New York Yankees 2018 Roster Prediction Roundtable

What players will the New York Yankees chase in the offseason? What will be the package/contract that they will be traded for/sign?

The Yankees are a very young team, but of course, there will be players who they chase in the offseason. One of these players is “The Japanese Babe Ruth” Shohei Ohtani, who will be at the top of their list. Ohtani is a player who can pitch into the seventh inning and on the days he’s not pitching, he can hit home runs farther than Aaron Judge in the Home Run Derby as the DH.

Another player the Yankees may try to target in the offseason is Marcus Stroman. Stroman is one of the better pitchers in the league, but his prime is being wasted with a Blue Jays team which is only getting worse by the day.

The Blue Jays are about to undergo a rebuilding period when they lose Jose Bautista in the offseason and they lost Edwin Encarnacion last year. If the Yankees do end up getting Stroman it will be for a few prospects. A possible package for Stroman might look something like Clarke Schmidt, Estevan Florial, and another prospect of smaller value. These are all prospects who the Yankees could possibly give up in order to bolster their starting pitching staff.

Which prospects will make the team next year?

I think, for the most part, the Yankees will stick with what they have and they will have no need to call anyone up. But if I had to pick a few to make the team they would be starting pitchers and I would have to go with Justus Sheffield as the top player to come up. With Double-A Trenton, Sheffield was 7-6 this season with a 3.18 ERA and he is a lefty. If the Yankees do decide to call up Sheffield, it would be at the expense of Jaime Garcia.

And finally, what is your 25-man roster for next season? Take into account the free agents you sign and re-sign and players you trade/trade for.

Pitchers (12): Dellin Betances, Marcus Stroman, Shohei Ohtani, Sonny Gray, Chad Green, Tommy Kahnle, Jordan Montgomery, David Robertson, CC Sabathia, Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, Adam Warren

Infielders (8): Greg Bird, Starlin Castro, Todd Frazier, Didi Gregorius, Chase Headley, Ronald Torreyes, Gary Sanchez, Austin Romine

Outfielders (4): Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner, Aaron Hicks, Aaron Judge

Designated Hitter (1): Matt Holliday

Predictions from Matthew Travis