Recently, the New York Yankees completed a trade with the Boston Red Sox for outfielder, Alex Verdugo. The Yankees needed some left-handed batters and outfielders after their unexpected season, barely going above .500.  Alex Verdugo is an outfielder who bats and throws left. He was a perfect fit for the Yankees, however, they needed more players on the younger side.

This is where Juan Soto comes in. Soto is a left-handed batter who plays left field. Not only that, but he made his debut when he was only nineteen. As of now, Soto is 24 and already hitting around thirty-five home runs a year. He is a great fit for the Yankees. Currently, the Yankees and the Padres are about to finalize a deal to retrieve Juan Soto. “News: Juan Soto trade to the Yankees is now ‘close to being finalized,’ source confirms. If completed, Michael King and Drew Thorpe — along with additional players — will go to San Diego,” said sportswriter, Jon Morosi. The Yankees will be offering many pitchers to the Padres, including Michael King and prospect Drew Thorpe. Considering this trade, this leaves the Yankees with fewer pitchers.

To increase pitching this year, the Yankees hope to sign Japan native, Yoshinobu Yamamoto. After this year, the Yankees were on pace to win 120 games. After horrible outings from Carlos Rodón and Luis Severino, the team needs new people on the mound. Luis Severino was signed by the New York Mets, but we still have Rodón in the lineup. However, the 2023 Cy Young Winner, Gerrit Cole had a solid campaign throughout the 2023 regular season, but he was the only solid pitcher. Clarke Schmidt had on-and-off starts that gave him an 8-8 record. But, to increase the strength of pitching, GM Brian Cashman plans to meet with Yamamoto this upcoming Monday. 

Cody Bellinger has lingered around the talks, but not a lot of leads have come out recently about him coming to the Yanks. Belli has been a Yankee fan since he was young, but the Yankees do not really need him. Yes, he is young, but he is right-handed and we already have so many outfielders. Some positive things about him are that he is a consistent hitter with a .307 batting average 26 home runs and almost 100 RBIs. But, the idea of him wearing pinstripes in the 2024 season has become a cold case.