Yankees’ expert Juan Soto pivot still leaves one brutal remaining question

The New York Yankees are going to look drastically different next season thanks to the free agency departure of Juan Soto. Brian Cashman and the team's front office have made a number of moves to help pivot after losing their offensive talisman.

The Athletic's Jim Bowden ($) believes New York has constructed a roster capable of winning more regular season games. He specifically points to the improvement in the team's starting rotation and outfield defense as factors that can help manager Aaron Boone's squad.

Bowden also believes having Soto would be more valuable than those upgrades in the postseason. He places particularly high value on how special Soto's bat can be and his ability to come up with big hits in big moments.

Yankees' Juan Soto pivots improve New York but leave playoff questions

There is no question the Yankees will miss Soto's powerful presence in the middle of their batting order. The organizational hope is that they can replace him collectively. Cody Bellinger should give the team more production than they received from Alex Verdugo a year ago. The same can be said for Paul Goldschmidt at first base. Those incremental improvements may not add up to enough to replace Soto's production but they will help.

The pitching question might be the biggest opportunity for New York to improve in the playoffs. Gerrit Cole is still the team's ace but he can only pitch so often in one series. Slotting Max Fried behind him as the No. 2 starter could allow the Yankees to race out to an unassailable lead in any series. That's a high-variance gamble by Cashman and his front office but it could pay off handsomely in October.

The improvement in outfield defense might be even more difficult to measure. Bellinger will give the team more range in center field than Judge did in 2024. If Jasson Dominguez can take full advantage of his athleticism to patrol left field effectively then New York could have one of the most athletic outfield trios in baseball. That's not typically a major factor for teams looking to win a World Series but it could pay dividends in a tight postseason series.

The challenge, as always, for the Yankees, is that the 2025 season will be a World Series title or bust. That means Cashman's pivot after losing Soto will solely be judged on what happens in the postseason. Time will tell if he's done enough to get the franchise over the hump without Soto in the fold.