When the calendar flips to 2024, suddenly there are only six weeks left before pitchers and catchers can participate in spring training.
The Yankees still have some work to do before then.
An offseason that started on a high note with the Juan Soto trade remains unfinished nearly a month later. The move increased the pressure to be at full strength in 2024, but it now guarantees Soto to be in the lineup in case the 82-80 season didn't already deliver enough. It's only one season, but it also meant losing a member of the team. Starting rotation (Michael King) and three starting depth options (Randy Vasquez, Johnny Brito, Drew Thorpe).
The next simple move was to sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The Yankees put together a strong play to acquire him, but lost to the Dodgers.
Next, they have to decide on the next best option to fill the hole in the rotation, which is much less clear-cut.
It was only a year ago that the Yankees did the heavy lifting by re-signing Aaron Judge and acquiring Carlos Rodon at the beginning of the winter. After that, there were no further significant movements in January.
This time, after acquiring Soto, Alex Verdugo, and reliever Victor Gonzalez in a trade, they'll have to continue adding in the new year unless they want to take a chance on Will Warren or Clayton Beater becoming the fifth starter. It won't happen.
Here's what still needs to be done before the Yankees arrive in Tampa.
Fill the rotation hole and add
The rest of the free agent pitching market is currently led by Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.
Scott Boras represents both left-handed pitchers, and while there are still many teams looking for starting pitchers, he may be able to take his time and make a bid.
Montgomery appears to make more sense for the Yankees than Snell, but the former Yankee is expected to use Rodon's six-year, $162 million contract as compensation.
Montgomery's consistency and stability will be valuable to the Yankees as they look to add to a rotation with many question marks behind Gerrit Cole.
In addition to Snell and Montgomery, there is Japanese left-hander Shota Imanaga, but the free agent market looks bleak from there.
There's a good chance the Yankees acquire Fryer with another potential bounce back arm for depth, but they need some certainty in the rotation first.
The Yankees could also look at the pitcher trade market, with potential candidates including Dylan Cease, Corbin Burnes, and Shane Bieber.
However, acquiring Ceas, who has two years of team control remaining before he becomes a free agent (Burns and Bieber each have one year each), would likely come at a high price, and the White Sox The signing was made to get the most bang for the buck for the right-hander, who may wait until the top starters are available in free agency.
The Yankees already acquired Soto and Verdugo from farm deals this offseason. If they stop, will they have the stomach (or even the ability) to wear out even more?
Help in the bullpen?
Perhaps the Yankees could be on the bench (as currently configured, it would consist of Austin Wells or Jose Trevino, Trent Grisham, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Oswaldo Peraza) and the bullpen. . But adding some relief help can't hurt, especially if you can't secure a high-end option to fill out the rotation.
Some argue that the Yankees don't need to pay a lot of money to relievers because they have been able to find unprecedented bullpen arms and develop them into useful personnel.
And adding Gonzalez via trade from the Dodgers filled a need for a left-handed reliever in Wandy Peralta, who is still a free agent.
But further strengthening the bullpen could lead to shorter games if starting pitchers aren't up to the task.
Right now, the last two spots in the bullpen are likely to be Ron Marinacio, Cody Morris, and Nick Ramirez, so there's room to move up a bit.
Finalize coaching staff
The two biggest changes to the Yankees' staff next season are bench coach Brad Ausmus and hitting coach James Rowson.
Manager Aaron Boone said during last month's winter meetings that assistant hitting coach Casey Dykes would return to Lawson, but the Yankees were still considering a second assistant.
