Brian Cashman spoke on YES Hot Stove, and in regards to the Yankees, he mentioned that the roster didn’t feel complete as of yet. While the team has most of its question marks entering the offseason solved, there are still some moves they have to make before they feel truly complete.
Everyone knows the biggest hole on the roster is in their infield; the team doesn’t have a clear-cut answer to fill that fourth infielder spot, but that’s not the only thing they’re missing. Furthermore, even in Brian Cashman’s interview on YES, the feeling was that the Yankees are still trying to find ways to offload Marcus Stroman’s salary for 2025.
That being said, those needs have caused one key issue to get overshadowed; their bench. The Yankees lack a real threat off the bench who can come in against a specific matchup and pack a punch, and that niche could be the difference between winning or losing a World Series.
Various Free Agents Could Fill the Yankees’ Need For a Bench Bat
As of right now, the Yankees are having Oswaldo Cabrera, DJ LeMahieu, and Oswald Peraza battle it out for two roster spots, one being the starting third baseman and the other being a bench bat for the team. In a battle between those three, there’s virtually zero chance that Oswald Peraza wins any kind of job given how the Yankees don’t seem to like him, and how the one player he might be a clear upgrade over is owed $15 million in 2025.
I would be shocked if the Yankees designated LeMahieu for assignment for Oswald Peraza, who they could place on waivers or trade away before the start of Opening Day. What could push the Yankees to finally move on from the declining LeMahieu is a real infielder who has proven themself to be a somewhat useful big leaguer. Multiple names are still available on the market who could sign a non-guaranteed deal such as Brendan Rodgers or Luis Urias.
Both would provide a right-handed bat who punishes left-handed pitching, and it gives the Yankees an already-existing platoon in-house that can give them a strong contingency plan if the starter they acquire is ineffective or if someone goes down with an injury. When fully healthy, having someone off the bench who can step in and battle against a tough lefty would be extremely valuable, and the Yankees may have won last year’s World Series if they had that on the roster.
READ MORE: Yankees lose bullpen arm to Orioles via waivers
Let’s go back in time to this pitch; it’s Game 2 of the World Series, and the Yankees are down to their final out with bases loaded in a 4-2 game. A single can tie this up and change a series, but Jose Trevino was the only one who Aaron Boone could even consider bringing into this critical situation. Alex Vesia made one pitch and Trevino got a pitch to handle, a down-and-in fastball that he just barely missed hitting out of the yard.
The Yankees were lucky that Alex Vesia made a mistake with the very first pitch he threw with the go-ahead run at the plate, but they weren’t prepared for that opportunity. Luck is a lot of things, but I think it is best defined as a preparation meeting opportunity, and the Yankees were simply not prepared to take advantage of a mistake from Vesia. They prayed that their light-hitting catcher with a career 91 wRC+ against LHP would get the job done, resulting in an 0-2 deficit.
What if the Yankees had Brendan Rodgers in that scenario? A veteran infielder in his age-28 season, his .298 BA and 120 wRC+ against LHP across 542 career matchups could have made a difference. Right now, the Yankees don’t just lack a starting infielder, they lack a player on that bench who you would consider calling upon against a tough LHP.
Oswaldo Cabrera can handle matchups against RHP, as last season he had an above-average wRC+ in those scenarios and improved as the season went on. They also have Trent Grisham, who does have good numbers in his career against LHP (107 wRC+) but is better served as more of a late-game defensive substitution, moving Cody Bellinger to LF in the ninth inning and swapping out Jasson Dominguez.
Their backup catcher options are Alex Jackson, J.C. Escarra, and Ben Rice, with Jackson having a career 29 wRC+ and being the only right-handed hitter in that group. I’m not very concerned with making sure we have a real bat backing up Austin Wells, so I won’t harp on the team if they end up just letting that roster battle occur in-house. DJ LeMahieu doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who you would seriously consider bringing into a high-leverage situation either.
Not even looking ahead to the postseason, having a competent hitter who specializes in hitting against LHP could prove valuable if the team is facing a tough southpaw or needs a big hit in a high-leverage situation. There are real situations that the Yankees encountered numerous times throughout 2024 that they were unprepared for due to the lack of depth on the roster.
We’ve become so obsessed with discussing whether DJ LeMahieu or Oswald Peraza could start on a contender that we’ve forgotten an even more important question; should either of these guys even make the team? They don’t bring anything to the table that Oswaldo Cabrera doesn’t already do, and while Peraza has some upside, he likely has no chance of winning a job over DJ LeMahieu.
READ MORE: Yankees could snag versatile infielder due to economical dilemma
This is where I need to let off some steam; it makes no sense for a contending team to try and lie to the fans about what DJ LeMahieu is. This isn’t about Aaron Boone publicly saying he has faith in LeMahieu, there’s no reason for a manager to publicly disparage one of his players. I’m talking about actions; if the Yankees bring DJ LeMahieu with them to the Bronx for Opening Day and everyone is healthy, then the roster has some immediate warts.
He has only played 72 innings at second base over the last two seasons, an indication that age has gotten to DJ LeMahieu, and his ability to play that position has left him. As a 1B/3B, he’s just not valuable on any side of the ball for the Yankees, as he’s slower than molasses and has lost any ability to hit. Bringing in someone who can play 2B/3B/SS would be more valuable given that Oswaldo Cabrera and Cody Bellinger can play 1B if needed.
If the Yankees are serious about contending for a title they need an infielder, but they also need a real bench bat. One bench upgrade makes that unit look a lot more complete, and if they don’t address that part of the roster, things will once again feel incomplete come Opening Day.