New York Yankees

New York Yankees starting pitcher Gerrit Cole told reporters at spring training Wednesday that ex-teammate Juan Soto's 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Yankees is "good for the game."

“It’s large. It’s a very large amount of money,” a smiling Cole said (h/t Chris Kirschner of The Athletic). “It’s hard to underestimate great players and hard to underestimate [MLB super agent Scott Boras], too. He does a good job at what he does. It’s a large number and a historic contract.

“It’s good for all players. It’s good for the game. Obviously, the Mets and the Mets’ fanbase is thrilled about it, too. It was exciting. I think the anticipation was always about how high it’s going to get. That’s definitely exciting.”

Soto's megadeal is the largest contract ever handed to a player, leaping over Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani's previously record-breaking $700 million pact. It's a good sign for other elite offensive talents who could be looking for monster contracts down the road, as $765 million is now the market-setting benchmark for such talent.

As for the Yankees, they lost one of the top hitters in the game and a player who helped them win their first American League pennant in 15 years. However, the team rebounded well in the offseason, adding players such as starting pitcher Max Fried, relief pitcher Devin Williams, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger.

Cole, who is on a nine-year, $324 million contract that runs through 2028, is happy with how the Yankees retooled this offseason.

“The beauty of the Yankees is the ability to go out and fill the roster and fill the spots with a goal of getting back to the World Series and winning the World Series,” Cole said.

“They’ve done as good of a job as you could have asked. I think we feel very confident in the additions we’ve made. You have former MVPs—two of them—a former Rookie of the Year, one of the best closers in the game, and one of the best left-handed pitchers in the game. It’s hard not to say those additions made us better coming from the fact that after we lost Juan and then we made those additions. It’s big shoes to fill. You got to be proud of the organization for what they’ve done, and you have to be excited about the additions because they’re really great players and people.”

New York opens the regular season on Thursday, March 27, against the Milwaukee Brewers.

It's safe to say New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone wasn't thrilled with comments from some members of the Los Angeles Dodgers after the National League West club defeated his team in the 2024 World Series.

"The reality is we didn't play our best in the series and they won, so they had that right to say whatever," Boone said Tuesday, per ESPN's Jeff Passan. "Hopefully, we're in that position next year and handle things with a little more class. But the reality is it's a great team, it's a great organization with a lot of great people that I happen to know and respect, too. So a few people sounding off isn't necessarily how I would want to draw it up."

Passan noted utilityman Chris Taylor and former reliever Joe Kelly criticized the Yankees' fielding and baserunning in the aftermath of the Fall Classic with the latter saying New York's issues in those areas were "well-known" on his podcast and the former saying the American League East team "s--t down their leg" on teammate Mookie Betts' podcast.

Boone made it clear that most of the Dodgers didn't say anything like that about the Yankees but added, "sometimes you're coming off ... winning the world championship and some guys are more inclined to spout off and be a little more colorful than others—and that's their right. They won. And again, hopefully we're in that position and do things a little better."

Frankly, New York will likely get a rematch with the Dodgers if it reaches the World Series.

Los Angeles is loaded once again with Shohei Ohtani, Betts, Freddie Freeman, Blake Snell, Rōki Sasaki, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, among others, and is expected to be the best team in the league.

The Yankees might not be equal to the Dodgers in terms of expectations, but they are surely close after adding Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams this offseason.

It will be a team-wide effort to make up for the loss of Juan Soto, but adding multiple quality players will help.

New York is the historical powerhouse of the sport, but it hasn't won the World Series since 2009 and reached the Fall Classic for the first time in 15 years during the 2024 campaign. Now it is tasked with making it back and actually prevailing this time.

If it does, Boone expects his team to avoid criticizing the competition during the ensuing celebration.

New York Yankees superstar outfielder Aaron Judge and his wife, Samantha Bracksieck, announced the birth of their daughter, Nora Rose, on Wednesday.

Judge revealed the news of their first child's birth, which occurred on Jan. 27, via Instagram.

"What an incredible week it's been, can't wait for the memories the three of us make," Judge wrote.

On Jan. 25, Judge was honored by the Baseball Writers' Association of America at its annual awards dinner after winning his second MVP award.

However, Judge could not attend the dinner, explaining why in a video message.

"I'm truly humbled to be accepting the 2024 AL MVP Award," Judge said. "I want to start by apologizing for missing the awards dinner this evening. However, my wife, Samantha, and I are expecting our first child any day and unfortunately could not make it."

