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Offseason Outlook: New York Yankees

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It's a quick turnaround for the Yankees after last night's gutting defeat. The front office will jump right into offseason work. The most immediate focus is on their ace's complicated opt-out decision. After that, they'll make a push to retain a likely Hall of Famer who'll set a new contract record in the next few months.

Guaranteed Contracts

  • Aaron Judge, CF: $280MM through 2031
  • Gerrit Cole, RHP: $144MM through 2028 (Cole can opt out this winter; Yankees could void the opt-out by exercising $36MM club option for '29)
  • Carlos Rodón, LHP: $108MM through 2028
  • Giancarlo Stanton, DH: $96MM through 2027 (including buyout of '28 club option)*
  • DJ LeMahieu, 3B: $30MM through 2026
  • Marcus Stroman, RHP: $18MM through 2025 (deal contains $18MM vesting/player option for '26 if Stroman pitches 140+ innings next season)

* Marlins are covering $30MM of Stanton's contract between 2026-28, so Yankees are on the hook for $66MM

Option Decisions

  • RHP Gerrit Cole can opt out of final four years and $144MM; Yankees could void the opt-out by exercising $36MM club option for '29
  • Team holds $17MM option on 1B Anthony Rizzo ($6MM buyout)
  • Team holds $5MM option on RHP Lou Trivino
  • Team holds $2.5MM option on RHP Luke Weaver

Additional Obligations

2025 financial commitments (if Cole doesn't hit free agency): $183.5MM
Total future commitments (if Cole doesn't opt out): $662.5MM

Arbitration-Eligible Players (projected salaries via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Non-tender candidates: Berti, Mayza, Grisham, Brubaker

Free Agents

There's no bigger story of the offseason than Juan Soto. That's true not only for the Yankees but MLB as a whole. Soto's next contract is almost certainly going to surpass $500MM. There's a reasonable chance the guarantee begins with a 6. He should break the record both for average annual value and overall guarantee (assuming one takes the net present value of the Shohei Ohtani deal rather than the $700MM figure, which does not account for the contract's $680MM of deferrals).

The Yankees are obviously going to try to keep Soto in the Bronx. His first season couldn't have gone much better. Soto had arguably the best full year of his career. He just turned 26 and is theoretically only entering his prime, at least offensively. The defense probably won't age well over the course of a deal that stretches beyond a decade, but it doesn't really matter. Soto's floor at the plate is better than any free agent's in recent memory.

Every high-payroll team will be tied to Soto. There's a chance it comes down to a bidding war between the New York franchises. The Mets are clearly going to be all-in. Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns stoked the flames last week, saying the franchise's ample payroll space "means that pretty much the entirety of the player universe is potentially accessible." The biggest offseason question may be whether Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner is willing to be outbid by Mets owner Steve Cohen on a player who was instrumental in pushing the Yankees to their first pennant in 15 years.

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Latest On Aaron Boone

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Yankees manager Aaron Boone is in the final guaranteed year of his contract, though the Yanks can retain him for 2025 via a club option. Boone told Chris Kirschner of The Athletic yesterday (X link) that he was focused on the World Series and hadn’t had any recent contract talks. Jon Heyman of The New York Post writes that the club is expected to “at least” pick up that option, suggesting Boone is likely to be back next year.

Boone, 51, is in the final days of his seventh season as the Yankee skipper. The club has had plenty of success in that time, making the postseason in six of those seven seasons. Nonetheless, many fans have been displeased with his tenure, perhaps due to the lack of postseason success or the fact that the club dipped to a record of 82-80 in 2023 and missed the playoffs entirely.

But the 2024 campaign was a big bounceback for the club. They went 94-68, winning the American League East and having the best record in A.L. After getting a bye through the Wild Card round, they defeated the Royals in the ALDS and the Guardians in the ALCS.

The World Series has been a challenge so far, with the Yanks dropping the first three games to the Dodgers. They managed to stay alive with a victory in game four last night but still face a steep path to victory.

Many will be unhappy if the Yankees can’t pull off an unprecedented comeback, but it’s not terribly surprising that Boone has seemingly earned himself some extra job security. How much a manager can impact on-field performance is something that can be endlessly debated but there’s usually a rough correlation between positive results and keeping the gig. With the strong regular season in 2024 and the club making it to the World Series for the first time since 2009, it would be a shock if Boone weren’t invited back for 2025.

