Pros and cons of every potential big-name Yankees offseason acquisition

3 of 4

After a disappointing 82-80 season that barely kept their 22 season win streak alive, it's expected that the New York Yankees will make some major moves to supplement the roster this offseason. And even with the World Series barely over, the Yankees have already been linked to several of the top players expected to be available through trade or in free agency this winter.

Should Brian Cashman and the Yankees front office jump on some of these high-profile acquisitions, or should they stand pat and wait for a better opportunity? We'll evaluate the pros and cons of these high-profile targets for the Bombers.

Pros and cons of every potential big-name Yankees offseason acquisition

Juan Soto

Juan Soto's San Diego Padres are coming off another disappointing season in which they finished just one game over .500 and let manager Bob Melvin take a job San Francisco. Considering Soto has just one year of team control left, GM A.J. Preller could be tempted to move him to clear $30 million in salary and acquire more assets to fuel a re-tool.

Pros: In 2023, Yankees left fielders put up a wRC+ of 75, a mark worse than every team in baseball except the Detroit Tigers. The revolving door of Oswaldo Cabrera, Aaron Hicks, Everson Pereira, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Jake Bauers, and others didn't cut it offensively in the way the front office hoped when they elected not to acquire a left fielder during the offseason. Considering those results, almost any acquisition Brian Cashman makes would be an upgrade.

Soto had a 155 wRC+ in 2023, while outperforming Yankees left fielders' league-worst -1.2 fWAR mark by 6.7. The best option to hit the market in a long time, Soto would provide the Yankees with the disciplined, left-handed outfield bat they've been lacking for years. We could get into the weeds with other reasons that Soto is a great fit for this team, but this alone is enough to pull the trigger on a deal.

Cons: If the Padres do decide to deal Soto, it's likely that their asking price will be sky high. This is not to say that the Yankees should be wary of trading multiple valuable assets like Everson Pereira, Clarke Schmidt and/or Chase Hampton to acquire the generational talent that is Soto, but rather that the Yankees could find themselves in a bidding war of epic proportions to acquire one year of a player who won't instantly make them World Series favorites.

If the Yankees pay handsomely to acquire Soto and win the World Series in 2024, or are able to sign him to a long-term extension, fine. But they run the risk of paying that high price, not winning next year, then watching Soto walk in free agency.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Brian Cashman caused quite an stir in Yankeeland when he was spotted in Japan taking in Yoshinobu Yamamoto's no-hitter live this past September. And in the time since that fateful evening, the Japanese right-hander has been heavily linked to the Bronx. At just 25 years old, Yamamoto could become an integral part of the Yankees' next core if signed to a long-term deal.

Pros: The Yankees will be in need of starting pitching this offseason as they will watch Luis Severino and Frankie Montas walk in free agency, leaving them with a projected rotation of Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Nestor Cortes and Michael King. With Cortes becoming a question mark after an injury-riddled 2023 season, and King never having pitched a full season of a starter's workload, the Yankees will have plenty of leftover innings that'll need to be taken care of.

Yamamoto more than fits the bill, as he pitched a solid 164 innings in 2023, likely his best professional season. He put up a 1.21 ERA while striking out 26.6% of batters and walking just 4.4%. He surrendered just two home runs all year. That strikeout-to-walk ratio would've been fourth-best in the majors this year, placing him ahead of Cole, Zac Gallen and Pablo López.

The Yankees only have two established starters under team control after the 2025 season, so adding Yamamoto would also give them some much-needed depth and security for the foreseeable future.

Cons: There's always a risk with free agents coming over from other leagues because of the necessary adjustment period. Yankee fans will always remember the disastrous Kei Igawa signing back in 2007, as well as how Chien-Ming Wang failed to rebound after a 2008 injury.

Of course, Yamamoto is younger than those guys were when they made the switch. He also had a better final NPB season than the likes of Masahiro Tanaka and Shohei Ohtani. But if he can't make the transition, the Yankees will have hundreds of millions tied up in Yamamoto, an aging Gerrit Cole, and Carlos Rodón for quite some time.

