Despite Flaws, 2025 Yankees are October Ready

After advancing all the way to the World Series last year, the New York Yankees went into the off-season with high hopes for the year that followed. 

The Yankees were hoping that Juan Soto would re-sign with the team, but evidently, he left for the other team in town, those silly New York Metroplitans. Soto walked away for almost $800 million as the Mets set their sights on making a World Series run of their own. 

Give credit to Brian Cashman and the Bombers front office. They didn't get down. They used the money they would have used on Soto and addressed more pressing needs. They signed former Braves starting pitcher Max Fried to a massive contract, traded for Cody Bellinger, who will be Soto’s direct replacement in the outfield; added Paul Goldschmidt, and signed former Brewers closer Devin Williams. 

Then reality hit hard in Spring Training. Gerrit Cole went down with a UCL tear in his right elbow, and will not pitch this year. Luis Gil, last year's Rookie of the Year is out until June with a Lat Injury. Clark Schmidt is hurt. Giancarlo Stanton may not play at all this year if his tennis elbows force him to have surgery.

Nothing but pending doom, right?

Wrong!!

The Yankees will find a way to win 90-plus games this year because they have Aaron Judge! They have budding superstars in Austin Wells and Anthony Volpe! And the Yankees have arguably one of the best bullpens in baseball with Luke Weaver now in the set up role and Williams toeing the rubber in the ninth.

Moreover, the Yanks are much more athletic and fundamentally sound than they were last year, and the improvements on defense alone will help them win more games. 

Cody Bellinger can be expected to have a monster year in his first year in pinstripes, especially with the short porch in right field. He is going to make Yankee fans forget about Soto, and potentially rather quickly, as he concludes a spring that saw him hit .476. Yes, it's spring training, but there is certainly no downside to looking like a superstar during it. 

The Yankees will make the playoffs, and if they make the right moves at the deadline, they will be considered the favorites to make it out of the American League once again, even if the American League has gotten tougher on paper this off-season.

So let's roll the dice, and see what happens. Watch out Boston! Hide Baltimore! Run away Cleveland! L.A., we coming! Here come the Yankees! - C.J. Keeling

C.J. Keeling is the host of Keelings Korner heard right hear on Fox Sports Radio New Jersey.