Even if he is back in the dugout next year, what remains to be decided is what the contract will look like. Generally speaking, teams don’t like their managers or front office members to be in lame-duck status, so the Yanks may not simply pick up the option. The Yankees and Boone could agree to some sort of extension, perhaps by adding another guaranteed year or another option for 2026.

However, the Yankees did let Boone manage as a lame duck once before. His original contract was a three-year deal starting in 2018 with a club option for 2021. They eventually picked up that option and he skippered the club in ’21 with his future uncertain. It wasn’t until October 19 of that year that it was reported that he would be coming back. He and the club agreed to a new three-year deal for the 2022-24 seasons with the aforementioned option for ’25.

World Series Notes: Rodon, Flaherty, Cole, Phillips

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While the big news from last night’s World Series game was the shoulder injury suffered by Shohei Ohtani, he wasn’t the only player dealing with an ailment during yesterday’s game. As noted by SNY’s Andy Martino last night, Yankees left-hander Carlos Rodon was pitching through a blister on one of his fingers during his start last night, which saw him surrender four runs on six hits as he struck out three in 3 1/3 innings of work.

Blister issues can cause problems with a pitcher’s grip on certain pitches. In the regular season, it’s not uncommon for a pitcher dealing with a blister to be sidelined for a short trip to the injured list until a blister fades and they can resume pitching unimpeded, but Rodon downplayed the seriousness of the issue to Martino last night as he suggested the blister was “not a big deal” and that it won’t impact his availability going forward in the World Series as the Yankees look to fight their way back from an 0-2 deficit. Rodon went on to note that he’s dealt with blister problems before in his career, though this is the first time he’s had one this year.

Overall, Rodon’s sophomore season with the Yankees has been a bit of a mixed bag. The southpaw posted a decent 3.96 ERA (104 ERA+) and struck out 26.5% of opponents while making 32 starts, but he also surrendered a career-high 31 homers and has struggled to this point in the postseason. In 17 2/3 innings of work across four postseason starts, Rodon has struggled to a 5.60 ERA overall, albeit with two strong performances against Cleveland in the ALCS that saw him strike out 15 of the 41 batters he faced. Fans in New York are surely hoping that they’ll get that version of Rodon in Game 6 if the series if the series makes it back to Los Angeles, though for now the team will have to focus on breaking through for their first win of the series.

More notes from the postseason…

  • Rodon isnt the only starter who’s been dealing with a day-to-day injury in this series, as Dodgers right-hander Jack Flaherty dealt with some hamstring tightness during his start in Game 1 of the World Series, according to manager Dave Roberts. As relayed by the Los Angeles Times’s Mike DiGiovanna, Roberts does not believe the issue to be a serious one. That’s good news for the Dodgers, as the club’s injury-plagued rotation would have few options to replace Flaherty if he were to go down. The right-hander struggled through the division series against the Padres and the championship series against the Mets but looked quite good in his start against the Yankees as he struck out six in 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball. Flaherty is next expected to take the ball in a potential Game 5 on Wednesday, following tomorrow’s start by Walker Buehler and a bullpen game on Tuesday.
  • Flaherty’s opponent in the series is expected to be Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, and Martino reports that the Yankees currently intend to keep it that way as the club “has not considered” the possibility of starting Cole on short rest in Game 4 of the series if the Yankees are facing elimination. While Martino adds the possibility cannot be completely ruled out, it would be a major departure from the way Cole has been utilized throughout his career. The 34-year-old righty has pitched on short rest only once before in his career, during the 2020 ALDS against the Rays, and while he was effective in that start the Yankees may be less willing to risk his health now that Cole half a decade older and wrapping up a season that saw him miss half the year due to elbow troubles.
  • Turning back to the Dodgers, right-hander Evan Phillips was left off the club’s World Series roster amid a number of nagging ailments including arm fatigue as well as tightness in his lat, triceps, and biceps. Phillips discussed his situation with DiGiovanna in more detail yesterday, noting that an MRI revealed nerve irritation in his right shoulder. Phillips described the issue as “nothing majorly concerning,” however, and suggested that the decision to leave him off the roster primarily had to do with the fact that the Dodgers wouldn’t be allowed to replace him if he were to more seriously injure himself since he was already injured before the series began. Phillips hasn’t ruled out the possibility he could be added to the roster if another pitcher is injured, though Roberts has previously suggested veteran righty Joe Kelly might be first in line as an injury replacement.

