Re-Grading the Yankees' Major 2024 Offseason Moves After Halfway Point

Signing Luke Weaver: A

The most underrated Yankees move of the offseason saw them adding reliever Luke Weaver with little fanfare. Weaver was coming off a couple of disappointing seasons with an ERA over 6.00 in three of the last four years. Cashman was impressed with Weaver’s short stint on the Yankees last year having a bigger impact than any other team before or after.

Weaver is a huge reason why the bullpen had a great start to the season and is still viewed as a strength after half the games. An impressive 2.62 ERA sees Aaron Boone trusting Weaver as much as any relief pitcher, outside of closer Clay Holmes. Weaver bailed the Yankees out of many jams and is a huge reason why fans don’t miss Weissert after the Verdugo trade.

The deal looks even better since Cashman added a team option for the Yankees to keep Weaver for another season if he finishes this one strong. Ten holds and zero blown saves is as good as it gets for a middle reliever this deep into the season. Weaver has a chance to make New York his new home for the rest of his career.

Smaller Moves

The Yankees made a few other smaller moves that didn’t have an immediate impact in the way those other deals did. Most involved role players barely matter in the bigger picture or are young prospects who won’t have their future decided for a few seasons. Each of the smaller moves will have a quick grade with minimal insight:

Trading Estevan Florial for Cody Morris looks like a C+ neutral trade due to Florial putting up awful numbers for Cleveland, and Morris not making the major league team roster yet.

Signing Cody Poteet gets a B for his impressive 2.14 ERA, but it’s hard to give a higher grade to the team’s seventh most important starting pitcher who has only pitched four times replacing injured players.

Trading for Victor Gonzalez and Caleb Ferguson gets an F as both relievers have struggled coming over from the Dodgers. The Yankees have already cut bait with Gonzalez after his disappointing appearances out of the bullpen, and Ferguson has an even worse 5.47 ERA.  

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