Yankees news: Roki Sasaki prediction, Stroman trade desperation, arbitration drama

After a flurry of December activity, January has been one long holding pattern for the New York Yankees and their fans. There's still some work for Brian Cashman and Co. to do to put this roster in position to get back to the World Series in 2025, and still some talented players left in free agency and on the trade market. But Spring Training is now just a month or so away, and the anxiety ratchets up a notch with each day that passes without finding another infielder or adding another piece to the bullpen.

But while things are quiet in the Bronx right now, there's still plenty of news to keep tabs on. New York remains one of the few finalists to land Japanese ace Roki Sasaki, and rumors continue to swirl around just what move Cashman will make next. Here's all the latest Yankees news to know.

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Yankees news: Time to get your hopes up for Roki Sasaki?

It's been days since we got our last concrete update on the Sasaki sweepstakes; as far as we know, the 23-year-old righty continues to meet with teams and weigh all the information at his disposal before making a decision. (Sasaki technically can't sign anywhere until the next international amateur free agent window opens on Jan. 15, but there's nothing stopping him from informing teams of his decision ahead of time.)

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres have long been considered prohibitive favorites for Sasaki's services, and we have no reason to think that's no longer the case now. But the longer this saga drags on, the more likely it is that he's actually considering some of the other teams on his list — and at least one New York commentator thinks that's a good sign for the Yankees.

"I'm starting to get hyped up," Chris "C-Mac" McGonicle, a personality on New York's WFAN radio, said on a broadcast last week. "I'm gonna let my hopes up in real fear of them getting let down. I'm starting to get excited about Roki Sasaki being a Yankee."

Again: L.A. and San Diego are the favorites here for a reason, and we still aren't sure that Sasaki even wants to pitch on the East Coast. But he also could've announced a decision by now if he'd made up his mind, and the Yankees do have a compelling pitch to offer him, from a consistent track record of success to a history of Japanese stars and one of the better pitching development systems in the league under coach Matt Blake. Who knows whether that will be enough in the end, but right now, no news is good news for New York.

Yankees news: New York will do anything to get rid of Marcus Stroman

Now for some not-so-good news: As the team buts up against the final luxury tax threshold — a threshold Hal Steinbrenner has consistently refused to cross — it seems like the path to making another meaningful roster upgrade involves shedding some salary. Marcus Stroman is the perfect candidate, finding himself outside the team's projected starting rotation right now despite being slated to make $18 million in 2025.

But there's just one problem: No one really seems interested in acquiring Stroman, not even as a salary dump. And the lack of a market has New York getting desperate, so desperate in fact that they're reportedly willing to pay down some of that salary just to get him off their books. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Cashman is telling teams around the league that whichever team would acquire Stroman wouldn't be responsible for the full $18 million.

Which is all well and good, but doesn't make finding a landing spot all that much easier. Stroman's contract also has a player option for 2026, meaning that any team would be on the hook not just for one season but two. The righty is an average-at-best pitcher at this point in his career, and there are just too many other veteran options still on the market right now to convince any team to take on that sort of commitment.

Yankees news: Mark Leiter Jr. the lone source of arbitration drama

For the most part, the Yankees avoided any arbitration drama ahead of last week's deadline, reaching a contract agreement for 2025 with four of the five players who were eligible — including closer Devin Williams ($8.6 million), infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. ($5.85 million), righty Clarke Schmidt ($3.6 million) and reliever Scott Effross ($800,000). The one exception? Polarizing reliever Mark Leiter Jr., who filed some $500,000 above where the Yankees did ($2.5 million vs. $2.05 million, per the New York Post).

Acquired at last year's trade deadline from the Chicago Cubs, Leiter Jr. initially looked like a bust, pitching to a 4.98 ERA down the stretch of the regular season and getting booted from Aaron Boone's circle of trust. But a turbulent postseason thrust him back into the spotlight out of necessity, and he took full advantage of the second chance, posting a 1.69 ERA and allowing just one run in six appearances. New York hasn't taken a player to arbitration since Dellin Betances way back in 2017, so the odds are still good that player and team will come to an agreement before it's time to go to a hearing.