Yankees Sign Geoff Hartlieb To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees and right-hander Geoff Hartlieb are in agreement on a minor league deal, as noted in the transactions tracker on Hartlieb’s MLB.com profile page. The deal presumably includes an invite to big league Spring Training next year.

Hartlieb, 31 in December, got his start in pro ball as a 29th-round pick by the Pirates in the 2016 draft. The righty made a fairly speedy ascent up the minor league ladder in order to debut with the Pirates during the 2019 season. The then-25-year-old Hartlieb struggled badly in his first taste of big league action as he surrendered a 9.00 ERA in 35 innings of work during his rookie year, thanks primarily to a 10.5% walk rate and a whopping eight home runs surrendered during that time. Things seemed to turn around for the right-hander during the shortened 2020 campaign as he settled in at the big league level and posted a solid 3.63 ERA in 22 1/3 innings of work, but a look under the hood revealed that Hartlieb walked as many hitters (19) as he struck out that year.

In the years since then, Hartlieb hasn’t gotten very much playing time at the big league level. He’s appeared in the majors during the 2021, ’23, and ’24 seasons but has combined for a total of just 22 innings during that time, posting an 8.59 ERA with a 17.3% strikeout rate against a 16.4% walk rate across stints with the Pirates, Mets, Marlins, and Rockies. Colorado was his most recent stop, and he surrendered ten runs (nine earned) while striking out seven and walking four in nine innings of work for the club this year before being outrighted off the club’s roster back in June.

Despite his lackluster results in the majors, the right-hander has looked solid enough at Triple-A throughout his career with a 4.30 ERA and a 24.8% strikeout rate across 226 career innings at the level. His control leaves something to be desired even at that level, however, as he’s surrendered free passes to 10% of his Triple-A opponents over the years. For a Yankees club that’s currently playing in the World Series, the addition of Hartlieb is far from an obvious needle-mover. With that being said, however, the club’s bullpen has generated generally impressive results by utilizing players like Luke Weaver, Tim Hill, and Ian Hamilton who hadn’t been able to find consistent success at the big league level prior to joining the club.

Given the club’s solid track record of turning the castoffs of other organizations into quality big league contributors in recent years, it’s easy to see why the Yankees might think they could turn Hartlieb and his 97.3 mph heater into a legitimate big league weapon. Unearthing another hidden gem for the bullpen this winter could be extremely helpful for the club given the impending free agencies of Hill, Tommy Kahnle, and Clay Holmes. Each of those arms have been a major part of the club’s success this year, with Holmes in particular serving as the club’s closer in the early part of the season before being replaced in the role by Weaver down the stretch.

Doug Bird Passes Away

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11-year MLB veteran Doug Bird passed away late last month, according to an obituary from a North Carolina funeral home. The former Royals, Phillies, Yankees, Cubs, and Red Sox right-hander was 74 years old.

A California native in his early years, Bird was drafted by the Royals in the summer of 1969. He spent the next few years as a starter in the minor leagues before making his big league debut with Kansas City on April 29, 1973 as a reliever. His rookie season out of the bullpen was a strong one, as he pitched to an excellent 2.99 ERA in 102 1/3 innings of work. It was more of the same over the next two years, as Bird would go on to post a 3.01 ERA in 197 2/3 frames from 1974-75.

That strong resume in relief earned Bird a move into the rotation for the Royals’ 1976 season, though he still made 12 appearances out of the bullpen on top of his 27 starts that year. Bird was a solid back-of-the-rotation arm for the Royals that year, posting a 3.37 ERA that clocked in just above league average across his 197 2/3 innings of work. 1976 also saw Bird pitch in the first of three consecutive ALCS match-ups between the Royals and Yankees. He earned the win in Game 4 of the ’76 ALCS with 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball in relief of southpaw Larry Gura.

In 1977 and beyond, Bird moved back into a relief role. That change suited him just fine, as he told Norman L. Macht in a 2003 interview about his career that he preferred working out of the bullpen because starting pitchers were stuck “sitting around for four days doing nothing.” He took a bit of a step back in terms of productivity over his final two seasons with the Royals, as he surrendered a 4.52 ERA in 217 innings spread across 11 starts and 82 relief appearances before being traded to the Phillies in April of 1979. Bird’s stint with the Phillies was short-lived, however, as he struggled through one season with the club before being released by the club.

