5 Yankees who are playing their way out of the team’s 2024 plans

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The 2023 New York Yankees still seem to, almost universally, believe that success is "right out there in front of them." It's a noble public face to maintain, but behind the scenes, there simply have to be some cracks.

Harrison Bader can't really believe that a Sunday loss with 15 left on base against the Astros to split a series you should've won constitutes a step forward in momentum, right? Jake Bauers can't really believe this team will be "right there" in September after their feckless 5-1 loss in the opener against Chicago ... right?

These Yankees need a significant makeover this offseason, if not an all-out gutting, meaning the offseason is going to be very interesting, whether they get it right or not. If New York makes sweeping changes, that sells itself. If they stand pat and add marginal pieces? Whew, boy. This fan base and media will be out for blood. You thought booing Aaron Hicks on Opening Day this season was ugly? You ain't seen nothing yet.

Though lackluster play has defined this group for damn near 200 games now, a select few have made it all the more obvious in recent weeks that they shouldn't be a part of next year's roster in any capacity. Some are feel-good stories that have petered out. Some are tales of woe from a bygone era. And some have turned things around and departed this list (if IKF wanted to come back, we wouldn't say no).

On a roster full of chum, these five pieces are unfortunately closest to the edge.

5 Yankees players who haven't earned roles (or paydays) in 2024

Billy McKinney, OF

McKinney might be the saddest story of all, considering it seemed in June that the journeyman might finally have found a home.

Lefty? Check. Athletic? Athletic enough. Power to the porch and the 'pen? Yes, yes. All of that. Unfortunately, he's fallen off tremendously in recent weeks, not coincidentally coinciding with fouling a ball off his foot in an ill-fated early July series in St. Louis.

While he still carries a competent .761 OPS on the season, inexplicably one of the top marks on the team, he's batting .156 in his past 15 games and .194 in his past 30, more in line with his career averages in scattershot playing time.

A team like the Yankees (at their peak) absolutely could carry a player like McKinney on their bench for an extended period of time. He's more likely to be the last man on the roster/first man DFA'd than he is to be a constant in the outfield, though, and the past month has served as an unfortunate ticking clock for an extremely likable guy.

Oswaldo Cabrera, OF/IF

What a difference a year makes, huh? Last summer, Oswaldo Cabrera was the high-energy savior that most fans hope Everson Pereira will be down the stretch this season.

Now? Cabrera's an afterthought, and it's nearly impossible to believe this time last year, some of us genuinely thought the lifelong infielder could be the Yankees' powerhouse left field solution.

Given a chance to win the job (again, at a position he did not play) this spring, Cabrera had a powerhouse March, hitting .333 with a 1.001 OPS and four bombs. Somehow, though, the man who made Yankee Stadium look small last summer was blinded by the bright lights when the campaign began. Instead of a smooth operator in left, he began to look more like ... well, a second baseman playing the outfield (thank goodness IKF was around to also be that). At the plate? His OPS crept into the .500s, and still sits at .574 today, even after a moderate surge in recent days (.320 AVG/.400 SLG in his past 25 scattered at-bats).

Cabrera has been demoted on a few different occasions this season, only to find himself back in the bigs again shortly thereafter due to a frustrating injury. He's had a slightly longer leash than Oswald Peraza, but he's been used in much the same way. If he ends up on the 2024 roster at all, he's likely to be the first offensive player dismissed when the team is in need of a shakeup. Again.

Ben Rortvedt, C

And, hell, Kyle Higashioka, too! But, after so many years as the Yankees' backup, Higgy is a known quantity. Rortvedt? Fans are naturally inclined to be pessimistic these days, but there was at least a chance that the lefty swinger would translate his minor-league success immediately to the big league level and put some pressure on Jose Trevino for 2024.

Survey says? Nah. The Yankees still have a significant problem behind the plate that might not be solved until they nod in Austin Wells' direction.

Rortvedt, poised to be the last surviving piece of the Isiah Kiner-Falefa/Josh Donaldson/Gio Urshela/Gary Sánchez swap/flop, hit .286 with a .900 OPS in 29 games at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this summer after shaking off the injury bug. Since his most recent recall to the bigs after Jose Trevino decided he needed wrist surgery (in April, haha, jk, could you imagine), he's gone 1-for-19. He was a chief contributor to Monday night's season-ending (?) LOB fest in Chicago, helping to strand the trio of runners in the second inning with an ineffective popup and ushering in seven more frames of gloom. He's been on camera more often getting admonished by Gerrit Cole these days than he's been shown making solid contact.

Rortvedt could be a nice piece at Yankee Stadium if he ever gets comfortable enough to unleash the power stroke he's shown off in the minors. But if you're counting on him to solve your catching glut next season, you're probably failing to prepare rather than preparing to fail.

Wandy Peralta, LHP

Certainly feels like Hal Steinbrenner put the kibosh on a Wandy Peralta rental sale at the deadline so as not to appear weak, huh? It kind of does, doesn't it?

Peralta has been an excellent Yankee since being acquired midstream in 2021 in exchange for Mike Tauchman. He starred in last year's postseason, appearing in all five ALDS contests and performing well. He's a quirky fan favorite who's proven his mettle where many others have faltered.

He's also 32, entering free agency, and armed with some of the worst peripherals of his career.

He's taken care of lefties expertly all year long (.119 BAA against left-handers, fifth in MLB), but hasn't been the same against righties -- and can you blame him?! Not his speciality. The control has evaporated; his walk rate sits in the 8th percentile across MLB, which has led to a garish 5.43 xERA.

The regression began, in earnest, for Peralta on Sunday, when Aaron Boone allowed him to face a parade of righties after split-inning duty, resulting in a three-run Jake Meyers (???) bomb and a Martin Maldonado dinger as a capper. Something tells us the Yankees don't want to be the ones holding onto a forthcoming financial commitment for Peralta's likely further backslide.

Good Yankee. Very good Yankee. Probably not coming back.

Luis Severino, RHP

What would Luis Severino have to show you in August and September for you to even consider floating the qualifying offer to him this winter? That's ~$17 million for a one-year deal on his plate after his walk year went as poorly as possible. If he declines it, the Yankees receive a comp pick.

But ... why would he decline it?

Severino has expressed significant displeasure with the organization over the past several years, and the friction seems to go both ways (would they really have read a calendar out loud to, say, Gerrit Cole?). It would've taken a tremendous fall from grace for him to even consider a one-year deal in New York with multi-year money ahead of him this winter.

That fall from grace has ... happened. It has been tremendous.

If Severino rediscovers the hop on his fastball overnight, would you take the one-year risk? If he can put up three, four, even five quality starts in a row and get his ERA closer to 5.00 than 7.00, do you play with fire? Would signing, say, Frankie Montas to a bounce-back deal next season be a surer thing than Severino, at this point?

This process has gotten remarkably dark, and Severino seems to be eroding mentally as it proceeds. If a pitcher believes he is the worst pitcher in the game, it's unlikely he'll attack with the confidence required for the position. Severino needs a reset, and even affording him a courtesy one-year floater feels too risky.

Prior to 2023, it seemed likely he'd price himself out of the Yankees' budget. Now, they seem likely to constrict their budget to avoid his falling cost. How the tables turn -- in a way that, very unhelpfully, benefits no one.

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