The Yankees sat atop the American League in 2024, representing the Junior Circuit in the 2024 World Series. New York took on the Dodgers, but it was finally Shohei Otani's time, L.A. came out on top, winning the series 4-1.
To make matters worse, the Yankees had some major question marks heading into free agency. This happens every year, but the free agency cycle between 2024 and 2025 was bigger. New York had acquired star outfielder Juan Soto from San Diego ahead of the regular season, but they weren't able to come to terms on an extension. When the dust settled, Soto decided to stay in New York — but it was across town with the Mets.
The Yankees lost that battle of the Subway Series and needed to bring in not only a replacement for Soto but also to address other holes on the roster to stay competitive in the American League for 2025.
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Here is more on the Yankees' roster construction after losing the World Series and star outfielder Juan Soto in free agency.
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Yankees depth chart
Here is a look at the Yankees' 2025 position players.
C Austin Wells
C J.C. Escarra
1B Paul Goldschmidt
1B Ben Rice
2B DJ LeMahieu
2B Jazz Chisholm (IL)
3B Oswaldo Cabrera
3B Jorbit Vivas
SS Anthony Volpe
SS Oswald Peraza
LF Cody Bellinger
LF Jasson Dominguez
CF Trent Grisham
RF Aaron Judge
DH Giancarlo Stanton (IL)
Yankees pitching rotation
Here's a look at the Yankees' 2025 pitching staff including starters and bullpen.
SP Carlos Rodon
SP Gerrit Cole (IL)
SP Max Fried
SP Will Warren
SP Marcus Stroman (IL)
SP Luis Gil (IL)
SP Clarke Schmidt
RP Ryan Yarbrough
RP Brent Headrick
RP Yerry De los Santos
RP Jonathan Loaisiga
RP Tim Hill
RP Mark Leiter Jr.
RP Ian Hamilton
RP Devin Williams
CP Luke Weaver
Yankees key free agency moves
The biggest move the Yankees made was signing free agent pitcher Max Fried. New York inked the former Braves ace to an eight-year, $218 million deal, per Spotrac. The Yankees didn't re-sign veteran first baseman Anthony Rizzo, instead replacing him with former Cardinal Paul Goldschmidt on a one-year deal.
New York also signed pitchers Jonathan Loaisiga, Tim Hill, and Ryan Yarbrough to one-year deals. The Yankees lost Soto, Gleyber Torres, Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle, Jon Berti, Alex Verdugo, and Tim Mayza in the offseason.
New York traded for closer Devin Williams from Milwaukee, Fernando Cruz from Cincinnati, and outfielder Cody Bellinger from the Cubs, all of whom were expected to make a difference this year. Williams has surprisingly struggled, but Cruz and Bellinger have made their mark through the first two months of the season.
Yankees payroll
The Yankees' 2025 payroll is listed at $288,738,657, per Spotrac. This is the fifth-highest in the MLB, as New York trails the Mets ($324,202,126), Phillies ($279,297,954), Dodgers ($336,802,442) and Blue Jays ($247,483,728).
For reference, the Yankees' 2024 payroll led the league at $314,741,274. New York had the fourth-highest payroll in 2023 ($278,651,150) and the third-highest ($252,957,200) in 2022.