That led Bird to sign on with the Yankees, and he enjoyed something of a career renaissance with the club in the early 1980’s. While he donned pinstripes for just parts of two seasons, he was nothing short of excellent out of the Bronx bullpen during that time with a 2.68 ERA in 104 dominant innings of work. He was traded to Chicago partway through the 1981 season, however, and found himself moved back into a rotation role with the Cubs. The experiment went pretty well down the stretch that year, as Bird posted an above-average 3.58 ERA in 75 1/3 innings of work across 12 starts, but the 1982 season left much to be desired as he surrendered a 5.14 ERA in 191 innings before being traded to the Red Sox for the final season of his career. He pitched 67 2/3 frames for Boston before retiring that September at the age of 33.

Across his 11 seasons in the major leagues, the right-hander went 73-60 with a 3.99 ERA in 1213 2/3 innings of work. Those of us at MLBTR extend our condolences to Bird’s family, friends, and loved ones.

AL Central Notes: Warren, White Sox, Manfred, Caglianone

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The Tigers had interest in right-hander Will Warren during their trade talks with the Yankees this past summer, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports.  The two clubs reportedly had a provisional agreement involving Jack Flaherty relatively close to being completed before New York backed out due to concerns over Flaherty’s medical records, though it should be noted that Heyman didn’t directly say that Warren was part of whatever trade package the Yankees were prepared to send to Detroit.  Flaherty instead was dealt to the Dodgers for two position players, one of whom (Trey Sweeney) ended up playing an important role in the Tigers’ surprising late-season surge to a wild card berth.

Ironically, Warren ended up making his MLB debut on the trade deadline day of July 30, and he posted a 10.32 ERA over his first 22 2/3 innings in the big leagues.  He also had a 5.91 ERA over 109 2/3 innings at Triple-A, though his minor league numbers were a little skewed by a nightmarish four-start stretch in May.  Scouts and evaluators generally view Warren as a back-end starter or perhaps a long reliever at the MLB level, and while the Yankees naturally want to keep pitching depth on hand, Warren could be a relatively expendable prospect in terms of future trade possibilities (with Detroit or any other teams).

More from around the AL Central…

  • Jerry Reinsdorf’s apparent willingness to discuss selling the White Sox has led to increased speculation that the team could be moved to a new city, though MLB commissioner Rob Manfred downplayed that idea in a recent appearance on FS1’s “Breakfast Ball” show.  (Hat tip to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times.)  “Chicago is an anchor city for us.  I think that the White Sox are in a difficult situation. I think the location of the stadium is tough, but I have confidence that things are going to work out in Chicago and that we’re going to continue to have two teams in Chicago,” Manfred said.  This allusion to Reinsdorf’s desire to get a new ballpark built is another factor in the situation, and Van Schouwen hears that Reinsdorf “has grown increasingly skeptical” about the chances of civic and state officials signing off on a deal to built a new stadium for the White Sox within Chicago’s South Loop area.  Of course, some gamesmanship could be at play here, Reinsdorf’s past threats to move the Sox to St. Petersburg in the late 1980’s helped get Guaranteed Rate Field built in the first place.
  • Jac Caglianone’s power bat as a first baseman at the University of Florida helped make him the sixth overall pick of the 2024 draft, but the Royals prospect hasn’t given up on the idea of being a two-way player.  “I’m the type of person where I get super driven and I get fixated on things,” Caglianone told The Athletic’s Noah Furtado.  “So if I have the opportunity to do it, I’m going to jump on it.  I won’t really accept failure.  I’ll keep pushing at it until it clicks.”  A Tommy John surgery in 2021 got Caglianone more focused on hitting and perhaps directed him towards Florida instead of entering the 2021 draft as a high schooler, and while Caglianone still showed premium velocity as a college pitcher, control is the big concern.  The Royals have thus far used him only as a first baseman and DH during his brief pro career (in high-A ball and in the Arizona Fall League), but the club hasn’t entirely closed the door on Caglianone as a pitcher.  As K.C. director of player development Mitch Maier put it, Caglianone’s potential is “a rare opportunity that has to be thought through.”

