5 players who are entering their final days on the Yankees

The New York Yankees have a number of personnel shuffles to make down the stretch, necessitated by the returns of Jon Berti, Clarke Schmidt, Ian Hamilton, and Lou Trivino (at minimum). Plenty of current participants in the 2024 season will need to go, and go quickly -- that includes relievers you probably haven't even thought about lately like Phil Bickford and Tim Mayza.

This list, though, goes beyond the immediate departures and September roster squeezes. These Yankees are entering their final regular-season month in pinstripes, pending some offseason absurdity that necessitates their return. There's not much that can be done, at this point, that would force the team to pivot from their likely plan. All you can hope for is that these five players seize the moment and help lead a playoff run that briefly distracts from their inevitable departure.

Every pending free agent the Yankees have wants to see their price rise this offseason. Arguably, every pending free agent the Yankees have has done the opposite to their value all year long. September and October could change all that -- but it's got to start now.

5 Yankees Players Entering Their Final Days in Pinstripes

Clay Holmes

As the Yankees "get creative" with their closer role down the stretch, they've almost certainly extinguished any fleeting thoughts of extending Clay Holmes at the end of the campaign. Despite a bizarre August conversation centered around the idea that a Juan Soto extension could get in the way of a Holmes deal (doy!), the Yankees won't give that dichotomy a second thought. If Holmes bounces back in the eighth inning elsewhere -- and the metrics indicate he likely will -- then that'll be a price they gladly pay in a tumultuous offseason.

Tommy Kahnle

Tommy Kahnle, fresh off a "two-year deal" where the Dodgers paid him to rehab from Tommy John surgery, then reaped 16 games' worth of rewards in 2022, rejoined the Yankees on a two-year pact that takes him to the end of this season. He's performed admirably, though his hanging (and oft-used) changeup can be a symbol of disaster when things are beginning to turn for the team as a whole (see: last September and the current stretch).

Now 35, it seems unlikely the Yankees will be willing to match Kahnle's next contract, as his season has merited top dollar (2.00 ERA), even if his metrics don't match (4.02 FIP). He'll likely have the opportunity to raise his profile further by closing games down the stretch. Of course, based on that regression number and over-reliance on his change-of-speeds without an initial speed to change from, things could also head in the opposite direction.

Alex Verdugo

Honestly? The take that Alex Verdugo will be departing at the end of the season gets a little tougher to justify with every Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone press conference. The Yankees (and Aaron Judge) seem to really, genuinely believe that Verdugo's presence engenders success more than Jasson Dominguez's, at this moment. Will that change this offseason? Or will Verdugo become the eternal stopgap? It sounds ridiculous, but if the Yankees can't envision a "lane" for Dominguez to improve upon a lingering, long-term .500 OPS, then maybe they've convinced themselves of something even more ridiculous.

We're staying firm on September and October being Verdugo's final months in pinstripes, though. We have to believe in something. For our own sanity.

Gleyber Torres

Gleyber Torres' resurgence as a leadoff hitter marks exactly what he needed to justify a slightly larger 2025 pillow contract. He's still unlikely to find long-term, satisfying security, but the AAV of his next deal will increase with every first-inning mash.

Spoiler alert? Whether his price increased or continued to dip towards the end of the season, he was always going to be moving on to another opportunity. He's also long felt like a guarantee to improve upon his Yankees performance at whatever his next stop may be. And it'll be fine. In spotlight moments, his defense has played a large part in making the Yankees' infield feel too leaky for primetime. His bat, long his calling card, went silent for the vast majority of his all-important walk year. The least he can do is provide some mutually beneficial moments down the stretch, but this might be the easiest decision of the Yankees' offseason.

Nestor Cortes Jr.

It's clear why Nestor Cortes Jr. tweeted about the pinstripes being a privilege during the MLB All-Star Game: he feared losing that privilege at the trade deadline, when the Yankees floated his services.

No deal came to fruition, but as a pure rental next season, it's unlikely the Yankees are considering the long-term deal that Cortes would like to sign, given that he still may be on the outs of their current playoff rotation (despite a recent surge).

Ultimately, this is the Jordan Montgomery situation all over again. Cortes has two months remaining, and he'll be tasked with proving the brass wrong regarding his ability to miss bats in October. Maybe piggybacking out of the bullpen will help?

The Yankees don't exactly have enough rotation depth to be thumbing their noses at quality innings entering 2025, but they also have repeatedly shown that they see more value in good-not-great pitchers as trade assets rather than rotation mainstays.