Roles not guaranteed in '25 for these 4 key Yankees

This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

NEW YORK -- There will be a great deal of attention focused this winter on players from the Yankees' roster who are no longer under contract, especially as Juan Soto begins a big-money whirlwind tour through the free-agent market.

Yet as general manager Brian Cashman and manager Aaron Boone begin to tinker with their blueprints for their 2025 roster, they also must consider several players who appear to have uncertain roles moving forward, despite being contributors to the ’24 squad.

Jasson Domínguez, OF

If you were assigning a grade to Domínguez’s 2024 season, the most fair assessment might be "incomplete." The club’s No. 1 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Domínguez started his year late due to recovery from Tommy John surgery, had his Minor League campaign interrupted by an oblique injury, then wasn’t promoted to the big leagues until Sept. 9.

The Yankees said that Domínguez would play regularly once called up, and he did start 15 of the club’s last 19 regular-season games. But Domínguez failed to light it up at the plate (10-for-56, .179) and made a few concerning misplays in the outfield, prompting the Yanks to prioritize run prevention by reinstalling Alex Verdugo as the left fielder throughout the playoffs.

“I continue to be super excited about Jasson’s future,” Boone said. “I’m in that camp of people that think he’s going to be a great big league player. I love his makeup, I love his talent, and so I do expect him to be a big part of things moving forward.

“As a young player, you’re working to earn those things and earn those opportunities, but I fully expect him to be a big part of what we do this coming year. Whether that’s in center [field] or left [field] remains to be seen. It depends how our offseason shakes out.”

DJ LeMahieu, INF

The highlight of LeMahieu’s season came on July 31 in Philadelphia, when he cracked a grand slam as part of a six-RBI performance, driving in all of the Yankees’ runs in a 6-5 win over the Phillies. Coincidentally, it also marked the last home run the ’24 Yankees would receive from a first baseman, which underlines Anthony Rizzo’s production issues as well.

Nevertheless, injuries ruined the rest of LeMahieu’s season, as he did not play after Sept. 3 due to a right hip impingement. That performance dip is not a new development. Since leading the Majors with a .364 batting average during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, LeMahieu has produced a .252/.336/.362 slash line (95 OPS+) across 2,010 plate appearances.

With Jazz Chisholm Jr. potentially moving to second base as a replacement for Gleyber Torres, the Yankees have vacancies at both infield corners, yet neither position is being promised to LeMahieu at this time. Cashman said that he is “certainly hopeful that at some point DJ LeMahieu can play a role for us.”

“The hip became a real issue; he took an injection toward the end and had to have the downtime of recovery,” Cashman said. “He was doing a lot of work to put himself in a position to potentially get back. It didn’t work, but now he’ll have the offseason to get after it.”

Ben Rice, C/1B

It looked like the Yankees might have the makings of a breakout star when Rice homered three times in a rout of the Red Sox on July 6, driving in seven runs, but the rookie’s production dropped precipitously after that point.

The league adjusted to Rice, who batted just .112 (11-for-98) with three homers and 11 RBIs in 32 games before being demoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. When Rizzo was injured late in the season, it earned Rice one more start at first base, but no playing time in the AL Division Series against the Royals before Rizzo’s return.

“He’s a great bat. He’s got some serious slug and on-base percentage there, and we’re really excited about the offensive profile,” Cashman said. “He’s a catcher first. First base was a learning position for him at the Major League level. He’s a possibility, but we’re going to evaluate what presents itself in the marketplace.”

Marcus Stroman, RHP

The Yankees signed Stroman to a two-year, $37 million contract, and the veteran right-hander plugged into the rotation to provide a strong first couple of months, including a win in his debut against the Astros in Houston and then six scoreless innings in the home opener against the Blue Jays.

But Stroman struggled to miss bats beginning in June, and especially during four rough July starts in which opponents batted .342 (26-for-76) with a 1.016 OPS.

By September, Stroman had been moved out of the rotation, accommodating Luis Gil’s return from injury. Though the Yankees rostered him throughout the AL Championship Series and the World Series, Stroman did not appear, relegated to a long-relief role in the event of a lopsided contest.

“He’s someone that helped us this past year, and we certainly have plans for him to help us next year,” Cashman said. “We’re certainly counting on him.”