AL East Notes: Berti, Leonsis, Orioles, Holliday, Rays

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Jon Berti was the lone member of the Yankees’ ALCS roster that wasn’t included on the club’s roster for the World Series, though beyond tactics, health was the key factor in Berti’s absence.  Manager Aaron Boone told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other media that Berti suffered a flexor strain in his right hip while running the bases in Game 4 of the ALCS.  Berti entered that game in the top of the ninth as a pinch-runner for Anthony Rizzo, came around to score what ended up as the game’s winning run, and then played second base in the bottom half of the frame.

“Unfortunately, time ran out for [Berti] to be ready,” Boone said.  “So that’s a blow for us.  I feel for him because he was playing a really important role for us, especially in those first two rounds.”

With Rizzo sidelined by two broken fingers until the ALCS, Berti found himself in the unlikely role of New York’s starting first baseman for two ALDS games against the Royals, and again for Game 3 of the ALCS (with Rizzo on the bench against Guardians left-hander Matthew Boyd).  Though Berti has carved out a niche as a super-utility player over his seven Major League seasons, he had never before played first base during his entire pro career before taking on the cold corner for this year’s playoffs.  Berti can only watch from the sidelines as his teammates will try to dig themselves out of an 0-1 hole in the Series after yesterday’s heartbreaking walkoff loss.

More from around the AL East…

  • Ted Leonsis looked into buying the Orioles when the Angelos family put the team up for sale, the Washington Post’s Rick Maese write as part of a long profile of the billionaire.  Already the owner of the NHL’s Washington Capitals and NBA’s Washington Wizards, Leonsis was heavily considered as the prime contender to buy the Nationals when the Lerner family announced they were looking into selling the team in April 2022, though the family reversed course last February and said the Nats were no longer for sale.  Leonsis reiterated earlier this year and within Maese’s piece that he remains interested in the Nationals if the Lerners do decide to sell, though it also makes sense that he would’ve at least checked into the Orioles once they came on the market.
  • Jackson Holliday had some success after adopting a toe tap into his swing late in the 2024 season, and the Orioles shortstop told Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun that he’ll now look to continue using this adapted approach next season.  Though Holliday had used the toe-top technique on occasion during his high school days, he gave it another shot while “just messing around in the cage, trying to imitate [Shohei] Ohtani,” but Holliday then felt quite comfortable with his swing.  Holliday hit only .189/.255/.311 over his first 208 plate appearances in the big leagues, striking out 69 times as pitchers took advantage of the big leg kick Holliday used in his old swing.  Obviously it’s too soon to tell if this adjustment might truly unlock something for Holliday, but as he heads into his sophomore season, the sky is still the limit for the first overall pick of the 2022 draft.
  • MLBPA head Tony Clark told reporters (including The Athletic’s Evan Drellich and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale) that he and the union haven’t yet heard from the league about any plans for the Rays’ playing future, as Tropicana Field was heavily damaged by Hurricane Milton.  Assessment of that damage is still taking place, but since the Rays will surely have to spend at least the start of the 2025 season in a new home ballpark, plenty of options have already been floated as interim locales.  As Clark noted, the players’ union “do not have a hand in the facility.  We don’t have a hand in the move.  We have a hand in what’s called effects bargaining: How are players affected by the league’s decision?  At the end of the day, if the decision puts players in harm’s way, it depends on what harm’s way means.”  This would mean making sure everything involved in a new ballpark is up to Major League standards, as several minor league stadiums and Spring Training facilities are under consideration for the Rays.

How The Yankees Constructed Their World Series Roster

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As the World Series gets underway, we’ll take a look at how both teams’ rosters were constructed. In a battle of big-market behemoths, much of the heavy lifting was accomplished via free agency. The Yankees and Dodgers have each done a lot in trade and graduated some key homegrown contributors to complement their splashes on the open market.

A player drafted or acquired in trade who subsequently hit free agency and re-signed will be classified as a free agent acquisition. The player’s history with the organization is a key part of why they returned, of course, but the most recent transaction was nevertheless to sign them to a free agent deal. There are three such players for the Yankees, headlined by the expected AL MVP.

Let’s begin with a breakdown of how the Yankees built their first pennant winner since 2009.

