2018 New York Yankees roster if they don’t make another move
By Sean Dyer
The big move expected of the New York Yankees this offseason was signing Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani. Now that that isn’t happening, the Yankees have to find their next move. But what if they didn’t make another move this offseason?
After Shohei Ohtani rejected the New York Yankees, the Bronx Bombers are seemingly left without a big offseason move. But maybe that’s okay. After all, the Yankees have a fairly complete major league roster, a loaded farm system to help fill some of the holes, and plans to get under the $197 million luxury tax threshold.
New York will assuredly make a few lower-profile moves before the offseason is over to fill out the roster but what if they kept the team as is? What would the 2018 New York Yankees roster look like if the team didn’t make another move this offseason?
Catcher – Gary Sanchez
No surprise here. Despite his defensive struggles, Gary Sanchez is the present and future behind the plate for the New York Yankees. Sanchez hit 33 homers and drove in 90 runs in 2017 even though he was limited to just 122 games with a bicep injury.
Sanchez is also a pre-arbitration player and will make around the league minimum of $545,000 in 2018.
First Base – Greg Bird
Yankee fans have been waiting for a full season of Greg Bird and hopefully, 2018 is the year they get it. Brian Cashman stuck by Bird in 2017, choosing not to trade for a first baseman at the deadline and believing his former top prospect would get healthy.
Bird rewarded Cashman for his faith, posting a .938 OPS in the postseason. Through just 94 career games, Bird already has 20 home runs and 59 RBI. If he can stay healthy for a full season, Bird could be a serious power threat.
Another pre-arbitration player, Bird will also make around $545,000 in 2018.
Second Base – Starlin Castro
Starlin Castro was on pace for a career year before a nagging hamstring injury shortened his 2017 season to just 112 games. The injury first sent him to the disabled list just before the All-Star break. Castro finished the first half of the season hitting .313 with 12 home runs and 45 RBI, good enough to earn a spot on the AL All-Star team.
His hamstring would send Castro back to the DL in late July but overall, Castro hit .300 on the season with 16 homers and 63 RBI. Castro has found his power stroke in New York and should get back to being a solid middle-of-the-order bat if he’s healthy in 2018.
Castro will count for just under $11 million in year six of a seven-year/$60 million deal next season.
Shortstop – Didi Gregorius
Didi Gregorius has improved every year as a Yankee and if he continues to do so, he may soon make fans forget about that Derek Jeter guy.
Gregorius broke Jeter’s franchise record for most home runs in a season by a shortstop when he knocked 25 out of the park in 2017. That also set a new career-high for Didi which he had set in 2016 when he hit 20 homers.
Gregorius also set career-highs in batting average (.287), slugging percentage (.478), OPS (.796), runs scored (73), and RBI (87). This was after missing the first month of the season with a shoulder injury.
What Didi missed in the beginning of the season, he made up for at the end. Gregorius was a postseason hero, hitting three clutch homers and driving in seven runs.
Didi is a superstar in the making and is projected to make just $9 million in 2018 as an arbitration-eligible player.
Third Base – Chase Headley
If the New York Yankees don’t make another move, they’ll have to put Chase Headley’s $13 million salary to good use. And quite honestly, they could do much worse at third base.
Chase Headley finished the year hitting .273/.352/.406 while adding 12 home runs and 61 RBI.
Headley seems to have one awful month each season and it gets stuck in fans’ memories. In 2017, it was May when he hit .165. Every other month, he hit at least .267 and hit over .295 in April, June, and July. After the All-Star break, Headley hit .300 with eight of his 12 home runs.
If Headley can avoid his typical awful month, he could be a solid bottom-of-the-order bat in 2018.
Left Field – Brett Gardner
At 34 years old, Brett Gardner found his power stroke in 2017, setting a career-high with 21 home runs. Along with added power, Gardy’s age did not take away from his speed. Gardner stole 23 bases last year, his most since 2013.
Gardner still provides Gold Glove-caliber defense in left field and invaluable veteran leadership to a young Yankee team.
One could argue that Gardner’s $11.5 million salary is very tradable considering what he brings to the table but again, this is the Yankees roster without making any more moves. Even if they could make a trade, Gardner isn’t going anywhere. The Yankees need his leadership, especially with CC Sabathia and Matt Holliday still on the free agent market.
Gardy’s on-base skills are perfect for the Yankees leadoff spot and he’s a fan favorite. The longest-tenured Yankee will once again play a key role in his 11th season in the Bronx.
Center Field – Aaron Hicks
Aaron Hicks had a breakout 2017 campaign. Hicks set career-highs in average (.266), on-base percentage (.372), slugging percentage (.475), OPS (.847), doubles (18), home runs (15), RBI (52), runs scored (54) and walks (51). All of this while right and left oblique strains limited Hicks to just 88 games.
Hicks certainly started hotter than he finished (.290 BA pre-All-Star break, .218 BA post-All-Star break) and he will have to prove that those struggles and oblique injuries are behind him.
Even when he struggled at the plate, however, Hicks was fantastic in the field. He has great range and a cannon for an arm.
Best case scenario for 2018, Hicks is getting on base at his .398 pre-All-Star break clip and can hit in the two-hole for the Yankees. Worst case scenario, Hicks hits seventh, plays great defense, and delivers clutch hits.
In either scenario, Hicks is a bargain at a projected $2.9 million as an arbitration-eligible player.
