Where Do Former Top Prospects Stand in the Yankees' 2024 Plans?

Entering 2024 the New York Yankees will have a revamped lineup with the additions of Juan Soto, Alex Verdugo, and Trent Grisham.

The additions were much needed, but they've also created an outfield surplus with Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton also receiving consistent playing time and eventually Jasson Dominguez upon his return.

This creates a massive question around the futures of Oswaldo Cabrera and Everson Pereira, as well as Oswald Peraza with a similar logjam in the infield.

Oswaldo Cabrera - Utility: .211/.275/.574, 5 HRs, and 29 RBIs

The easiest piece to fit into the Yankees 2024 plans is Oswaldo Cabrera due to his versatility in the field playing both infield and outfield.

Cabrera will need to improve at the plate in order to stick around with the team as his career .223 batting average leaves plenty to be desired. Normally, Cabrera could be seen as a shoo-in to make the opening-day lineup in a bench utility role similar to Isiah Kiner-Falefa's role in the past. However, two of the three bench spots are seemingly filled by a catcher and Trent Grisham meaning the last spot will likely go to the best infielder of the remaining players.

This will seemingly create competition between Cabrera and Peraza for the Opening Day roster.

Oswald Peraza - Infield: .191/.267/.539, 2 HRs, and 14 RBIs

Of the group, Peraza has seemingly gotten the worst luck of the group due to Anthony Volpe's hot spring training leading to Peraza being left off of the 2023 Opening Day Roster.

The biggest issue for Peraza has been at the plate as his struggles have cost him the opportunity of being an everyday player. Had Peraza performed better at the plate we may have seen a player like Gleyber Torres moved for pitching with Torres entering the final year of his contract.

Peraza will likely start the season in the minor leagues as the Yankees still have him in their long-term plans, it will be important for Peraza to see everyday at-bats and he won't have the chance for that with the big league club barring injuries.

Everson Pereira - Outfield : .151/.233/.427 and 10 RBIs

The first domino of the late-season youth movement was Everson Pereira, a former top-100 prospect who experienced some playing time with the big league club.

In 27 games with the Yankees, Pereira struggled at the plate striking out in 38% of his plate appearances. For Pereira, a return to the Major Leagues would take unforeseen circumstances with seven outfielders seemingly ahead of him in the organization.

In all likelihood, Pereira is at-best a longer-term piece of the puzzle with the earliest possibility coming in 2025, but more likely than not Pereira will become a trade piece for the Yankees this season.

Predictions for the Trio in 2024

The prediction for the trio is that two of the three stay with the Yankees through the season while one may end up traded come the deadline.

Oswaldo Cabrera is the most likely of the group to make the team come opening day with his versatility playing a massive factor and his bat providing more than Oswald Peraza and Everson Pereira. Peraza is going to benefit by continuing to get everyday at-bats in triple-a and will likely come up for stints when injuries are suffered in the infield. Pereira has the biggest battle to fight to get to roster time with the only scenario of him making the team is through either injuries or significant development throughout the season.

The Yankees are all-in on this season after giving up a lot in their trade for Juan Soto. However, they're still behind the Dodgers in terms of talent and will have to battle several other title contenders in the American League. The Yankees will most likely need to bring in another piece or two at the deadline which brings a strong possibility that highly regarded players like Peraza and Pereira may be moved to make the Yankees stronger in 2024.

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