The New York Yankees may have a difficult time repeating as American League champions in 2025. Not only did Juan Soto leave in MLB free agency, but Gerrit Cole is expected to miss the season due to Tommy John surgery. Additionally, Giancarlo Stanton’s timeline for a return remains uncertain due to elbow injuries. Still, the Yankees were able to add Max Fried, Cody Bellinger and other impactful players during the offseason.
New York could end up seriously competing again, but it will require a complete team effort. The team’s depth will be of the utmost importance. The Yankees made two fairly surprising decisions for their 2025 Opening Day roster, however.
Will these decisions make or break the team? Probably not, but they could prove to be impactful nonetheless. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the Yankees’ two most surprising Opening Day roster decisions.
A surprising Yankees bullpen move
Yankees reliever Yerry De los Santos turned in a 1.93 ERA across eight outings this spring. He struck out nine hitters over 9.1 innings pitched. Despite his impressive performance, De Los Santos did not make the Opening Day roster. Instead, Yoendrys Gomez was selected to the big league ball club.
De los Santos, 27, was optioned to Triple-A. The Yankees often feature a reliable bullpen, something that could hold true in 2025. De Los Santos could have played an impactful role — and he still might at some point — but the decision to leave him off the roster is quite surprising.
Overall, the right-handed reliever has pitched in a total of 48 MLB games. He has recorded a 4.14 ERA during that span. It is worth noting that he has not pitched at the big league level since 2023 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He displayed signs of promise that season, though, turning in a quality 3.33 ERA across 22 appearances.
Yerry De Los Santos could find himself pitching in New York sooner rather than later if he replicates his success in Triple-A.
New York’s third base situation
This decision is more about a move the Yankees did not make as opposed to one they did. See, third base is an important position on an MLB roster, yet it appears the Yankees are set to enter the season with a platoon at the hot corner.
On March 12, Yankees Videos on X, formerly Twitter, shared a video of SNY’s Andy Martino suggesting that the Yankees will likely feature a platoon of Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza at third base.
Of course, that was in the middle of March. Have things changed, however?
With DJ LeMahieu injured, it appears that Cabrera and Peraza will handle the position. The Yankees were linked to third base trade candidates — such as Nolan Arenado — throughout the offseason. A deal never came to fruition, though.
It is surprising that the Yankees are seemingly content entering the ’25 campaign with uncertainty at such an important position. Many of the best teams in the sport have reliable players at third base. The Yankees may end up acquiring a third baseman in July before the trade deadline — unless Cabrera or Peraza earn the role with a strong start to the ’25 season.
It is worth mentioning that Jazz Chisholm Jr. played third base a season ago, but the Yankees decided to move him to second base this spring. New York is hopeful that Chisholm and Anthony Volpe can form a reliable double play partnership in the middle infield. If things don’t go according to plan, Chisholm could be moved back to third base, but he will likely remain at second.
Third base will be a position to closely monitor in New York this year.
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