With several lavish spenders competing for Juan Soto, the 26-year-old superstar remains the Yankees’ top priority in free agency.
It’s no secret that re-signing the gifted hitter is Plan A for the Bombers after Soto helped them reach the World Series this past season. However, Soto is going to cost a ton of money, and right field isn’t the only vacancy on the Yankees’ depth chart right now.
So, what might the rest of the team’s offseason look like if Soto is retained?
For the sake of this exercise, let’s assume that Soto’s contract – which will likely cost over half-a-billion dollars in total value – will pay him an average annual salary of $47 million. That figure would be the highest in baseball. Per Cot’s Contracts, Shohei Ohtani’s average annual salary comes out to $46.08 million, as his 10-year, $700 million pact with the Dodgers is heavily deferred.
Let’s also assume that Hal Steinbrenner would like to stay under the highest competitive balance tax threshold, which is $301 million next year. While the Yankees’ owner recently said he had yet to decide on an operating budget for 2025, he called the Yankees’ 2024 payroll unsustainable after they went over $300 million for the first time in franchise history.
According to Cot’s Contracts, the Yankees’ projected 2025 payroll is approximately $231 million after non-tendering Jon Berti and Tim Mayza. Add $47 million for Soto, and you get a projected payroll of $278 million.
With questions at first, second and left and Steinbrenner stating he’d also like a “deep dive” on the bullpen and rotation, the Yankees have roughly $23 million to play with. Keep in mind, teams don’t want to hit targeted CBT thresholds in the winter, as money is often required for in-season upgrades.
With that out of the way, let’s make a few more assumptions while mapping out what an ideal Yankees offseason could look like after re-signing Soto.
Trade Well-Paid Backups
The Yankees recently agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract with Trent Grisham to avoid arbitration, but that doesn’t mean they can’t trade a center fielder who only totaled 179 at-bats last year. The same goes for Jose Trevino, who is projected to make $3.4 million in arbitration after watching Austin Wells claim the Yankees’ starting catching gig in 2024.
Both players are elite defensively but don’t bring much offensively, and the Yankees can find cheaper options for their jobs. That’s especially true behind the plate, as the Yankees have six catchers on their 40-man roster.
It’s hard to see the Yankees getting much for Grisham, but they’ll happily take the salary relief in this scenario. The Marlins, meanwhile, could use a veteran catcher after acquiring prospect Agustin Ramirez from the Yankees in the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade last summer. How about swapping Andrew Nardi for Trevino, a Platinum Glove winner who could mentor the bat-first Ramirez?
Nardi had a 5.07 ERA last season and ended his campaign with a left elbow muscle injury, so there’s some risk here. However, the southpaw’s 2.76 xERA suggests he got unlucky, and his 33.3 K% ranked in the 96th percentile. He also isn’t arbitration-eligible until 2026 and is estimated to make just $800,000 next year.
If the Yankees can make these moves, they’d have a payroll of roughly $270.4 million.
Trade Marcus Stroman
Trading Stroman won’t be easy after a poor second half and zero postseason appearances, as he is owed $18.5 million in 2025 and can make the same in 2026 if he logs 140 innings next season. The Yankees will likely have to eat money, take on a pricey contract and/or attach a prospect to any deal involving the righty.
The Angels, already spending in free agency, could use another starter. How about an exchange for Taylor Ward? A right-handed swinger and solid defender in left, he could provide pop while working in a semi-platoon role with Jasson Domínguez.
With Ward projected to make $9.2 million in arbitration – roughly half of Stroman’s 2025 salary – the Yankees can also throw in $2 million and outfield prospect Everson Pereira, who debuted as a promising prospect in 2023 but underwent elbow surgery last season.
That would give the Yankees about $263.1 million to work with.
Sign Roki Sasaki
Just about every team in baseball is going to want Sasaki, as the 23-year-old Japanese ace will be limited to international signing bonus pool money. Some have pegged the Dodgers as favorites for Sasaki because they employ fellow countrymen Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but the Yankees have been scouting the righty for years.
Sasaki would only make the minimum salary ($760,000) next season, leaving the Yankees with about $263.9 million. He would also give the team a sixth starter and make Nestor Cortes and his projected $7.7 million salary expendable. However, the Yankees always say you can never have enough pitching, so we’ll leave Cortes alone for now.
Sign Christian Walker
Okay, it’s time to make an expensive splash with all the money the Yankees have been saving. How about using it on Christian Walker?
MLB Trade Rumors, where all these projected arbitration figures come from, predicted the long-time Diamondbacks first baseman will sign a three-year, $60 million deal. That’s an average annual salary of $20 million.
Walker, 34, is only a year younger than Anthony Rizzo, who just had a $17 million option declined by the Yankees after two injury-riddled, unproductive seasons. However, the right-handed swinger totaled 95 homers, 281 RBI, a .250/.332/.481 slash line, a 123 OPS+ and three Gold Gloves over that span. While some of Walker’s surface numbers took a dip last season, his metrics actually improved compared to 2023, an encouraging sign for a player his age.
Also an elite defender, Walker would easily be an upgrade at first while giving the Yankees a projected payroll of $283.9 million.
Sign Jeff Hoffman
The Yankees haven’t typically spent a ton of money on relievers in the Matt Blake era, as the coach and team have shown a knack for finding diamonds in the rough. However, it took a while for the Yankees to put those pieces together in 2024, and Hoffman has been dominant with the Phillies the last two seasons, recording a 2.28 ERA over 122 games. He also had a 33.6 K% last season; he and Nardi would provide the Yankees with the power stuff their pen lacked at times.
MLB Trade Rumors predicted a four-year, $44 million contract for Hoffman, a Latham, New York native. His $11 million salary would put the Yankees’ payroll at $294.9 million.
Re-Sign Tim Hill
The Yankees and Hill have mutual interest in a reunion, which makes sense after the groundball specialist turned his season around in the Bronx in 2024. After getting away from the woeful White Sox, the lefty recorded a 2.05 ERA over 44 innings with the Yankees. Hill then put together a dominant postseason, logging a 1.08 ERA over 10 appearances and 8.1 innings.
A two-year, $5 million deal would be fair for both sides. That puts the Yankees at about $297.4 million.
Second Base & Wiggle Room
The Yankees have an opening at second base with Gleyber Torres on the open market. We’re going to predict that Caleb Durbin wins the job in spring training.
The infield prospect has already been mentioned as a candidate for the gig by Brian Cashman, and Durbin’s high-contact, low-strikeout bat and speed have earned praise throughout the organization. Plus, Durbin would be a cost-effective option after an offseason of heavy spending.
This route would also give the Yankees some wiggle room before hitting the $301 million threshold. They could save that for in-season moves, injury replacements in the spring and/or a few other needs, such as an additional reliever or left-handed bench bat.
