In an offseason overshadowed by losing Juan Soto, the Yankees have done the heavy lifting to get back on their feet and position themselves to potentially defend the American League pennant. But with less than three weeks remaining until pitchers and catchers report to Tampa for spring training, there is still work to be done in the late-winter lull of free agency. Before Thursday, the Yankees had three open 40-man roster spots to work with.
Two waiver claims later, that number was down to one entering Friday, though that hardly limits their ability to bring in more talent. Here are four particular areas that the Yankees could look to shore up before the first workout for pitchers and catchers on Feb. 12.
Who’s playing second base — or third base? Part of this depends on where Aaron Boone ultimately decides to play Jazz Chisholm Jr., a former second baseman who handled himself well at third base last season, a position he manned for the first time in his career after coming over in a trade at the deadline. Either way, the Yankees will have a hole to fill at one of the positions.
As they are constructed, they could have a camp battle between DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza , Oswaldo Cabrera, and Jorbit Vivas to fill the need in-house. The veteran LeMahieu, who still has two years and $30 million left on his contract, has had his production sapped by injuries in recent years while Peraza, the former top shortstop prospect, is out of minor league options. The Yankees value Cabrer.
