Yankees news: Nolan Arenado update, farm system lags behind, Tim Hill competition

The New York Yankees' offseason has been an entertaining one, to say the least. It began with Juan Soto signing with the New York Mets, and quickly followed with Brian Cashman making a slew of additions headlined by Max Fried, Devin Williams, and Cody Bellinger. Lately, though, things have been rather quiet in the Bronx. The only player signed this month by the Yankees has been Dominic Smith, and he only inked a minor league deal.

Cashman's inactivity has Yankees fans at least slightly concerned. Sure, even without Juan Soto this team might be the best in the American League, but are they really good enough to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in a potential World Series rematch? Even the most optimistic Yankees fans would say that Cashman still has work to do, particularly in the infield and in the bullpen.

Things might be quiet in terms of roster moves taking place, but they certainly aren't quiet on the news front. With that in mind, let's take a look at the latest Yankees news items on this fine Tuesday afternoon.

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Yankees news: New York faces stiff competition for Tim Hill

One of the pleasant surprises that came from last season was the performance of Tim Hill, who went from a guy who struggled enough to get DFA'd and released by the worst team in modern MLB history, to a key piece coming out of the bullpen for the Yankees.

Hill posted a 2.05 ERA in 35 appearances and 44 innings pitched in the regular season in a Yankees uniform, and allowed just one earned run in 8.1 postseason innings across 10 appearances. He was outstanding throughout, and even better when the lights were brightest.

Given how well he pitched, Hill, unsurprisingly, has drawn a lot of interest as a free agent. The Yankees were always going to express interest in bringing him back after how nice of a fit he proved to be in the Bronx, but according to SI's Pat Ragazzo, the Yankees are just one of six interested teams in signing him.

The Yankees face competition involving three of the National League's elite teams; the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Arizona Diamondbacks. They're also facing competition involving teams known to spend recklessly on the most random players at the strangest times; the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Angels.

The Yankees figure to have the upper hand on their competition given Hill's familiarity with the organization, but with how reluctant the Yankees appear to be when it comes to spending, it's entirely possible they get outbid in their efforts to keep him around. In a bullpen that lacks any left-handed options, losing Hill would be a big blow.

Yankees news: Farm system becoming clear area of concern

Part of what makes the Dodgers so great year after year is their ability to continuously have one of the elite farm systems in the sport. That allows the Dodgers to promote players from within and perhaps, more importantly, trade them for proven players.

Unfortunately, the Yankees don't come close to comparing with Los Angeles when it comes to their farm system right now. The Yankees had a below-average farm system after the trade deadline according to MLB Pipeline, and Keith Law of The Athletic ($) doesn't seem to be too high on many of their prospects either.

Jasson Dominguez is Law's No. 22 prospect, but he's also expected to start the year as the Yankees' primary left fielder. While it's great that the Yankees have a young player with star potential in the majors, the list behind him is quite underwhelming.

The only other top-100 prospect on Law's list in the Yankees organization is George Lombard Jr., a 19-year-old who was taken in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft and is nowhere near being MLB-ready. While that might sound somewhat encouraging, Lombard had a sub-.700 OPS in the minor leagues last season and is only No. 98 on the list, making this season a crucial one for him to remain among the best 100 prospects in the sport.

Perhaps most alarmingly, this list does not include Spencer Jones, a guy who once seemingly had a case when it came to being a better prospect than Dominguez. Jones, like Lombard, had an underwhelming 2024 campaign.

New York's MLB roster is as good as it gets in the American League, but their lack of a farm system, especially once Dominguez graduates prospect status, could come back to bite them in the not-too-distant future.

Yankees news: Don't count New York out of Nolan Arenado sweepstakes

The Yankees entered the offseason needing two infielders to play alongside Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe. They signed Paul Goldschmidt to replace Anthony Rizzo at first base, but have done nothing to address the final infield spot. Sure, they could run with an internal option like DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera, or Oswald Peraza, but that'd be as underwhelming of a decision as they could make.

The dream scenario for the Yankees would be to sign Alex Bregman, but given the organization's clear reluctance to spend much more, that isn't going to happen. Assuming Bregman isn't realistic, the Yankees can and should scour the trade market and pull off a trade for Nolan Arenado, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

Hoch, like many Yankees fans, is waiting patiently for an Arenado trade, and it isn't hard to see why. Arenado might not be the MVP-caliber hitter he once was, but he was still roughly a league-average hitter in 2024 - making him a whole lot better than the other options on the Yankees roster. Additionally, Arenado happens to be a Gold Glove-caliber defender still and would push Chisholm to second base - a position he's more familiar with.

His contract isn't ideal, but the Yankees finding a suitor for Marcus Stroman would make him relatively easy to take on. Plus, even if they can't trade Stroman, the Houston Astros were reportedly set to take on the remaining three years of Arenado's contract for a total of just $45 million in a trade that the 10-time Gold Glover vetoed earlier this offseason. An average of $15 million per year for Arenado, a guy who was still a productive player in 2024, is really solid value. Plus, with the Cardinals being extremely desperate to move him, the Yankees might be able to get St. Louis to eat even more of Arenado's money.

If the Yankees are set on doing whatever they can to win in 2025 while not going overboard financially, Arenado makes too much sense as a target. Whether Arenado would approve a deal to come to the Bronx remains to be seen, but Paul Goldschmidt's presence should help on that front.