About the Off-Season: Trimming the Roster

About the Off-Season: Trimming the Roster

By Tim Kabel

November 23, 2024

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Right now, the primary issue regarding the New York Yankees is which players will be added to their roster for 2025. The primary focus is Juan Soto. Re-signing him is the main objective. There are certainly other moves that can and should be made and in fact need to be made in addition to securing Soto. We have read and heard a lot about which players the Yankees should acquire via trade or free agency. Those are very important discussions. However, it is equally important to consider who should be removed from the current roster to make room for new players. Let's take a look: 

Yesterday at 7:00 PM was the deadline to tender contracts to players on the roster or lose them to free agency. I wrote this before that deadline so, I don't know what the Yankees did regarding these players. However, here are the Yankees’ players who fell into that category and their projected salaries for 2025: 

Jon Berti- $3.8 million

Trent Grisham-$5.7 million

JT Brubaker- $2.275 million

Scott Effross- $900,000

Mark Leiter, Jr.- $2.1 million

Tim Mayza - $4 million

Let's start with the easy ones. Trent Grisham played sparingly in 2024 and was not very good at all. Yes, he is a Gold Glove winning outfielder, but he is not a good offensive player, and his role can be filled with a younger, less expensive player. He should not be tendered a contract. Tim Mayza is a marginal left-handed reliever who is simply not worth the salary he would command. His spot can easily be filled on the roster by a much less expensive pitcher. Jon Berti was injured most of this season and was not even on the roster for the World Series. The Yankees have internal candidates to fill his position and could easily find another player in the free agent pool to fill his role. He should not be tendered a contract. By cutting Berti, Grisham, and Mayza from the roster, the Yankee’s would save approximately $13.5 million to spend elsewhere in 2025. While it is true that the Yankees have a great deal of money and as Hal Steinbrenner said, “they can afford to sign any player they want to”, that doesn't mean they should waste money.

The Yankees traded for JT Brubaker from the Pirates before this season while he was recovering from surgery. He never appeared in a game for the Yankees in 2024. Apparently, they saw something in him that they liked. It makes sense to bring him back if they feel he can contribute since they already had him on the roster for a year. Now that he may actually produce something, he is certainly worth a look. The same can be said for Scott Effross. The Yankees need to improve their bullpen. Mark Leiter, Jr. showed enough in the postseason to remain on the roster.

Now that we have looked at the candidates to be non-tendered, let's look at the roster as a whole and see which players should be removed, either by a trade, or being released.

Yerry De Los Santos is a soon-to-be 27 year old pitcher whom the Yankees acquired last year as a minor league free agent from the Pittsburgh Pirates. He did not appear in a Major League game last season and could certainly be released without any issues. If the Yankees thought he was good, he would have been on the Major League team this season at some point. He wasn't.

Yoendrys Gomez is a 25-year-old relief pitcher who appeared in a total of six games for the Yankees in the past two seasons. He's certainly not a major prospect and if the Yankees released him or threw him into a trade package to make room on the roster for someone else, it would be completely understandable. If he remains on the roster, he may play a minor role in the bullpen at some point in 2025.

Ian Hamilton was injured a lot in 2024 and was not as effective as he was in 2023 for the Yankees. The bloom may well be off the rose with him and considering that he will be 30 years old next year, the Yankees could certainly upgrade the bullpen by replacing him with someone else. If they choose to give him another chance, they could do so, but I would not imagine he would have a very long leash.

Marcus Stroman clearly does not fit into the Yankees’ plans. He did not appear in the postseason at all in 2024 and does not seem to have a role on this team. He should be included in a trade package for a player who will fit into the Yankees’ plans better than he does. Also of note, he will turn 34 in 2025.

Will Warren is a soon-to-be 26-year-old starting pitcher who was not impressive in his appearances for the Yankees in 2024. Although I usually preach patience when dealing with younger players, I did not see much that impressed me regarding Will Warren. If he were to be part of a trade package to acquire a prominent player, that might be the best way he could help the Yankees.

The Yankees are carrying five catchers on the Major League roster. Clearly, Austin Wells will be the starting catcher. I don't believe they will carry five catchers all season. They may choose to trade Jose Trevino and go with one of the younger catchers as the backup to Wells. Otherwise, one of those other catchers may be included in a trade package as well. Trevino is considered to be an excellent defensive catcher but struggled a great deal throwing baserunners out last season. Trading him might also be a way of solidifying Wells as the starter.

In the infield, DJ LeMahieu needs to be released. It is not realistic to expect that the Yankees could trade him. He is finished and although he had some great moments for the Yankees, he serves no purpose on this roster. In reality, the Yankee should have released him already. It would be disappointing if they are holding out hope that he will somehow rejuvenate himself and make a big comeback in 2025. That will not happen. The Yankees would be better served to cut LeMahieu now and begin making plans that do not include him. 

Oswald Peraza will turn 25 years old next season and is no longer a highly regarded prospect. He has been supplanted by Caleb Durbin and seemingly has no role on the 2025 Yankees. Rather than sending him back to the minor leagues yet again, the Yankees should include him as part of a trade package and allow him the opportunity to go somewhere else and see what he can do. 

Trading Giancarlo Stanton would be extremely difficult, especially since he has a no-trade clause in his contract. But it could be done. As great as he is in the postseason, he's getting older and remains injury prone. This is the highest his trade value will ever be and if the Yankees could find a way to move him, they should do so as he clogs up the DH position and is no longer able to play the outfield. His performance will not improve over the remaining years of his contract and the window of opportunity to potentially move him is closing. The Yankee should make every effort to do so now.

While the Yankees are considering which players to add, they need to clean up the cupboard by removing players from the roster who no longer fit their plans. As detailed above, there are several players who should not be on the Yankees in 2025.