How Will The Yankees Fill The Hole Juan Soto Left?

Sebastián Vermut

Anthony Volpe celebrates his grand slam home run with Aaron Judge against the Los Angeles Dodgers on October 29, 2024.

As October baseball came to an end and the Los Angeles Dodgers sealed their almost inevitable World Series victory, baseball fans turned their attention to their favorite offseason pastime: watching as teams bid over the available free agents. Every fan hopes their team will sign a big free agent or trade for a star. Last offseason centered on the signing of Japanese pitcher-hitter Shohei Ohtani, and the offseason before that, it was the New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge. This year, the baseball world watched as big-market teams bid for 26-year-old Juan Soto. Soto put up elite offensive numbers during his one-year tenure on the Yankees, hitting a career-high 41 home runs and carrying his team to the World Series. However, watching Soto hit so well was bittersweet for Yankees fans. They knew that Soto was only a rental and had no obligation to sign an extension with the Yankees. When news broke in early December that Juan Soto signed a fifteen-year, 765-million-dollar contract with the New York Mets, the Yankees’ cross-town rivals, fans weren’t entirely shocked. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman immediately made moves to attempt to fill the hole in their lineup.

A little over a week after the Soto signing, the Yankees signed Braves star Max Fried to an eight-year, 218-million-dollar deal. In the second half of the regular season, the Yankees struggled with inconsistent pitching. Fried figures to fix the volatility of the pitching staff and counterbalance Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. To stabilize their bullpen, the Cashman signed All-Star closer Devin Williams from the Milwaukee Brewers. Clay Holmes, the Yankees’ 2024 closer, struggled down the stretch, blowing an MLB-leading thirteen saves. With these two pitching additions, the Yankees addressed most of their bullpen instability. However, losing Juan Soto still left a hole in offensive production. The Yankees considered signing veteran first baseman Christian Walker of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They nixed the possibility by instead signing thirty-seven-year-old Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year deal. Cashman brought in a seasoned veteran in hopes of him mentoring first base prospect Ben Rice. Cashman’s final major move of the offseason was trading for Chicago Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger. Bellinger had a down year in 2021 and 2022. However, in the last two seasons, Bellinger has averaged 22 home runs with a .816 OPS and a .287 batting average. The Yankees hope he can continue that production in the 2025 season.

Even with all these moves, it is hard to tell if the Juan Soto hole has been filled. The Yankees are missing a centerfielder and third baseman. Cashman has pointed towards in-house prospects to fill those holes, indicating that he will not go out and sign All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman. Jasson Dominguez will most likely play centerfield with Aaron Judge returning to right field, and multiple prospects will compete for third base in spring training. Dominguez has the potential to play at an All-Star caliber, and he can prove that with what should be his first full season. Recovering from missing out on a once-in-a-generation player like Juan Soto seems impossible. In many ways, it is, as there is no replacement for one player who seems to do it all. It’s impossible to say if Cashman did enough to build back a championship-caliber team, though this 2025 team looks to be much less unstable than last season.