Right Field – Aaron Judge
Obviously, the New York Yankees are not in need of a right fielder. AL Rookie of the Year and face of the franchise Aaron Judge will be defending the short porch of Yankee Stadium in 2018.
Judge’s decorated rookie campaign included hitting .284/.422/.627 with a rookie-record 52 home runs, 114 RBI, and 128 runs scored.
Judge is a star and if he can put together an offensive season anywhere near his 2017 results, he’ll become a superstar. Judge also plays above average defense, showing excellent range for a man his size and a great arm. Plus, he’s not afraid of the wall.
As if Judge wasn’t already the Yankees most valuable player, he will make around the league minimum of $545,000 as a pre-arbitration player in 2018.
Designated Hitter – Miguel Andujar/Jacoby Ellsbury/Clint Frazier
If the roster stays as is, one of these three will likely be the Opening Day DH.
Miguel Andujar can hit and has proven so at the major league level. After hitting .315 with 16 HR and 82 RBI between Double-A and Triple-A in 2017, Andujar also went 3-4 with four RBI in his major league debut. He was sent back down to the minors to work on his defense at third base but if he is the DH, he can focus on his offensive strength. He’d also make just $545,000.
Jacoby Ellsbury hit .264 with 31 extra-base hits and 22 stolen bases. Ellsbury finished the year strong, hitting .337 in September but then went 0-for-9 in the postseason. The Yankees would likely prefer to trade Ellsbury’s contract but when they end up stuck with it, they could use him as their DH. Ellsbury will make just over $21 million in 2018.
Clint Frazier hit just .231 in his rookie season, but when you consider that 17 of his 31 hits went for extra-bases, you realize that he can be a special player. If Frazier is given a full season of at-bats as the Yankees DH, his electric bat speed could produce 20+ home runs. He’d also provide the Yankees with that power for just $545,000.
Whichever two players aren’t named starting DH could join Austin Romine ($1.2 million) and Ronald Torreyes ($545,000) as bench players.
Starting Rotation – Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Sonny Gray, Jordan Montgomery, and Chance Adams
The Yankees 2018 starting rotation has four starters returning from 2017.
Luis Severino proved himself to be a legitimate ace last season, finishing third in the AL Cy Young voting. He went 14-6 with a 2.98 ERA and 230 strikeouts. Sevy will provide extra value by making around the league minimum in 2018.
Masahiro Tanaka opted into the final three years of his contract. Tanaka had an uneven 2017 season but finished strong and was dominant in the postseason with a 0.90 ERA in three starts. After opting in, Tanaka will make $22 million in 2018.
A full season of Sonny Gray should benefit the Yankees. Gray was solid, posting a 3.72 ERA in 11 starts after coming to the Bronx at the trade deadline. Gray is projected to make $6.6 million as an arbitration-eligible player.
Jordan Montgomery had a better than expected rookie season after coming out of nowhere to win the final starting spot in spring training. Montgomery went 9-7 with a 3.88 ERA. Monty will make around $545,000 next year.
The rookie to take the fifth starting spot in 2018? Top pitching prospect Chance Adams.
In 2016, Adams went 13-1 with a 2.33 ERA between High-A and Double-A. In 2017, Adams went 15-5 with a 2.45 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A. He’s ready to take on the MLB in 2018.
Shohei Ohtani turned the New York Yankees down and CC Sabathia remains unsigned, but the Yankees may have an even better in-house option for their final starting spot in Chance Adams. He’ll also cost New York just $545,000.
Bullpen – Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Chad Green, Adam Warren, and Chasen Shreve
The New York Yankees had one of the best bullpens in all of baseball last season and return all of their big arms.
Aroldis Chapman hit a rough patch in August of 2017 but finished the season with 12 shutout innings in September and allowed just one run over eight postseason innings. He should improve in 2018 and the Yankees better hope so as Chapman will make $20 million next season.
Dellin Betances struggled even more than Chapman, posting a 5.59 ERA in September. Unfortunately, Betances never bounced back and looked lost in the playoffs. Betances needs to improve mechanically but if he does, he should go back to being a dominant late-inning reliever. Betances will try to avoid another arbitration fiasco as he’s projected to make $4.4 million in 2018.
The Yankees will get full seasons from David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle after acquiring both from the White Sox at the trade deadline last year. Robertson had a 1.03 ERA over 35 innings with New York and Kahnle had a 2.70 ERA over 26.2 innings. D-Rob will make $13 million and Kahnle is projected to make $1.3 million.
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Entering spring training as a starter, Chad Green will likely end up back in the bullpen. Green found his niche as a reliever, posting a 1.83 ERA and 103 strikeouts in just 69 innings in 2017. Green will make somewhere around the league minimum of $545,000 in 2018.
Adam Warren is used to entering the year as a starter and returning to the bullpen. He’s had the most success as a reliever and he had his best season in 2017 with a 2.35 ERA. Chasen Shreve is the only lefty in New York’s bullpen aside from Chapman which will help him win the final relief spot. Warren and Shreve are both arbitration eligible with the former projected to make $3.1 million and the latter projected to make $900,000.
The Yankees’ only other expense would be paying Brian McCann the final $5.5 million of his deal after he was traded to the Astros.
Next: Shohei Ohtani rejection makes CC Sabathia offseason priority
If the New York Yankees didn’t make another move this offseason, they could still put a World Series contending team on the field for around $152 million.
An opportunity to get under the $197 million luxury tax threshold, while fielding an exciting, winning ball club, without having to lift another finger? Sounds like a pretty good rest of the offseason for Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees.