sit.  Of course, they had to deal with injuries and the fact that Donaldson was God awful, which made that less of an issue.  But it's not an issue right now, either.  Because they can simply make D.J. LeMahieu the starting third baseman, giving them a regular infield of LeMahieu, Volpe, Torres and Rizzo.  No need to bring in somebody else and try to figure out a way to get enough at-bats for both of the second basemen who are regulars in the lineup.

Finally, there's the pitching staff.  They need a solid No. 2 starter behind Gerrit Cole, and I expect a full-court press to sign Japanese star Yoshinobu Yamamoto.  They could very well end up getting into a bidding war with the Mets for Yamamoto, but I say you go for it, then pivot should he pick someone else.  They're also reportedly considering bringing Frankie Montas back, to which I say "Why?"  If they're gonna re-sign one of their free agent starting pitchers, I'd prefer Luis Severino.  He'll obviously be looking for a bounce-back, so I'd be OK with keeping him on a one-year deal to see if he can get back to the form that made him a two-time All*Star.

Although, there is one potential Yankees reunion that has fans salivating.  Jordan Montgomery.  The Montgomery-for-Bader trade didn't make sense to a lot of people when it happened at the 2022 trade deadline, and it looked even worse when Yankees fans had to watch Montgomery have an outstanding postseason while helping lead the Rangers to the title.  Bringing Montgomery back would give Cashman a mulligan and create a rotation that could possibly look like this: Cole, Montgomery, Yamamoto, Rodon, Cortes/King/Schmidt.

Needless to say, Brian Cashman will be busy this offseason.  Hal's giving him a chance to fix it.  The last time he had a chance to fix it after a bad season, he got CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira and won a World Series.  That was 15 years ago.  They haven't been back since.  This might be the last chance he gets.