Trade (11)

Nearly half the Yankees’ World Series roster was built via trade. There was none bigger than last winter’s blockbuster bringing Soto and Grisham to the Bronx. Soto is in line for another top five MVP finish after hitting .288/.419/.569 with a career-best 41 homers during his first season with the Yanks. Grisham hasn’t produced much in a fourth outfield role. The Padres aren’t kicking themselves either. San Diego got ace-caliber production from Michael King, while Kyle Higashioka took over starting catching duties down the stretch. Prospect Drew Thorpe, the secondary piece of the Soto return, was subsequently flipped to the White Sox as the headliner of the Dylan Cease package.

The Stanton trade isn’t far behind the Soto deal as a headline transaction. New York acquired the slugger coming off a 59-homer season in which he’d won the NL MVP award for the Marlins. It was largely a salary dump for Miami, which offloaded Stanton just three seasons into a 13-year, $325MM extension. New York sent back Starlin Castro and prospects Jorge Guzmán and José Devers, both of whom barely played at the MLB level. Stanton’s tenure in the Bronx has been often maligned, but he has three 30-homer seasons as a Yankee and is on a heater for the ages this fall.

New York landed Verdugo in a rare trade of significance with the Red Sox. While Verdugo has been the Yankees’ everyday left fielder, Boston will probably come away with more long-term value. The Sox landed middle reliever Greg Weissert and prospect Richard Fitts in a three-player return.

Chisholm and Leiter were deadline acquisitions this summer. New York sent three minor leaguers, headlined by well-regarded prospect Agustín Ramírez, to Miami for Chisholm. They sent two prospects (Ben Cowles and Jack Neely) to the Cubs for Leiter, a deal they’d probably like back after the righty struggled down the stretch.

Holmes, Trevino and Cousins were all wins for the pro scouting staff. The Yankees stole Holmes from the Pirates in a 2021 deadline deal that didn’t get much fanfare. New York sent infielders Hoy Park and Diego Castillo, neither of whom stuck in Pittsburgh, to take a flier on Holmes as a ground-ball specialist. He developed into one of the game’s top relievers, this year’s shaky second half notwithstanding.

New York landed Trevino just after Opening Day in 2022 in a deal that sent middle reliever Albert Abreu to the Rangers. Trevino has become a Gold Glove catcher in the Bronx. Abreu pitched in seven games with Texas before they lost him on waivers. He’s now pitching in Japan. (Left-hander Robby Ahlstrom remains in the Rangers’ system but isn’t a prospect of note.) The Yankees gave up nothing for Cousins, who was on a minor league deal with the White Sox when New York acquired him for cash in March. He went on to throw 37 innings with a 2.38 ERA.

The Yankees acquired Torres and Gil before either player made his MLB debut. Torres was the headliner of the 2016 deadline deal sending Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs. Chicago won’t have any regrets after going on to win the World Series, but Torres was a top prospect who developed into an All-Star second baseman. That’s the kind of prospect teams essentially never trade for rentals anymore. Gil was a teenager pitching in the Dominican Summer League with the Twins in 2018. New York landed him in a Spring Training swap for upper level outfielder Jake Cave, who has had a journeyman career. That’s a clear win for the Yanks’ scouting and player development staffs.

MLB Free Agency (8)

Judge went from supplemental first-round pick in 2013 to homegrown MVP. He hit the market on the heels of his 62-homer season in 2022. Judge fielded offers from the Giants and Padres before returning to New York on a nine-year, $360MM deal. The largest free agent contract in MLB history at the time, it dropped to second on that list when Shohei Ohtani signed with Los Angeles. Judge is on track for his second MVP and seems as if he’ll spend his entire Hall of Fame career in the Bronx.

The Cole contract was also a record which the Dodgers topped last offseason. New York signed Cole to a nine-year, $324MM deal during the 2019-20 offseason. That stood as the largest pitching contract ever until Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed for $325MM — albeit over a much longer term — in December. The Cole deal has been one of the most successful massive free agent signings in history. He’s coming off a Cy Young award and gets the ball in Game 1 tonight.

Rodón was another big investment from GM Brian Cashman and his staff. The hard-throwing southpaw landed six years and $162MM during the 2022-23 offseason. The first season was a disaster but Rodón righted the ship with a solid 3.96 ERA in 32 starts this year. That same winter saw New York bring back Rizzo on a two-year, $40MM free agent deal. The Yanks had initially acquired Rizzo in a ’21 deadline trade with the Cubs. He had a strong first season and a half in the Bronx, but the most recent contract has not panned out. They have gotten similarly middling results from last winter’s two-year, $37MM investment in Stroman. He had a 4.31 ERA across 30 regular season appearances and is in long relief for the postseason.

