It has been 113 days since the 2024 Major League Baseball season concluded inside Yankee Stadium and it would be an understatement to say a lot has changed inside of the Yankees clubhouse since then. A season that ended in abject disappointment with the Yankees’ performance in the World Series has led to an offseason of transformation, highlighted by major roster shake-ups, and a renewed sense of urgency in the Bronx. Aaron Boone returns for season number eight as manager and as all pitchers, catchers, and position players have reported to Tampa, all eyes focus on the Yankees to respond as they begin their quest for redemption in Spring Training.
The best place to start (no pun intended) when discussing this 2025 team is the starting rotation. The Yankees will return five of six regulars from last year’s staff, headlined by ace Gerrit Cole.
Cole remains the bell cow of this rotation, on a restructured contract and looking for a full season of health after his first major injury setback with New York. The 34-year old and 2023 AL Cy Young winner looks to hold down the top of the rotation once again and reclaim his title as the best starter in not only the American League, but all of baseball.
Carlos Rodón enters his second full season in pinstripes after an up-and-down 2024 campaign. There were concerns going into last year and restless fans waiting for a full year from Carlos-for the most part, he delivered. Rodón started the season on a mission, posting a 3.09 ERA through the first three months of the year, but saw his numbers balloon in June after rough outings against the Braves (7 ER) and Blue Jays (8 ER). Despite finishing with nearly 200 strikeouts over 32 starts, Rodón surrendered a career-worst 31 home runs, which tied him for the second-highest mark in Major League Baseball. Still, many fans view his season overall as a success in light of his struggles of 2023. Entering his age-32 season, Rodón will be a big name to watch in 2025.
Another key returner is Luis Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year. Almost two years removed from Tommy John surgery, Gil went to Spring Training in February of 2024 on a mission and ended up seizing an opportunity after Gerrit Cole was sidelined indefinitely with elbow inflammation. Gil made the most of it, and dominated the league with a 2.03 ERA through mid-June, backed by a blazing fastball and a deadly slider. While some control issues led to second-half struggles, Gil still managed a 3.50 ERA mark and there’s widespread belief that Gil will be a long-term workhorse in the Yankees’ rotation.
Clarke Schmidt enters his third full season in the Yankees’ rotation after a strong but injury-shortened 2024. Over 16 starts, he posted a 2.85 ERA, which was a drastic improvement from his 4.64 mark in 2023. This resurgence and postseason steadiness ended up solidifying his place in the staff.
Marcus Stroman’s role remains uncertain. The 33-year-old struggled in 2024, eventually moving to the bullpen late in the season and was left off the Yankees’ postseason roster, never appearing in any round of the playoffs. While Stroman has expressed his desire to remain a starter, it appears he now finds himself the odd-man-out in a deep rotation.
The Yankees made a splash and were able to solidify their rotation in a big way in December by signing former Atlanta Brave Max Fried to a record-breaking 8-year, $218,000,000 contract, the largest ever for a left-handed pitcher. Fried owns the lowest qualified ERA among starters since 2022, and brings with him both dominance and durability. The Yankees believe he has “room to evolve,” hinting at pitching coach Matt Blake’s ability to refine his game. Fried is projected to slot behind Cole in the rotation, giving the Yankees a formidable one-two punch. This move led to the departure of Nestor Cortes in a trade to bolster the Yankees bullpen. It likely isn’t wrong to assume that lefty Cortes was the odd-one-out (behind Stroman), and the Yankees had to capitalize on his value after a sour end to his tenure in 2024.
With that being said, here is how the current group is projected to perform by ZiPS (Fangraphs):
- RHP Gerrit Cole: 143.1 IP, 9-7, 3.64 ERA, 150 Ks, 2.4 WAR
- LHP Max Fried: 162.2 IP, 12-8, 3.43 ERA, 147 Ks, 3.1 WAR
- LHP Carlos Rodón: 151.1 IP, 11-10, 4.04 ERA, 166 Ks, 1.9 WAR
- RHP Luis Gil: 132.2 IP, 9-9, 4.14 ERA, 150 Ks, 1.5 WAR
- RHP Clarke Schmidt: 106 IP, 6-6, 3.91 ERA, 108 Ks, 1.5 WAR
- RHP Marcus Stroman: 137 IP, 8-9, 4.34 ERA, 101 Ks, 1.3 WAR
It is also worth noting that if any injuries were to arise, the Yankees have plenty of depth as a backup plan-names to look for are RHPs Will Warren (2024 #5 Prospect), JT Brubaker, and Clayton Beeter (2024 #19 Prospect). Also this spring, some non-roster invitees to note along with the proven starters this spring are RHP Carlos Carrasco, RHP Allan Winans, and RHP Sean Boyle. With a mix of proven veterans, emerging stars, and the high-profile addition of Fried, the Yankees’ rotation enters 2025 with plenty of talent and not much uncertainty. If health and consistency align with this group, they have the potential to be the best in baseball.
