How The Yankees Constructed Their World Series Roster

As the World Series gets underway, we’ll take a look at how both teams’ rosters were constructed. In a battle of big-market behemoths, much of the heavy lifting was accomplished via free agency. The Yankees and Dodgers have each done a lot in trade and graduated some key homegrown contributors to complement their splashes on the open market.

A player drafted or acquired in trade who subsequently hit free agency and re-signed will be classified as a free agent acquisition. The player’s history with the organization is a key part of why they returned, of course, but the most recent transaction was nevertheless to sign them to a free agent deal. There are three such players for the Yankees, headlined by the expected AL MVP.

Let’s begin with a breakdown of how the Yankees built their first pennant winner since 2009.

Trade (11)

• Jazz Chisholm Jr.
• Jake Cousins
• Luis Gil
• Trent Grisham
• Clay Holmes
• Mark Leiter Jr.
• Juan Soto
• Giancarlo Stanton
• Gleyber Torres
• Jose Trevino
• Alex Verdugo

Nearly half the Yankees’ World Series roster was built via trade. There was none bigger than last winter’s blockbuster bringing Soto and Grisham to the Bronx. Soto is in line for another top five MVP finish after hitting .288/.419/.569 with a career-best 41 homers during his first season with the Yanks. Grisham hasn’t produced much in a fourth outfield role. The Padres aren’t kicking themselves either. San Diego got ace-caliber production from Michael King, while Kyle Higashioka took over starting catching duties down the stretch. Prospect Drew Thorpe, the secondary piece of the Soto return, was subsequently flipped to the White Sox as the headliner of the Dylan Cease package.

The Stanton trade isn’t far behind the Soto deal as a headline transaction. New York acquired the slugger coming off a 59-homer season in which he’d won the NL MVP award for the Marlins. It was largely a salary dump for Miami, which offloaded Stanton just three seasons into a 13-year, $325MM extension. New York sent back Starlin Castro and prospects Jorge Guzmán and José Devers, both of whom barely played at the MLB level. Stanton’s tenure in the Bronx has been often maligned, but he has three 30-homer seasons as a Yankee and is on a heater for the ages this fall.

New York landed Verdugo in a rare trade of significance with the Red Sox. While Verdugo has been the Yankees’ everyday left fielder, Boston will probably come away with more long-term value. The Sox landed middle reliever Greg Weissert and prospect Richard Fitts in a three-player return.

Chisholm and Leiter were deadline acquisitions this summer. New York sent three minor leaguers, headlined by well-regarded prospect Agustín Ramírez, to Miami for Chisholm. They sent two prospects (Ben Cowles and Jack Neely) to the Cubs for Leiter, a deal they’d probably like back after the righty struggled down the stretch.

Holmes, Trevino and Cousins were all wins for the pro scouting staff. The Yankees stole Holmes from the Pirates in a 2021 deadline deal that didn’t get much fanfare. New York sent infielders Hoy Park and Diego Castillo, neither of whom stuck in Pittsburgh, to take a flier on Holmes as a ground-ball specialist. He developed into one of the game’s top relievers, this year’s shaky second half notwithstanding.

New York landed Trevino just after Opening Day in 2022 in a deal that sent middle reliever Albert Abreu to the Rangers. Trevino has become a Gold Glove catcher in the Bronx. Abreu pitched in seven games with Texas before they lost him on waivers. He’s now pitching in Japan. (Left-hander Robby Ahlstrom remains in the Rangers’ system but isn’t a prospect of note.) The Yankees gave up nothing for Cousins, who was on a minor league deal with the White Sox when New York acquired him for cash in March. He went on to throw 37 innings with a 2.38 ERA.

The Yankees acquired Torres and Gil before either player made his MLB debut. Torres was the headliner of the 2016 deadline deal sending Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs. Chicago won’t have any regrets after going on to win the World Series, but Torres was a top prospect who developed into an All-Star second baseman. That’s the kind of prospect teams essentially never trade for rentals anymore. Gil was a teenager pitching in the Dominican Summer League with the Twins in 2018. New York landed him in a Spring Training swap for upper level outfielder Jake Cave, who has had a journeyman career. That’s a clear win for the Yanks’ scouting and player development staffs.

MLB Free Agency (8)

• Gerrit Cole
• Tim Hill
• Aaron Judge (re-signed)
  
• Tommy Kahnle
• Anthony Rizzo (re-signed)
• Carlos Rodón
• Marcus Stroman
• Luke Weaver (re-signed)

Judge went from supplemental first-round pick in 2013 to homegrown MVP. He hit the market on the heels of his 62-homer season in 2022. Judge fielded offers from the Giants and Padres before returning to New York on a nine-year, $360MM deal. The largest free agent contract in MLB history at the time, it dropped to second on that list when Shohei Ohtani signed with Los Angeles. Judge is on track for his second MVP and seems as if he’ll spend his entire Hall of Fame career in the Bronx.

The Cole contract was also a record which the Dodgers topped last offseason. New York signed Cole to a nine-year, $324MM deal during the 2019-20 offseason. That stood as the largest pitching contract ever until Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed for $325MM — albeit over a much longer term — in December. The Cole deal has been one of the most successful massive free agent signings in history. He’s coming off a Cy Young award and gets the ball in Game 1 tonight.

Rodón was another big investment from GM Brian Cashman and his staff. The hard-throwing southpaw landed six years and $162MM during the 2022-23 offseason. The first season was a disaster but Rodón righted the ship with a solid 3.96 ERA in 32 starts this year. That same winter saw New York bring back Rizzo on a two-year, $40MM free agent deal. The Yanks had initially acquired Rizzo in a ’21 deadline trade with the Cubs. He had a strong first season and a half in the Bronx, but the most recent contract has not panned out. They have gotten similarly middling results from last winter’s two-year, $37MM investment in Stroman. He had a 4.31 ERA across 30 regular season appearances and is in long relief for the postseason.

A couple low-cost bullpen investments have turned out brilliantly. New York first claimed Weaver off waivers from Seattle in September. They brought him back in free agency on a $2MM deal with a cheap club option for 2025. The move was generally met with derision from fans, but Weaver has been a godsend in the late innings and will close games in the World Series.

New York invested a bit more in Kahnle, inking him to a two-year, $11.5MM pact on the heels of an injury-plagued 2022 season. Kahnle has continued to battle injuries but been effective during his most recent stint in the Bronx. Hill signed for the league minimum in June after being released by the White Sox. He turned in a 2.05 ERA in 44 innings after posting a near-6.00 ERA with Chicago.

First-Year Player Draft (3)

• Clarke Schmidt
• Anthony Volpe
• Austin Wells

All three of these players were selected in the first round. The Yanks grabbed Schmidt 16th overall out of South Carolina in 2017. Volpe was the 30th pick out of a New Jersey high school in 2019. New York took Wells a year later, grabbing the University of Arizona product with the #28 selection in 2020.

International Amateur Signings (2)

• Oswaldo Cabrera
• Jasson Domínguez

Domínguez was one of the highest-profile amateur signees in recent memory. New York signed him for a $5.1MM bonus out of the Dominican Republic. Injuries have kept him from getting an extended MLB opportunity thus far, but he’s still an incredibly touted young talent at age 21. Cabrera signed with minimal attention out of Venezuela in 2015. He has played a utility role for the past two-plus seasons.

Minor League Contract (2)

• Nestor Cortes
• Tim Mayza

Cortes started his career as a Yankee draftee. The Yanks dealt him to the Mariners over the 2019-20 offseason. Seattle waived him a year later and every team opted against putting him on the 40-man roster. Cortes elected minor league free agency and returned to his original organization on a minor league deal. He made the team again in 2021 and turned in a 2.90 ERA in 93 innings down the stretch. That secured his spot on the MLB roster even before he made an All-Star team and earned a top 10 Cy Young finish with a 2.44 ERA in 2022.

Mayza was a longtime member of the Blue Jays. Toronto cut him loose in July. He signed a minor league deal with New York a few days later and has been in Aaron Boone’s bullpen since the middle of August.

Waivers (0)

• None