In an offseason overshadowed by losing Juan Soto, the Yankees have done the heavy lifting to get back on their feet and position themselves to potentially defend the American League pennant.
But with less than three weeks remaining until pitchers and catchers report to Tampa for spring training, there is still work to be done in the late-winter lull of free agency.
Before Thursday, the Yankees had three open 40-man roster spots to work with.
Two waiver claims later, that number was down to one entering Friday, though that hardly limits their ability to bring in more talent.
Here are four particular areas that the Yankees could look to shore up before the first workout for pitchers and catchers on Feb. 12.
Who’s playing second base — or third base?
Part of this depends on where Aaron Boone ultimately decides to play Jazz Chisholm Jr., a former second baseman who handled himself well at third base last season, a position he manned for the first time in his career after coming over in a trade at the deadline.
Either way, the Yankees will have a hole to fill at one of the positions. As they are constructed, they could have a camp battle between DJ LeMahieu, Oswald Peraza, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Jorbit Vivas to fill the need in-house.
The veteran LeMahieu, who still has two years and $30 million left on his contract, has had his production sapped by injuries in recent years while Peraza, the former top shortstop prospect, is out of minor league options.
The Yankees value Cabrera’s versatility and have only had him start consistently at one position on a short-term basis (usually because of injuries).
And Vivas, who flashed in camp last year, has yet to make his MLB debut.
But the Yankees could also address the need externally, either by trade (if the Padres are looking to shed second baseman Luis Arraez’s $14 million salary) or free agency, with Jorge Polanco, Brendan Rodgers and Ha-Seong Kim among the potential candidates.
A Tim Hill reunion?
The Yankees spent a large chunk of last season searching for a dependable lefty out of the bullpen before Tim Hill emerged as the answer.
Now Hill is still a free agent in the slow-moving relief market and the Yankees are without a lefty reliever on their 40-man roster.
Of course, the Yankees are not the only team pursuing Hill, but the 34-year-old makes too much sense not to bring back.
Any takers for Stroman?
With the Yankees’ payroll hovering near the highest luxury-tax threshold (of $301 million), they may be looking to shed some salary before adding more.
The likeliest way for that to happen would come in the form of a trade of Marcus Stroman, who is set to make $18 million this season but currently projects as the Yankees’ No. 6 starter.
There is no such thing as having too much pitching, but Stroman is an expensive arm who would be the odd man out if the rest of the rotation stays healthy.
Whether the Yankees can find a new home for him, which would likely include paying down some of his salary, remains to be seen.
A backup for Wells?
For the second straight year, the Yankees entered the offseason with plenty of catching depth, but have dealt from it by sending Jose Trevino to the Reds and Carlos Narvaez to the Red Sox.
That has left the options behind Austin Wells a little thinner, with non-roster invitee Alex Jackson (part of the return for Trevino who has 124 games of MLB experience) the leading candidate.
Jackson does not offer much offensively but is a talented framer, which the Yankees value highly. Is that enough to make him Wells’ backup or will the Yankees look to add a more experienced backstop?
The Yankees also have J.C. Escarra (who is coming off winning the batting title in the Dominican Winter League) and Jesus Rodriguez on the 40-man roster, but both are inexperienced.