"Any day" was on the mark as their daughter was born just two days later.

Per Hannah Sacks of People Magazine, Judge and Bracksieck met at Linden High School (California) before heading to Fresno State. The two were married in Dec. 2021.

After Judge tied Roger Maris' American League record of 61 home runs in 2022 (en route to 62 total), Judge gave much credit his wife for her perseverance and calm nature, per Jaclyn Hendricks of the New York Post.

"My wife has been with me through it all and she's calm as a cucumber, that's for sure," Judge said.

Now the happy couple has welcomed their first child. This will certainly mark a busy time for Judge, as he's set to report for the Yankees' first full spring training workout on Feb. 17.

The New York Yankees reportedly signed veteran pitcher Carlos Carrasco to a minor-league deal on Monday, per Jack Curry of YES Network.

The 37-year-old will be a long shot to crack the team's rotation or pitching staff after going 3-10 for the Cleveland Guardians last season with a 5.64 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 89 strikeouts in 21 starts (103.2 innings).

In his prime years, Carrasco was a legitimate top-of-the-rotation option. Between 2015-18 he pitched 180 or more innings in three seasons, hit 200 strikeouts three times and never posted an ERA worse than 3.63.

He's been more erratic in the years since, with strong campaigns in the COVID-shortened season of 2020 (3-4 with a 2.91 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 82 strikeouts in 68 innings) and in 2022 for the New York Mets (15-7 with a 3.97 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 152 strikeouts in 152 innings).

But the Yankees don't need Carrasco more anything more than depth. The team is set at starting pitcher, with Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil comprising the expected rotation and Marcus Stroman a strong No. 6 option if he isn't traded to address other needs.

So Carrasco will be competing with pitchers like Will Warren, Clayton Beeter, JT Brubaker and Allan Winans to serve as a depth option. Having rotational depth was important for the Yankees in 2023, as injuries limited Cole to 17 starts and Schmidt to 16, though the emergence of Gil seriously mitigated those absences.

While the Carrasco addition won't dominate the headlines, the Yankees continue to pivot from the loss of Juan Soto. Thus far this offseason they've added Fried, Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt and Devin Williams, among other moves, spreading out their resources to address a number of needs.

Whether it's enough to return to the World Series—or keep pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who by the time you are done reading this may have added another star player—remains to be seen.

One MLB executive believes that Juan Soto's decision to leave the New York Yankees for the New York Mets in free agency on a 15-year, $765 million deal "could be a blessing in the end" for the Bronx Bombers.

"The Soto deal is insane," the exec told ESPN's Jorge Castillo. "It could be a blessing in the end. Fried is an ace. Bellinger might hit 30 HRs there and shores up their defense. Goldschmidt is a Hall of Famer. Added a bullpen arm. All in all, pretty good."

New York had a busy offseason, notably adding starting pitcher Max Fried and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt in free agency and outfielder Cody Bellinger and closer Devin Williams via trade.

"I think they've pretty much nailed everything they've done," a scout also told Castillo.

The Yankees wanted Soto back, offering a 16-year, $760 million deal. When Soto went to Queens, New York pivoted, opting to flesh out a more well-rounded roster with a focus on improving the team's lackluster defense.

Cashman spoke more on the matter with ESPN.

"You can't replace a Juan Soto. So how do you cushion the blow and diversify that throughout the lineup? And then the defense was a real problem on our roster," Cashman began.

"We had a bad defensive team. We have an opportunity to upgrade the defense at the same time, which will improve our run prevention and our pitching. So, getting more athletic, getting more protection on the defensive front while still trying to provide good, strong balance on the offensive side was, ultimately, the simple framework."

In Goldschmidt, the Yankees got a four-time Gold Glover. Bellinger's defense has declined since his 2019 Gold Glove year, but he's also a versatile defensive player who can suit up at multiple outfield positions and first base as well.

And then in Fried and Williams, the Yankees improved their pitching staff by adding a fantastic No. 2 starter and one of the game's top closers. So the team's defense and pitching have gotten a boost, although the offense might take a hit without Soto in the mix.

Still, this looks like a good team on paper, clearly capable of winning the American League once again. The Yanks begin the season on March 27 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Baseball fans who grew up during the so-called "Evil Empire" days of the New York Yankees under George Steinbrenner could surely never envision a time when the Bronx Bombers were the ones complaining about another team's spending.

But that day has apparently arrived.

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, who is the son of George, discussed the Los Angeles Dodgers' spending this offseason during a Tuesday interview on the YES Network with Meredith Marakovits (h/t Brendan Kuty of The Athletic) and conceded it is "difficult" for most other teams to keep pace.

"Well, look: It's difficult for most of us owners to be able to do the kind of things that they're doing," he said. "Now, we'll see if it pays off. They still have to have a season relatively injury-free for it to work out for them, and it's a long season, as you know, and once you get to the postseason, anything can happen. We've seen that time and time again."

It's not as if the Yankees can cry poor considering Forbes recently ranked them as the fourth-most valuable sports franchise in the world with a value of $7.55 billion. By comparison, the Dodgers were 24th at $5.45 billion, which was the second-highest mark in Major League Baseball.

Yet it is Los Angeles that has been pacing the field in spending this offseason.

Kuty and Chris Kirschner of The Athletic cited data from Cot's Contracts and noted Los Angeles has the league's highest projected luxury-tax payroll of $376.4 million after spending nearly a half-billion in deals this offseason alone.

The Philadelphia Phillies are second at $307.8 million, while the Yankees check in at third at $302.9 million.

Los Angeles was already the reigning World Series champion with stars such as Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, and it responded by adding players such as Blake Snell, Rōki Sasaki, Teoscar Hernández, Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates and others this offseason.

Anything but another run to the World Series would be a surprise, and the Yankees may be waiting for them again after adding Max Fried, Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams and Paul Goldschmidt this offseason.

Teams lower on the spending list likely won't love Steinbrenner as the messenger when it comes to making a statement about the Dodgers' spending given the Yankees' position in MLB's pecking order.

But he did point to the massive discrepancies that only grew this offseason as Los Angeles continued to add quality players.

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone offered an update on what he was thinking regarding the team's lineup configuration heading into the 2025 campaign after some major offseason changes, including the loss of Juan Soto in free agency.

"We'll try and get Jasson Dominguez up to speed in left," he said during an appearance on WFAN (h/t Phillip Martinez of SNY). "Cody Bellinger probably in center with Trent Grisham in the mix there too. If Giancarlo Stanton has a day off or I want to DH Aaron Judge, I feel good moving Bellinger wherever. Ideally, I don't want to move Dominguez as much. On a day [Giancarlo] is out, Judge is DH, I can move Bellinger over [to right field] and throw Grisham in center and keep Dominguez in left. We'll see how it all shakes out."

As for the infield, Boone said, "Right now I would have Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second. Then Oswaldo Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu and even Oswald Peraza are vying in the mix for that third base."

Paul Goldschmidt will ostensibly handle duties at first base, while Anthony Volpe should remain the starting shortstop and Austin Wells the primary catcher.

As for the lineup configuration, Boone said Chisholm could potentially serve as the leadoff hitter, but Domínguez is in the mix as well.

"Domínguez's DNA is that because he gets on a lot and has power and can really run, too," he said. "That's a positive. But he has a DNA that gets on while Bellinger and Jazz with their power and bat-to-ball, will play well in the middle [of the lineup]."

One possible configuration could be as follows if Domínguez proves effective in the leadoff role:

1. Domínguez
2. Judge
3. Bellinger
4. Stanton
5. Chisholm
6. Goldschmidt
7. Volpe
8. Wells
9. LeMahieu/Cabrera/Peraza

Expecting a 21-year-old with just 26 games of MLB experience to immediately serve as the leadoff hitter on a contender is no small ask, of course. The Yankees may end up with a revolving door atop the lineup.

"We're very left-handed, so it just depends who solves that leadoff spot and if it's one guy, or one guy vs. a righty, one guy vs. a lefty," Boone said. "I would prefer one guy... a perfect world you love rolling them out. The biggest thing is trying to have a guy that is getting on base at a high level in that No. 1 spot."

The Yankees pivoted well after losing Soto to the New York Mets and resolved a number of their most pressing needs this winter. Still, there remain a few uncertainties for the Bronx Bombers as they look to return to the World Series.

Six-time MLB All-Star CC Sabathia is anxiously awaiting what could be the crowning achievement of his storied 19-year career on Monday.

Hours before the Baseball Hall of Fame announces the voting results for the 2025 class, Sabathia posted a series of emojis as a quote tweet responding to an MLB video of what turned out to be his final pitch in the big leagues with the New York Yankees.

