We’ll establish this very early: The New York Yankees are and should be the American League favorites in 2025.
This despite the Bronx Bombers getting thoroughly outclassed by the Dodgers in the World Series, going down in five games. This after losing Juan Soto, a fan favorite and difference maker in 2024, to the crosstown rival New York Mets. AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil is out three months with a sore shoulder and DJ LeMahieu isn’t right yet either. Giancarlo Stanton is down with, get ready, tennis elbow.
And just for an extra gut shot, Gerrit Cole just had Tommy John surgery and is out for the season.
How quickly we forget the moves general manager Brian Cashman made after Soto picked the Mets. New York’s pitching staff took a hit, but isn’t underwater. The lineup is still strong behind two-time MVP Aaron Judge. In the bullpen, meet new closer Devin Williams!
This should all amount to another winning season at East 161st Street and River Avenue. How much winning, as always, lies with the players.
Greatest Addition: Max Fried. No Gerrit Cole? No problem! The Yankees’ pitching is even stronger with the big lefty Fried at the top of the rotation. Cole’s fellow Californian had a 3.07 career ERA in eight years with Atlanta and owns a career groundball rate (GB%) of 54.4%. He agreed to an eight-year, $218 million contract with the Yankees during the Winter Meetings.
Not only is Fried a majority groundball pitcher in Yankee Stadium, but he is not prone to giving up home runs. He allowed 13 home runs in 174.1 innings last season and his seven-pitch mix should keep hitters off balance.
The big question, of course, is health. Fried has never pitched 200 innings in a season and missed significant time with hamstring and forearm injuries in 2023. If he can stay on the field this season, he’ll have every chance to be the ace in Cole’s absence.
Greatest Loss: Juan Soto. Talk about a perfect fit. Soto arrived via a trade with the Padres and had a contract year for the ages, hitting a career-high 41 home runs batting in front of Judge. He loved the Yankees, the Yankees and their fans loved him.
That wasn’t enough. Soto signed with the Mets for 15 years and $765 million, plus some truly ridiculous perks. Needless to say, the Mets overpaid and then some, so this doesn’t hurt the Yankees too badly.
But even so, Juan Soto is Juan Soto. He might not be a great fielder, but is arguably one of the Top 5 players in baseball even without Judge’s protection. Another 40-homer campaign in 2025 may be a stretch, but Soto should at least mash at least 30 and drive in over 100 runs.
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Greatest Strength: Bullpen. Cashman is great at a lot of things, but one skill stands above the rest: Bullpen-building. He’s so adept at putting together his relief corps that the Yankees have ranked in the Top 10 in bullpen ERA every year since 2021. Cashman appears to have done it once again in 2025.
All-Star closer Clay Holmes left to go be a starter with the Mets, so Cashman traded Nestor Cortes to Milwaukee for Williams. Lefty Tim Hill had a 2.05 ERA with the Yankees last year and re-signed in the offseason. Trading Gold Glove catcher Jose Trevino to the Reds in the offseason netted Fernando Cruz and his strikeout-inducing splitter.
That’s quite a bit of turnover, and the Yankees’ bullpen ranked sixth with a 3.64 ERA last season. This year’s squad has a chance to rank even higher.
Greatest Weakness: Depth behind Judge. This has long been a problem for the Yankees, particularly with Stanton’s regular trips to the injured list. Aaron Judge has long been the only true threat in the lineup, and Soto’s protection was indeed a difference maker in 2024.
That isn’t to say that the Yankees’ lineup is god awful this year, far from it. But between the roster turnover and Stanton’s bum elbows, this group of nine screams streaky. Even in a fairly light American League, one bad hitting stretch is enough to upend a season.
Cody Bellinger had a great camp and is a both a former MVP and Rookie of the Year, but hit .203 with a 76 OPS+ in the three years after his MVP season. Jazz Chisholm will probably hover between .240 and .255 all year. Who knows what to expect from Anthony Volpe and an aging Paul Goldschmidt, and just how good is Jasson Dominguez actually?
Again, the Yankees’ lineup is overall good. But, like always, it’s only as good as its reliability behind Judge in the No. 2 spot.
Start spreading the news? Juan Soto is a big loss and Gerrit Cole an even bigger one, but these are still the New York Yankees. They led all teams with 59 home runs in spring training and should keep that up in the regular season. Bellinger isn’t Soto, but still no slouch. The pitching staff is also stronger than it seems.
Of course, this doesn’t mean the Yankees walk to winning the division. It’ll be a tough road with both Boston and Baltimore nipping at their heels. Health will always be a question.
Plus, even if the Yankees do get back to the World Series, they still need a piece or two to get past the Dodgers.
Even so, this looks like another winning season in New York. The Yankees are a perfect balance of youth and veterans, and aren’t shy about writing big checks within reason. All key ingredients in the recipe for a successful 2025, so consider the Yankees a safe bet if you’re browsing NY sports betting apps.
FOR FULL STORY ON STANDARD WEBSITE: ESNY’s MLB Preview 2025: New York Yankees prepared for battle again | Elite Sports NY