A couple low-cost bullpen investments have turned out brilliantly. New York first claimed Weaver off waivers from Seattle in September. They brought him back in free agency on a $2MM deal with a cheap club option for 2025. The move was generally met with derision from fans, but Weaver has been a godsend in the late innings and will close games in the World Series.

New York invested a bit more in Kahnle, inking him to a two-year, $11.5MM pact on the heels of an injury-plagued 2022 season. Kahnle has continued to battle injuries but been effective during his most recent stint in the Bronx. Hill signed for the league minimum in June after being released by the White Sox. He turned in a 2.05 ERA in 44 innings after posting a near-6.00 ERA with Chicago.

First-Year Player Draft (3)

All three of these players were selected in the first round. The Yanks grabbed Schmidt 16th overall out of South Carolina in 2017. Volpe was the 30th pick out of a New Jersey high school in 2019. New York took Wells a year later, grabbing the University of Arizona product with the #28 selection in 2020.

International Amateur Signings (2)

Domínguez was one of the highest-profile amateur signees in recent memory. New York signed him for a $5.1MM bonus out of the Dominican Republic. Injuries have kept him from getting an extended MLB opportunity thus far, but he’s still an incredibly touted young talent at age 21. Cabrera signed with minimal attention out of Venezuela in 2015. He has played a utility role for the past two-plus seasons.

Minor League Contract (2)

Cortes started his career as a Yankee draftee. The Yanks dealt him to the Mariners over the 2019-20 offseason. Seattle waived him a year later and every team opted against putting him on the 40-man roster. Cortes elected minor league free agency and returned to his original organization on a minor league deal. He made the team again in 2021 and turned in a 2.90 ERA in 93 innings down the stretch. That secured his spot on the MLB roster even before he made an All-Star team and earned a top 10 Cy Young finish with a 2.44 ERA in 2022.

Mayza was a longtime member of the Blue Jays. Toronto cut him loose in July. He signed a minor league deal with New York a few days later and has been in Aaron Boone’s bullpen since the middle of August.

Waivers (0)

  • None

Yankees Announce World Series Roster

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Shortly after the Dodgers released their World Series roster, the Yankees did the same, officially revealing the 26 players who will suit up for the club in the Fall Classic.

The only change the Yankees made to their ALCS roster was swapping out infielder Jon Berti for left-handed pitcher Nestor Cortes. Cortes hit the injured list in late September with a flexor strain in his pitching arm and was unavailable for the ALDS and ALCS. However, he continued to work toward a possible return, going so far as to tell reporters (including Brendan Kuty of The Athletic), “If I have a ring and then a year off of baseball, so be it.”

Presumably, he will only be available out of the bullpen, but manager Aaron Boone is surely pleased to have the All-Star hurler back in any capacity. Cortes made 30 starts this season with a 3.77 ERA and 4.02 SIERA over 174 1/3 innings pitched. The Yankees went with an 11-man pitching staff against the Royals in the ALDS and a 12-man staff against the Guardians in the ALCS. By replacing Berti with Cortes, they are now carrying the maximum of 13 pitchers. That seems like a wise decision; Boone is going to need as many options as possible to keep this powerhouse Dodgers lineup at bay.

It’s not necessarily shocking that Berti was the odd man out, considering his poor performance so far in October. Over four games, he had two singles and a walk in 12 trips to the plate. That being said, one might have thought his top-tier sprint speed and ability to play all over the infield would help him keep his spot on the roster. Berti is the fastest player on the team, making him a strong asset as a late-inning pinch runner. The Yankees also have an abundance of outfielders, including Trent Grisham, who has yet to appear in a game this postseason. Meanwhile, Oswaldo Cabrera is now the only infielder on the bench.

In one additional item of note, Mark Leiter Jr. remains on the roster in place of Ian Hamilton. Hamilton was removed from the ALCS with a left calf strain and thus was unable to rejoin the team for the World Series.

