We’re now less than a week away from Opening Day, meaning its time for teams around the league to start making some tough roster decisions.
To say that this hasn’t been the spring that the New York Yankees and their fans had in mind would be an understatement, with ace Gerrit Cole (Tommy John, out for the year), reigning AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil (shoulder, out for months) and slugger Giancarlo Stanton (tennis elbow in both elbows, somehow, out until the next decade for all we know) all going down with injury. Oh, and we haven’t even mentioned DJ LeMahieu’s calf strain or Clarke Schmidt’s shoulder fatigue.
But while New York may be the walking wounded, there’s still plenty of talent on this team, and the American League should once again be there for the taking in 2025. Amid all the doom and gloom have been some genuinely positive developments, ones that have forced Aaron Boone’s hand when it comes to planning his everyday lineup to start the year. As Boone and Brian Cashman get down to brass tacks, here’s how things are shaping up.
Projected New York Yankees lineup vs. right-handed pitching
On Friday afternoon, first baseman Dom Smith chose to opt out of his deal with New York, more or less official confirmation that the veteran had fallen behind the red-hot Ben Rice in the battle to be Stanton’s replacement at DH. Then, YES Network reporter Jack Curry revealed that Boone was circling two very interesting names to lead off for the team in 2025: catcher Austin Wells against righties, and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt against lefties.
With those notes in mind, here’s how New York could look on Opening Day against the Milwaukee Brewers.
| Order | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Austin Wells | C |
| 2. | Aaron Judge | RF |
| 3. | Cody Bellinger | CF |
| 4. | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B |
| 5. | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | 2B |
| 6. | Jasson Dominguez | LF |
| 7. | Ben Rice | DH |
| 8. | Anthony Volpe | SS |
| 9. | Oswaldo Cabrera | 3B |
It seems clear at this point that Cabrera will be the team’s answer at third base, at least against righties, and at least until LeMahieu returns from the IL. He’s nothing to write home about, but he’s shown a little bit of pop and a lot of versatility over the course of his time with the Yankees; now, it’s about finding a righty partner to platoon with him (more on that in a moment).
Wells leading off locks everything else into place, allowing Boone to alternate lefties and righties on down the lineup. If Bellinger and Chisholm Jr. can continue to grow in their first full seasons with the team, Volpe and Rice build on their scorching springs and Dominguez can fulfill his prospect promise, this has the potential to still be a very dangerous lineup. Of course, that’s a lot of ifs, and the picture isn’t quite so rosy against lefties.
Projected New York Yankees lineup vs. left-handed pitching
| Order | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Paul Goldschmidt | 1B |
| 2. | Cody Bellinger | CF |
| 3. | Aaron Judge | RF |
| 4. | Jazz Chisholm Jr. | 2B |
| 5. | Jasson Dominguez | LF |
| 6. | Austin Wells | C |
| 7. | Anthony Volpe | SS |
| 8. | Pablo Reyes | DH |
| 9. | Oswald Peraza | 3B |
Yikes. There are just so, so many lefties on this Yankees roster as currently constructed, the obvious reason why Brian Cashman is so hell-bent on adding a righty bat ahead of Opening Day. Injuries to LeMahieu and Stanton have only exacerbated what was a preexisting problem. Goldschmidt makes a ton of sense as a leadoff option against lefties, and Bellinger handles southpaws well enough, but things fall off a cliff in the bottom half of the order.
Reyes would seem to be a fit for the fourth bench spot, with Peraza making the team as a fifth infielder and platoon partner for Cabrera at third. But with so many lefties, and Dominguez being far better from the left side, New York has its work cut out for it here.
