Unlike last year, it would appear that the Yankees are making an aggressive start to the off-season window in 2023. The Yankees acquired outfielder Alex Verdugo from the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday. In return, the Red Sox got RHPs Greg Weissert, Nicholas Judice and No.12 prospect Richard Fitts. With the move, the Yankees appear to be bolstering what proved to be an extremely thin and injury prone outfield last season. With the uncertainty revolving around the health of slugger Giancarlo Stanton, this should prove to be one of the more underrated trades of the offseason.  

Given Verdugo’s offensive prowess in 2023, slashing .264/.324/.421, he should fit perfectly into an offense that is seeking somewhat of an identity after the fall off of last season. Additionally, Verdugo’s gold glove caliber defense should provide an already stellar unit with some extra formidability.

The Yankees were not yet done, however. In the waning hours of Wednesday night, they made a blockbuster trade: acquiring 4x silver slugging outfielder Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres. 

The trade was initially reported earlier that day, but it took about 6 hours for the trade to be fully processed. In the end, however, it ended up being a seven-player-trade between the two ballclubs. In return for the slugging left hander, the Padres got Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez, Kyle Higashioka and Drew Thorpe. In addition to Soto, the Yankees also received 2x gold glove outfielder Trent Grisham. 

Soto, 25, has been on the Yankees radar since as early as last season, and going into the off-season they appeared poised to acquire the outfielder. This is a very bold move by the Yankees, as they have given up a lot of their pitching depth this off-season. It will be interesting to see how Michael King’s absence affects the Yankee already relatively thin pitching staff in 2024. 

Young gun Jhony Brito will also be an interesting watch for the Padres this season. He is a guy who I believed needed a little time to develop but I have always been high on the right hander given the correct development circumstances. For New York, only time will tell if these offensive minded trades will pay off. Adding two more outfielders in the trade makes it very obvious what the Yankees plan of action was this off-season. It shows that they are aware of the aging Giancarlo Stanton and somewhat injury prone Aaron Judge and are looking to add depth to those positions. 

With an extremely talented infield, it will be riveting to see how the pinstripes perform this season. The additions in the outfield will surely help make this offense a force to be reckoned with in the AL East, but will the pitching hold up? The Yankees only gave up pitching in this window, the eyes will be on seeing if they manage acquire Japanese wonderkid Yoshinobu Yamamoto. If they are able to, it will certainly help a starting rotation that appears to be in dire straits at the moment.  

Potential Yankees Rotation for 2024  

Gerrit Cole 

Carlos Rodon  

Nestor Cortes   

Clarke Schmidt  

Yoshinobu Yamamoto* 

*Hypothetical

The Mets, Giants, and Dodgers are also considered heavy favorites for the young pitcher, so it will be no walk in the park for the Yankees to acquire him. If they are not able to, it will be very interesting to see if the Yankees attempt to snag a different pitcher this off-season. Perhaps Blake Snell? A potential reunion with Jordan Montgomery could possibly even be on the cards. Whatever happens, it will be fun to see how this reloading and sleeping giant chooses to approach the rest of this off-season.