Grade the take: Are the Yankees better now than they were in 2024?

The New York Yankees won their first AL Pennant in 15 years, but fell short of their ultimate goal, falling short in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Immediately when the final out was made, attention was turned to Juan Soto's upcoming free agency. The Yankees were dead set on doing whatever they could to keep him in the Bronx, but in the end, their best efforts were not enough to top Steve Cohen and the New York Mets. The Yankees' crosstown rivals landed Juan Soto, putting Brian Cashman in a nearly impossible situation.

Cashman had to not only find a way to recover after losing a player of Soto's magnitude but do it in such a way that would make the Yankees more of a threat in a potential 2025 World Series than they were with the superstar outfielder.

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner certainly believes that Cashman has accomplished that goal, saying in an interview that he believes the team is better right now than it was a year ago. Is his belief the reality, though?

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Yankees have a lot of work to do to live up to Hal Steinbrenner's praise

That's a bold take, Hal. That's all I can really say about that.

Brian Cashman did well when it came to rebounding from the Soto miss. The Yankees immediately pivoted and signed Max Fried to a massive eight-year deal. They then added Devin Williams, Cody Bellinger, and Paul Goldschmidt within the next couple of weeks, filling several holes on their roster in the process. The Yankees certainly have more big names on their roster after losing Soto, but the kind of player Soto is cannot be overstated.

Sure, he's far from a perfect overall player, but Soto was an MVP finalist this past season and was worth 8.1 fWAR. Fried, Williams, Bellinger, and Goldschmidt combined to put up 7.1 fWAR. Yes, Williams missed substantial time due to injury, but still - Soto alone is at least comparable to those four major additions, and we have yet to discuss other players that the Yankees have lost.

The Yankees upgraded their lineup in several places, adding Goldschmidt to replace Rizzo, and even Jasson Dominguez to replace Alex Verdugo, but are those bigger gains than the downgrade Bellinger is compared to Soto? Dominguez is as unproven of a player as there is on this team (while he does have high-end potential), Bellinger has had one strong season in his last five, and Goldschmidt is a 37-year-old coming off his worst season. Even the difference between Gleyber Torres and DJ LeMahieu, his likely replacement in the infield, is a massive one despite Torres' relative down year in 2024. The lineup, very clearly, is substantially worse than it was.

New York added Williams and Fernando Cruz to its bullpen, but lost Clay Holmes and could lose both Tommy Kahnle and Tim Hill. Williams is obviously the best reliever of the bunch, but there's a real chance that the Yankees will lose three quality late-game relievers. Their bullpen might be better, but by how much?

One area where the Yankees did clearly improve, obviously, is with their rotation. Fried is a legitimate frontline arm, and he gives the Yankees the reliable No. 2 starter behind Gerrit Cole that Carlos Rodon has failed to be in the Bronx.

Even with all of the moves Cashman has made to plug holes, the Yankees have needs in their infield and in their bullpen. If the Yankees find a way to add a legitimate starting infielder and a late-game reliever (preferably a left-hander), Steinbrenner might have an argument. Even then, it's tricky betting on bounce-backs from guys like Bellinger and especially Goldschmidt who are crucial considering Soto's departure.

The worst part about this quote is that even if Steinbrenner is right, and the Yankees are marginally better, the team that just knocked them out in five games is substantially better. The Dodgers have left no stone unturned when it comes to building their roster, while the Yankees are sitting back satisfied despite losing out on Soto.

New York's rotation is noticeably better, their bullpen might be a bit better, but their lineup is substantially worse. They might get back to the World Series in 2025 thanks to the American League as a whole being underwhelming, but this team doesn't look better on paper than it did in 2024.

Grade: C