Cody Bellinger

Bellinger finally had the bounce-back season he so desparately needed this year in Chicago, and will enter the free agent market as one of the top bats available. The Yankees were rumored to be in on Bellinger at the trade deadline, and he, like Soto, has characteristics that make him a natural fit in the Bronx.

Pros: These are going to be very similar to Soto's pros, but with a caveat. In 2023, Yankees center fielders had a combined 80 wRC+, 20% below the league average and worse than all but five other teams. Cody Bellinger had a 134 wRC+ last season, as well as 4 Outs Above Average in center field.

Ultimately, he can provide Harrison Bader-esque defense in center while being a much better bat. What Bellinger also offers is versatility. If the Yankees were to sign him, he would likely be their regular center fielder in 2024 with Jasson Dominguez on the mend from Tommy John surgery. but he has the ability to play all three outfield positions as well as first base, which will aid the Yankees in the event of an inevitable injury, or if they decide to move on from an aging Anthony Rizzo in the next couple of seasons.

Cons: It's still very possible that Bellinger turns back into a pumpkin in the future. This is not to say his 2023 season was the product of some absurd luck (he did have some luck, but even if he were to regress to his .331 xwOBA, he'd still be a solid hitter), but rather that it's somewhat unclear how he was able to improve.

Somehow, his results got better despite lower barrel and hard-hit percentages, which goes against baseball trends. This happens sometimes, but in most of these cases the batter is either pulling the ball more, hitting the ball in the air more, or has some other tangible measurement to explain their success.

In Bellinger's case, there really isn't anything. He saw a slight increase in line drives from 22.2% in 2022 to 26.4% in 2023, but that came at the expense of his fly ball rate rather than his ground ball rate. He pulled the ball slightly more, but not enough to explain that big of an increase in production.

If we move on to his plate discipline stats, it's not like he developed some ultra-patient approach at the plate, either. He swung at the exact same rate as he did in 2022, chased around the same rate, and swung at fewer pitches in the zone. His whiffs were down and his zone contact rate was up, but still not too far from league average.

Additionally, the weakness of this year's free agent class will likely raise Bellinger's market value, meaning that whoever gets him will likely over pay.

Brendan Donovan

In their search to improve the offense in 2023, the Yankees were reportedly in talks with the Cardinals about a few of their outfield bats, including Brendan Donovan. With the Cardinals' surplus of outfielders and the Yankees' bevy of controllable starting pitching, the two seem like natural trade partners, and talks could pick up again this offseason.

Pros: Donovan could end up being the leadoff hitter the Yankees have yearned for since DJ LeMahieu's decline. A patient, contact-oriented left-handed bat who won't hit free agency until after the 2027 season, Donovan should be a fixture at the leadoff spot for years to come.

Donovan's 2023 was cut short due to a flexor tendon injury, but in his 95 games he posted an impressive .284/.365/.422 slash line, good for a 118 wRC+. He also saw an increase in power, likely thanks to a 7.5% increase in pull rate and a 2.4% increase in barrel rate. Plus, had he played his home games in Yankee Stadium last year, it would've added another homer to his total.

The Yankees would probably rather get Soto and lock him up long-term, but a still-developing Donovan is far from the worst consolation prize.

Cons: While Donovan's power surge in 2023 should be repeatable, he's still a ground ball hitter at heart. Sure, he slashed that rate from 54.3% in 2022 to 46.7% in 2023, but that's still worse than the league-average mark.

It also remains to be seen whether or not Donovan has the range of a true left fielder; he's been roughly a league-average defender there in the past, but his strength defensively has always been his arm, not necessarily his ability to track down balls.

If the Yankees move forward with acquiring Donovan, it will likely cost them a pretty penny in terms of prospect capital due to how much team control is attached to him, and there's a decent chance that he ends up being just a slightly above average major league player.

manual

Home / Yankees Rumors

Pros and cons of every potential big-name Yankees offseason acquisition

Juan Soto

Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Cody Bellinger

Brendan Donovan

Schedule