The Yankees’ season came to a bitter end on Wednesday, as the Dodgers won the World Series in five games following a 7-6, Game 5 victory in the Bronx.
As a quiet stadium watched in agony, the Yankees returned to their clubhouse. Now an offseason full of questions awaits.
Prior to Game 4 on Tuesday, Aaron Boone said that he had yet to discuss his future with the Yankees. However, they didn’t replace their most recognizable shot-callers after the team failed to make the playoffs in 2023, so it’s hard to imagine Boone will be dismissed after the franchise’s first trip to the World Series since 2009.
“I’m certainly happy to have him as our manager,” Brian Cashman said of Boone during the ALDS.
Cashman is under contract through the 2026 season, while the Yankees have a club option on Boone.
With those two expected to stay put, let’s look at some of the more uncertain questions the Yankees will have to answer this offseason.
Will Juan Soto stay?
This question has hung over the Yankees’ heads ever since they acquired Soto from the Padres last December.
Cashman pulled the trigger on that blockbuster knowing that Soto could be a one-year rental and that he was poised to ink a monstrous deal in free agency. Only 26 years old, Soto is expected to sign for more than $500 million this offseason.
Will the Yankees be the ones to land his signature? Time will tell, as the Mets are also expected to enter the sweepstakes. Other suitors could include the Nationals – Soto’s original team – and Blue Jays. There’s also been mixed reports over whether the Dodgers will get involved.
Soto seemed to enjoy life as a Yankee in 2024. He clicked with fans, fit into the clubhouse, and had one of his best seasons while hitting in front of Aaron Judge. However, Scott Boras clients are often seen as top-dollar chasers, and Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has shown that he has limits.
“Every player wants to be happy where they are, but at the end of the day, whenever you win, you’re really gonna be happy,” Soto said before the World Series began. “So wherever you are that you have a chance to win a baseball game or a championship, I think you’re gonna be happy and you’re gonna be excited to play.”
Are any other potential free agents worth keeping?
Several other Yankees are or could be heading for free agency. That group includes Gleyber Torres, Clay Holmes, Alex Verdugo and Anthony Rizzo, though Rizzo has a $17 million team option.
All four players had disappointing regular seasons, and Torres, Holmes and Verdugo were often targets for fans as they struggled. Rizzo, meanwhile, is past his prime after two injury-plagued campaigns, but he’s also a leader in the Yankees’ clubhouse and tight with Judge.
“I love playing here,” Rizzo said before Game 4. “I love being a Yankee. I love what comes with it. I love the standard that has been set here from all the generations, the great Yankees in the past. Yeah, this could very well be it. I’m a realist. I’m not naive to it.”
Of the players mentioned here, Rizzo probably has the best chance of returning, though all have said they’d like to come back.
What will the payroll look like?
Steinbrenner has said that having a $300 million payroll is “simply not sustainable” for the Yankees. That point can be argued, but the owner seems intent on trimming his budget this offseason.
Perhaps the Yankees’ World Series shortcomings force a recalculation, but keeping the payroll down and re-signing Soto will force the Yankees to get creative with the rest of the roster.
It could very well mean supplementing the group with younger, cheaper players, particularly at first base, second base and left field.
How will Judge respond to a winter full of criticism?
Judge heard plenty of criticism throughout the playoffs and World Series, as he endured yet another difficult postseason. Fans were harsh on the presumptive MVP, and the captain even said he felt like he let the Yankees down.
After disappearing when it mattered most — the center fielder hit his first World Series homer in Game 5 — Judge will surely hear more criticism throughout the offseason and even next year. He could put together another monstrous regular season, but fans will wonder what he’ll do when the brightest lights are on.
“I think we all want him to do well because, first and foremost, of who he is to everyone in this organization and in that room,” Boone said. “That’s also the price of playing in the arena and playing high stakes, major league sports. No one’s better to handle it than him.”