This year marks Sabathia's first time on the Hall of Fame ballot. He retired following the 2019 season, with his final appearance coming in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros.

Current tracking suggests Sabathia has no reason to be nervous as far as getting in. Among the 198 known ballots and 11 anonymous or unverifiable ballots from Hall-of-Fame voters, Sabathia is currently sitting at 92.8 percent.

The voting threshold to be inducted into the Hall of Fame is 75 percent. Even though the final results tend to lower the overall percentage vote for a player, it's highly unlikely Sabathia would be left off that many ballots to dip more than 17.8 percent.

This year's class is trending toward featuring four inductees. Sabathia's vote total ranks second behind Ichiro, who has been listed on every public ballot thus far. The Seattle Mariners legend is seeking to join Mariano Rivera as the only players ever elected to the Hall of Fame unanimously.

The other likely inductees include Billy Wagner, who is on the ballot for the final time, and Carlos Beltrán.

Sabathia's potential induction will be notable because there's no obvious starting pitching legend on the horizon who will be on the ballot any time soon. First-time eligible candidates in 2026 include Cole Hamels, Rick Porcello and Gio Gonzalez.

The best returning pitcher next year is Andy Pettitte, who has received 31.6 percent of the public vote so far in his eighth time on the ballot. There's very little chance he can make that big of a jump to get to 75 percent before falling off the ballot after 2028.

Zack Greinke, who hasn't formally retired from MLB despite not pitching since the 2023 season, could be the next guy after Sabathia. After Greinke, though, it probably won't be until the Justin Verlander/Max Scherzer/Clayton Kershaw group decide to hang up their cleats.

Sabathia pitched for 19 seasons with three different teams from 2001 to '19. He spent the bulk of his career with the Yankees from 2009 to '19, winning a World Series title in his first year with the club.

His career started with the Cleveland Guardians as the No. 20 pick in the 1998 MLB draft. He made his big-league debut in 2001, finishing second to Ichiro in AL Rookie of the Year voting.

Sabathia won the 2007 AL Cy Young award, finished in the top-five in Cy Young voting four other times and made the AL All-Star team six times. He ended his career with a 251-161 record, a 3.74 ERA and 3,093 strikeouts in 561 games.

Over the course of his 19-year career, Sabathia's 66.5 FanGraphs' wins above replacement ranked second among all pitchers to Verlander (72.0).

The 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class will be announced on Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET.

A pair of veteran starting pitchers could be on the move this offseason.

Per ESPN's Buster Olney, "there is an assumption among other teams" that the New York Yankees want to move Marcus Stroman while the Arizona Diamondbacks want to trade Jordan Montgomery.

"There is an assumption among other teams that Jordan Montgomery and Marcus Stroman will move at some point, but there are execs who believe that won't happen until the Diamondbacks and Yankees agree to swallow a lot of money to make a deal happen," Olney wrote.

As Olney noted, both teams would likely need to eat some of their players' contracts in order to find a trade for them.

Stroman's vesting option makes him a hard sell as he'll have a player option to make $18.3 million next year if he pitches 140 innings in 2025. He pitched 154.2 innings for the Yankees last year.

According to Olney, one evaluator compared the two pitchers to Martin Perez, who signed with the Chicago White Sox for $5 million earlier this month. Stroman is slated to make $18.3 million in 2025 and could make the same figure in 2026 if he reaches 140 innings. Montgomery is set to earn $22.5 million this year before becoming a free agent in 2026.

Stroman, 33, recorded 113 strikeouts with a 4.31 ERA and 1.47 WHIP last season. He was not on the Yankees' roster in the AL Division Series and did not make any appearances in the postseason as New York reached the World Series.

Stroman was a valuable contributor during the regular season and manager Aaron Boone even said in December that he "was one of the reasons we were able to win the division and get through the playoffs," per The Athletic's Brendan Kuty.

As much as the Yankees could use Stroman in case their rotation gets hit with injuries, trading him and saving money to avoid a major luxury tax penalty might be worth it.

Montgomery, in his first season with the Diamondbacks, made 25 appearances, recording the second-highest ERA of his career at 6.23 and the second-worst WHIP of his career at 1.65.

There's always a chance Montgomery could rebound in 2025, but for such a high price point, Arizona might not want to take the risk of another disastrous season.