On a frigid, late January afternoon, the Yankees’ equipment truck departed from Yankee Stadium, headed due south.
That’s always the first sign of spring.
Next week, pitchers and catchers officially report to Tampa, Fla., and owner Hal Steinbrenner feels this club is better structured than it was last spring training, when Juan Soto arrived at his one – and only – Yankees camp.
Well, it’s time to find out.
Yankees’ newcomers for 2025 season
LHP Max Fried; RHP Devin Williams, Fernando Cruz; OF Cody Bellinger; 1B Paul Goldschmidt; C Alex Jackson.
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Yankees’ notable departures
LHP Nestor Cortes; RHP Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle; OF Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo; IF Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, Jon Berti; C Jose Trevino.
Yankees spring training schedule highlights
Feb. 11: Yankees pitcher and catchers report to spring training.
Feb. 17: Yankees first full squad workout.
Feb. 21: Yankees first exhibition game, 1 p.m., vs. Tampa Bay Rays at Steinbrenner Field.
March 15: Yankees prospects vs. Baltimore Orioles prospects, 6:05 p.m., Sarasota, Fla.
March 25: Yankees’ final exhibition game, 1:10 p.m., vs. Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park.
When do Yankees play against Juan Soto in spring training?
The Yankees and Mets meet one time during spring training. The Yankees travel to Port St. Lucie on March 24 to take on the Mets. There is no guarantee, however, that former Yankee Juan Soto will be playing that day for the Mets.
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Yankees’ projected lineup
- Jasson Dominguez, LF
- Aaron Judge, RF
- Cody Bellinger, CF
- Giancarlo Stanton, DH
- Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B
- Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
- Austin Wells, C
- Anthony Volpe, SS
- Oswaldo Cabrera/DJ LeMahieu, 3B
Spring outlook: Without Soto, it’s a rebuilt lineup around reigning MVP Judge, providing some left-right balance with Bellinger and Goldschmidt.
A full year of Chisholm Jr.’s impact, and continuing advances by Wells and Volpe should help. But much is now expected of Dominguez and there’s no clear-cut leadoff option.
“I think we have a better team right now than we did a year ago today,’’ Steinbrenner told YES Network of the club’s post-Soto pivot, but nothing can ever replace the historic Soto-Judge lineup dynamic.
Yankees’ projected rotation
- Gerrit Cole, RHP
- Max Fried, LHP
- Clarke Schmidt, RHP
- Carlos Rodon, LHP
- Luis Gil, RHP
Spring outlook: Cole’s elbow nerve irritation was a crisis last spring training, delaying his season until mid-June.
Still, the rotation was a strength, and it’s more impressive by the free agent addition of Fried, the $218 million All-Star lefty who also arrives with a recent history of forearm and blister issues.
Rodon had a bounce back 2024, Gil won the Rookie of the Year award and Schmidt made big strides, though Schmidt missed significant time due to a strained lat and Gil’s second half performance was shaky at times.
Yankees spring training theme: Unfinished business
Back in the World Series for the first time in 15 years, the Yankees’ fifth-inning defensive meltdown in Game 5 haunted their winter.
That mess ultimately cost the Yanks a trip back to Los Angeles, and a chance at an epic October comeback after trailing 0-3 in the Series.
The Dodgers celebrated their 2024 championship at Yankee Stadium, and the Yanks lost again in December when the Mets triumphed in the free agent bidding war for Soto.
Three Yankees players to watch
Jasson Dominguez
Unlike previous camps, the switch-hitting Dominguez arrives with distinct big-league expectations.
At age 22, Dominguez is expected to be the Yankees’ regular left fielder, and he might emerge as the team’s best leadoff option.
Moving from center field, Dominguez is charged with learning the nuances of left field, a position where he struggled in last year’s limited MLB play – a delay caused by elbow surgery rehab and an oblique strain.
DJ LeMahieu
The veteran infielder was enjoying a productive 2024 camp until he fouled a ball off his foot, plunging him into another injury-marred season.
