3 Yankees whose long-term fates were sealed at MLB trade deadline

The New York Yankees entered the 2025 MLB trade deadline needing to add ... I don't know, something absurd like three high-upside bullpen arms, a starting third baseman, and bench bats who could platoon and make the whole roster fit a lot better. How could they manage to do all that and survive?

Well ... somehow, they managed. They opted to bank on Luis Gil and Ryan Yarbrough returning to the rotation instead of upgrading that unit, but very few starters actually moved across the league. Zack Littell and Merrill Kelly (for a haul) shifted scenery. New York preferred what they had in house, and added transformative elements elsewhere, bringing in David Bednar, Camilo Doval, and Jake Bird throughout deadline day.

That trio of additions, as well as the roster maneuvering the Yankees did around them, told you plenty about how they'll attack the offseason and beyond.

3 New York Yankees players whose fates beyond 2025 were sealed at the MLB trade deadline

Devin Williams

Nobody wants to admit it because of how much fun his turnaround was in May/June, but Williams is slipping dangerously close to another downward slope of his roller coaster ride, if he isn't already on one. After putting up an 0.93 ERA in June, Williams has posted a 5.73 mark in 11 July outings, allowing at least one earned run in four of his last six appearances. Relievers are inherently volatile, and while there's been plenty of good with Williams in 2025 (54 Ks in 41 1/3 innings pitched, surprisingly low 1.137 WHIP), the Yankees' most surprising trade of last offseason already felt like a one-year engagement before the trade deadline.

Now, with two high-profile options with closer experience arriving in Bednar (controlled through 2026) and Doval (through 2027), the Yankees are highly unlikely to even go through a song-and-dance with Williams this offseason, though they might risk tying the qualifying offer to him in order to receive another draft pick when he departs. Would he really take a one-year, $20+ million deal in a city in which he hasn't been entirely comfortable when a three- or four-year offer surely awaits?

QO or no, Williams won't be coming back next year, and the Yankees prepared for his departure on Thursday.

Luke Weaver

Everyone's favorite ferocious Jungle Cat is also hitting free agency, and while his struggles and hamstring problems have defined portions of his season, Luke Weaver is still a wonderful asset and an incredible find by the Yankees.

We can't rule out that there's a world where he comes to Brian Cashman willing to take a hometown discount and wants to stick around. Unlike Williams, we can't say the fate Weaver sealed is that he will be departing. But the Yankees have made it abundantly clear they don't intend to allocate top dollar to the closer (or setup) position this offseason — and it's probably financially savvy that they're doing so.

Weaver might be a Yankee beyond 2025, but it'll take some tinkering and back-channeling.

JC Escarra

A victim of the Yankees' semi-strange roster construction, the Yankees demoted Escarra prior to the deadline and hyped him up publicly as a potential starting catcher ... somewhere.

While Escarra was up with the big club, he watched them convert slugging first baseman Ben Rice back into the viable catcher he'd been in the mid-minors. They invested resources in Rice, which probably told Escarra all he needed to know as the third catcher (and third lefty behind the plate).

Now that the Yankees' bench is packed with Amed Rosario, Austin Slater, and Jose Caballero, it's even harder to find a lane for Escarra's eventual return this season without the "benefit" of an injury. It would be nice if the Yankees could carry a traditional backup, but given the work Aaron Boone did on fluffing Escarra's trade value this week before the team sent him down, the messaging seems pretty clear. He will be available in the offseason, and he won't be back in 2025, unless something unplanned occurs.