The full roster:

Rudy May Passes Away

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Former MLB pitcher Rudy May passed away earlier this week at the age of 80, according to an obituary published in local North Carolina newspaper The Daily Advance. Jeff Pearlman first reported May’s passing yesterday. A veteran of 16 MLB seasons, May pitched for the Angels, Yankees, Orioles, and Expos during his lengthy career in the big leagues.

A left-handed pitcher, May grew up in Oakland alongside childhood friend and future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. He impressed as one of the best pitchers in the area during his high school days before being signed by a Twins scout in 1962 and subsequently selected in the first-year player draft by the White Sox in 1963. By the end of 1964, May was already on the fourth organization of his professional career as he was traded to the Phillies by the White Sox ahead of the Rule 5 draft before being flipped to the Angels shortly thereafter.

It was with Anaheim that May finally made his big league debut in 1965, and the then-20-year-old hurler posted decent but unexceptional numbers in his rookie campaign. In 30 appearances (including 19 starts), May logged 124 innings of work but surrendered a pedestrian 3.92 ERA, which was 14% below average in the era just before the year of the pitcher in 1968. That would be May’s only big league action for years due to injuries he suffered in the minor leagues in 1965, but he eventually resurfaced at the big league level as a 24-year-old in 1969. That year, May posted a league average 3.44 ERA in 180 1/3 innings of work that solidified his spot on the Angels’ roster, and he’d spend the next five seasons as a quality back-of-the-rotation arms for the club with a 3.51 ERA (96 ERA+) across 948 2/3 innings of work.

He once again began the season with the Angels in 1974, but a brutal 7.00 ERA in his first 27 innings of work that year upon being pushed into a bullpen role prompted the club to deal him to the Yankees that summer. May experienced a revival in New York down the stretch, dominating the competition to the tune of a 2.28 ERA (156 ERA+) with 90 strikeouts in 114 1/3 innings of work over his 17 appearances (15 starts) in the Bronx following the trade. He followed up on that performance with an excellent 1975 season where he pitched to a 3.06 ERA (122 ERA+) in 212 innings of work in a mid-rotation role behind club ace (and future Hall of Famer) Catfish Hunter. Unfortunately, a step back in performance in 1976 led May to be traded once again, this time to the Orioles.

That 1976 season kicked off something of a lull in May’s career, as he reverted to the back-of-the-rotation form he had shown throughout his time with the Angels. In three seasons split between the Yankees, Orioles, and Expos from 1976 to 1978, May pitched to a pedestrian 3.71 ERA in 99 appearances, 92 of which were starts, and racked up 616 innings of work. That led the veteran southpaw to be moved to a relief role during his second year with the Expos in 1979, but the lefty dominated in the role with a sterling 2.31 ERA (160 ERA+) in 93 2/3 innings of work across 33 appearances, only seven of which were starts.

He’d continue to pitch in that sort of hybrid role upon being re-acquired by the Yankees in 1980, which turned out to be perhaps the best season of his career. Although May started only 17 of his 41 games played that year, he posted phenomenal numbers in the role as he led the American League with a 2.46 ERA (160 ERA+) while throwing 175 1/3 frames. The 1980 season also saw May, then 35, appear in the postseason for the first time in his career. The lefty was dealt a tough-luck loss in Game 2 of the ALCS against the Royals that October, as the Yankees lost 3-2 despite May pitching eight strong innings of three-run ball.

He’d return to the postseason in 1981 on the heels of a lackluster regular season, but this time he and the Yankees enjoyed some success. May made a solid relief appearance against the Brewers in the ALDS before posting a lackluster start against Oakland in the ALCS, but when the Yankees made it to the World Series opposite the Dodgers he managed to turn in 6 1/3 strong relief innings across three appearances even as his club eventually lost in six games. Overall, May posted a respectable 3.66 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 19 2/3 postseason innings during those years with the Yankees, which wound up being the only postseason outings of his career.

May pitched two more years with the Yankees following the club’s loss in the 1981 World Series and enjoyed a strong rebound campaign in 1982, and though he re-signed with New York on a two-year contract he made just 15 appearances in 1983 due to injury and missed the entire 1984 season with back issues before retirement. In all, May appeared in 535 games at the big league level and drew the start in 360 of those contests. He pitched to an above-average 3.46 ERA during his career and collected 152 wins and 1760 strikeouts across his 2622 innings of work in the majors. Those of us at MLBTR extend our condolences to May’s family, friends and loved ones.

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