Like most teams, the 2024 New York Yankees won and lost with their bullpen. A team’s bullpen tends to be an x-factor for their season, and that could not have been more true in the case of the Yanks. New York sent out 24 different relievers in the 2024 season, and the combination in Aaron Boone’s pen seemed to change every day. A dominant group at times, they couldn’t escape inconsistency, highlighted by the rollercoaster ride that was Clay Holmes. Holmes, despite being named to his second career All-Star team, blew a staggering 13 saves during the regular season. While he was able to redeem himself for the most part in the postseason, Holmes departed across town for the Mets this offseason.
Some other notable names that will not return in the Yankees bullpen:
- RHP Tommy Kahnle (Signed with Tigers)
- RHP Cody Poteet (Traded to Cubs)
- LHP Tim Mayza (Signed with Pirates)
While those names aren’t make-or-break for the Yankees, it seemed like anyone who took that ball in the bullpen had a chance to succeed under mastermind pitching coach Matt Blake. Yes, there were some subtractions, but also, major additions were made by the Yanks to offset this change.
The Yankees acquired Milwaukee Brewers star closer Devin Williams in December. Williams, nicknamed “The Airbender” (to pay homage to his alien changeup which headlines his pitching arsenal) will likely assume the closer job despite the down-the-stretch heroics by Luke Weaver. Williams boasts a whopping career 14.3 strikeouts per 9, along with a 232 ERA+ (where 100 is average). Because of his injury history and some major postseason struggles, Williams’ addition can be categorized as another high-risk, high-reward move.
Some other notable moves surrounding the bullpen:
- Re-signing RHP Jonathan Loáisiga (career 3.44 ERA)
- Re-signing LHP Tim Hill (pitched to a 2.05 ERA in the regular season with NYY, 1.08 in the postseason)
- Acquiring RHP Fernando Cruz via trade (career 13.9 K/9),
- Recently signing veteran LHP Tyler Matzek to a minor league deal (career 1.48 postseason ERA).
The Yankees will return some crucial arms from their 2024 squad along with Loáisiga and Hill, most notably Luke Weaver, who will likely be either the primary middle inning reliever or set-up man for Devin Williams. An underrated pitcher the Yankees are getting back is Jake Cousins, who took major strides with the Yanks posting a 2.37 ERA, with league best whiff and strikeout percentages. They also return Mark Leiter Jr., who is an interesting guy to break down. Leiter Jr. was acquired at the 2024 trade deadline in a deal with the Chicago Cubs, and his Yankees-half of 2024 was very clearly much more lackluster compared to his Cubs-half. After some postseason heroics–especially working out of trouble in the 7th and 8th innings of ALCS Game 4–Mark Leiter looks to reclaim some of that Cubs charisma with the help of Matt Blake. The last two guys projected for the big-league bullpen are RHP Ian Hamilton, and side-winding RHP Scott Effross. When you look at what this bullpen is going to look like, you see a lot of seasoned veterans that can pitch in high leverage, and Aaron Boone is going to feel very comfortable taking the ball from his starter if this group can click.
This group in it’s entirety projects as follows:
- RHP Luke Weaver: 83.2 IP, 4.09 ERA, 89 Ks, 0.7 WAR
- RHP Devin Williams: 44.1 IP, 2.64 ERA, 61 Ks, 0.8 WAR
- RHP Fernando Cruz: 57.1 IP, 3.14 ERA, 80 Ks, 1.0 WAR
- RHP Jonathan Loáisiga*: 47.1 IP, 3.23 ERA, 39 Ks, 0.7 WAR
- RHP Ian Hamilton: 47.2 IP, 3.40 ERA, 54 Ks, 0.6 WAR
- RHP Mark Leiter Jr.: 62.1 IP, 4.19 ERA, 74 Ks, 0.4 WAR
- RHP Jake Cousins: 45 IP, 4.00 ERA, 56 Ks, 0.2 WAR
- LHP Tim Hill: 52 IP, 4.33 ERA, 28 Ks, 0.0 WAR
- RHP Scott Effross: 40.2 IP, 3.76 ERA, 34 Ks, 0.3 WAR
- LHP Tyler Matzek: 38.1 IP, 3.99 ERA, 35 Ks, 0.0 WAR
*Returning from Injury, “hopes to make his season debut around late May or early June” – New York Daily News Reports
With a bolstered rotation, a revamped bullpen, and a renewed sense of urgency, the Yankees enter 2025 with championship aspirations and the pieces in place to make a deep run. With baseball officially being played tomorrow at George Steinbrenner Field, now, it’s up to the players to execute and turn their offseason transformation into October glory.
The Yankee Office 
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