At age 36, with two years and $30 million left on his contract, LeMahieu could emerge as the regular third baseman or fill a platoon role.
Manager Aaron Boone feels there’s a place for a healthy LeMahieu on the 2025 club, but LeMahieu first has to prove this spring that he’s ready and capable of being a reliable asset.
Marcus Stroman
This is an awkward spot for the right-hander, currently the No. 6 starter on a five-man staff.
For now, Stroman is an expensive insurance policy against a rotation injury, though the Yankees have been seeking a trade partner to shed his $18 million salary for 2025.
Complicating any potential deal is Stroman’s $18 million option for 2026, which automatically triggers if he pitches 140 innings this season.
Yankees position battles in spring training
Third base: A questionable area has not been addressed this winter.
Outside veteran options such as free agent Alex Bregman and the St. Louis Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado were deemed too expensive or problematic, and ownership has indicated a desire to stay under the final luxury tax threshold.
That creates a wide competition between Oswaldo Cabrera, Oswald Peraza, DJ LeMahieu, and rookie Jorbit Vivas, none of which inspires much optimism entering camp.
Defense will matter here, giving Peraza one advantage, though his prospect status has plummeted as a hitter.
Cabrera has shown flashes of offensive potential from the left side and is a capable defender, while LeMahieu inherently has more going for him – if he can stay healthy.
Boone has floated the possibility of a platoon or switching Jazz Chisholm Jr. from second base if something were to occur in the trade market.
Backup catcher: The trades of Jose Trevino (Reds) and Carlos Narvaez (Red Sox) has created an opening for Austin Wells’ backup.
Acquired in the Trevino deal, former first round pick Alex Jackson, 29, has limited big league experience and a solid defensive reputation, but a .132 career batting average across five seasons.
Lefty hitting JC Escarra, 29, has yet to play in the majors, but he’s coming off a batting title at the just-concluded Dominican Winter League.
Ben Rice made his MLB debut last year filling in for Anthony Rizzo at first base, but the Yanks still view the lefty hitter as a catcher – though he’d benefit more from daily play at the position.
Yankees prospects to watch
Spencer Jones, OF
The 6-foot-6, lefty hitter – who draws the inescapable Aaron Judge comparisons – made a good first impression in Yankees camp last spring.
But it was a rough early season at Class AA Somerset, with the Vanderbilt product ultimately posting a .789 OPS, 17 homers, 78 RBI and 25 steals in 122 games (544 plate appearances).
Jones recently told the YES Network that he’s “in a great spot’’ entering camp, with adjustments to his swing and his workout regimen.
Chase Hampton, RHP
A promising starter, Hampton’s 2024 season was wrecked by a flexor strain, but GM Brian Cashman said the right-hander is healthy entering camp.
Hampton, 23, was the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year in 2023 and earned an invite to Major League camp last spring, but injuries limited him to just 18.2 minor league innings in 2024.
He might begin the year at Class AA, but a summer rebound puts him in play for big league consideration if the need arises.
George Lombard Jr., IF
A first-round Yankees draft pick in 2023, Lombard Jr. made a cameo in last year’s big-league camp – at age 18 – and homered against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The right-handed hitter’s raw talent – including speed, base stealing acumen and a strong infield arm – should be further polished this year at Class A Hudson Valley, and he’s been something of an untouchable in trade discussions.
Aaron Boone’s contract situation
Aaron Boone’s status as a manager without a safety net is about to change.
Recently, Steinbrenner told the YES Network of plans to engage Boone in contract extension talks “sooner than later.’’
Boone operated in 2024 on his last guaranteed contract year. But after the Yanks won their first pennant since 2009, Steinbrenner triggered Boone’s 2025 option.
“I’ve always thought Aaron Boone was a very good manager, and that’s been his reputation in the industry,’’ Steinbrenner said of his skipper since 2018.
