5 former Yankees absolutely dominating spring training, 2 who have been awful

The final slate of spring training games is upon us before MLB gears up for the start of the 2025 regular season. The New York Yankees, though sporting a rather incomplete roster, seem like they're ready thanks to a recent offensive surge and some pleasantly surprising pitching performances.

Yankees fans have followed their team extremely closely, but what's perhaps been overlooked is how some of their former players have progressed (or faltered) in their new(er) settings. New York had a lot of departing free agents this year (in addition to those they traded and cut), so there will be plenty of times we come across some of these guys in 2025.

Whether they're performing well or poorly, let's see how these former players are going to upset Yankees fans in some way or another this coming year.

5 former Yankees absolutely dominating spring training

Juan Soto

Juan Soto is Juan Soto. He's hitting .333 with four homers, nine RBI, six walks and a 1.183 OPS in 14 games with the Mets. He's excellent and the Yankees will miss him. We've written a lot about him this offseason.

Kyle Higashioka

Last offseason, Higashioka was traded to the Padres in the Soto deal, and he proceeded to light it up for San Diego. That earned him a new two-year contract with the Texas Rangers, and he's not disappointing in the early going.

Higgy is batting .323 with three homers, 10 RBI and a 1.030 OPS through 13 spring games. Last year, he belted a career-high 17 homers in 84 games and logged more WAR (1.4) than he did from 2017-2023 with the Yankees. Yeah, we're sick.

Jake Bauers

Another departure after the 2023 offseason, Jake Bauers joined the Milwaukee Brewers and was just as bad as he was in New York, but make no mistake about it: he homered against the Yankees the first chance he got in late April against Marcus Stroman. The three-run shot tied the game 4-4.

Looking to save his job, Bauers re-signed with the Brewers in January and has been hot this spring. He's sporting a .276/.364/.621 line with two homers, seven RBI and four walks. That could be enough to get him regular first base/DH reps in 2025.

Gleyber Torres

At the very least, Gleyber Torres has backed up his shots directed at the Yankees after his offseason departure. The slugger signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Tigers and has been excellent in spring training, raking to the tune of a .323 average and 1.146 OPS with seven runs scored, three home runs, 11 RBI and seven walks in 13 games. Good for him. Though he was a frustrating Yankee, fans undoubtedly are wishing him the best.

We'll see if he can maintain a semblance of that production when the regular season starts, though. The Tigers' lineup is weak and Torres will be tasked with helping carry it despite being more of a supporting cast member in New York for all of his career.

Clay Holmes

That's Mets Opening Day starter to you, sir! Holmes' transition to a starting pitching role, in the early going, has looked like a brilliant decision by the Mets. The right-hander has a 0.93 ERA and 0.78 WHIP with 23 strikeouts in five starts (19 1/3 innings) this spring. And he'll be taking the bump for the team's first game of the year in Houston.

Much like Torres, Holmes was a good yet disappointing Yankee. He'll be heavily watched since he's only a borough over, and fans will be pulling for him (until he takes the mound against the Bombers).

2 former Yankees having a rough spring training

Tim Mayza

The Yankees needed bullpen help this offseason (and they still do), but it appears they might've made the right choice letting Tm Mayza go. Instead, they prioritized other lefties like Tyler Matzek and Brent Headrick. Is that working out tremendously? Nope, but it's probably better than Mayza's 6.43 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in seven innings of work. He's allowed six earned runs on eight hits and four walks in just three appearances with the Pirates.

Ron Marinaccio

Poor Ron Marinaccio. Yankees fans really feel for him after his fall from grace since 2022. But it's only gotten worse, and there doesn't appear to be an end in sight. After getting DFA'd by the Chicago White Sox (woof), the right-hander latched on with the San Diego Padres this offseason in what appeared to be a life raft for him.

But this spring has gone poorly. He has a 5.00 ERA and 1.44 WHIP in nine innings pitched. But what's more concerning has been his control. Though one really bad outing has inflated his numbers, Marinaccio has hit three batters and walked another four this spring in what is a confirmation of control issues. Perhaps the Padres are going to be positive about his last 4 2/3 innings of work, which have featured just one earned run on three hits and three walks, but he hasn't exactly been efficient (only 56% of his pitches have gone for strikes). That doesn't bode well for his Opening Day roster chances.