Yankees all but reveal 2 prospects will make Opening Day roster at Winter Meetings

The New York Yankees possess a roster in flux at the moment, but that doesn't mean their aggression has dipped. If anything, losing Juan Soto to their crosstown rival seems to have emboldened Brian Cashman to get uncomfortable, pursuing multiple avenues of potential greatness.

But that doesn't mean the Yankees can splurge everywhere. They have too many holes to do so: first base, second base, left field, center field, and the bullpen all must still be addressed. For either the purposes of balancing big expenditures, or because they have a clear motivation to talk up their own prospects as the trade winds swirl, it was tough to leave the Winter Meetings without thinking the Yankees have big plans for two particular players.

No one was shy about highlighting Caleb Durbin, the undersized second baseman who Jack Curry was willing to bet a dollar would win a roster spot on YES' initial Hot Stove show last week.

Brian Cashman doubled down and raised the stakes, calling Durbin the "odds-on favorite" to start at second base on Opening Day.

Aaron Boone, Brian Cashman hint Caleb Durbin, Clayton Beeter will make Yankees' Opening Day roster

It certainly sounds like it's Durbin's job to lose -- either that, or he's the new Bubba Crosby, with Johnny Damon looming.

While plenty of energy has been focused on the second baseman's rapid improvement and dogged pursuit of greatness in the Arizona Fall League, far less has been written about Clayton Beeter. His 2024 disappeared, in large part because of a nebulous shoulder issue, but he made the Opening Day roster out of nowhere, and returned by the end of the campaign. He's mainly a two-pitch pitcher, but he's been extremely effective at inducing whiffs throughout the minors, and screams "bullpen solution," especially if the Yankees have bigger expenditures elsewhere.

Making certain he wouldn't be forgotten at the Winter Meetings, Aaron Boone brought him up unprompted on Tuesday afternoon.

Expect Durbin to get every possible chance to crack the big-league roster, and Beeter to either slide into a high-leverage role behind Luke Weaver or be flipped for an impact bat. The Yankees, who aren't retreating and aren't surrendering, seem prepared to make both players centerpieces of their 2025 efforts, in one way or another.