Re-signing Juan Soto was initially their Plan A when it came to free agency acquisitions. But they wasted no time in pivoting to Plan B once Soto announced that he would be signing with the New York Mets instead.
In the two weeks after Soto’s decision, the Yankees signed former Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried to the largest contract a left-handed pitcher has received in MLB history, traded for elite closer Devin Williams, traded for former Chicago Cubs slugger Cody Bellinger, and signed 2022 NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt to fill their void at first base.
In addition to that, New York added former Reds reliever Fernando Cruz and re-signed Jonathan Loáisiga.
Despite these seismic moves, the Yankees still have some holes in their roster that will likely need addressing before Spring Training.
This is why it’s arguably unfair to grade the Yankees’ offseason acquisitions right now. But that didn’t stop MLB Network from making an X post on January 3 that wrote, “How would you grade the Yankees offseason to this point?”
Fans have differing answers to this question.
“C-
“Lost their best player, generational overpay for Fried. Williams and Bellinger were decent values,” one fan wrote.
Another added, “B+
“Add another bat it moves up”.
A third fan alluded to the fact that their offseason acquisitions might not be over by writing, “If they make no more moves? D.”
Regardless of how Yankees fans feel this offseason has panned out thus far, they’ve got to at least feel thankful that their team didn’t sit idle licking their wounds after Juan Soto decided to play for New York’s other team.