New York Yankees Allowed Hated Rival To Become Stronger With Lack of Action

The New York Yankees will have a tremendous challenge on their hands when it comes to their biggest rival.

Sep 14, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone (17) takes the ball from starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) during a pitching change during the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

In terms of moves the New York Yankees have made this offseason, it has been fairly successful with regards to filling out the roster and making the lineup deeper following the loss of Juan Soto to the New York Mets.

Acquisitions like Max Fried, Devin Williams, Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger fill out the roster nicely with the assets Brian Cashman and company were willing to lay out, but it's the moves New York didn't make which could come back to bite them in the end.

When evaluating the last several months for the league as a whole, it's tough to argue anyone did more than the Yankees most hated rival Boston Red Sox. A big winter for the Red Sox culminated Wednesday night in signing a superstar from another American League rival in former Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman.

Despite New York's need at third base, they seemingly took a pass on even making a serious pursuit of one of the best in the league with Bregman, something which cannot be explained with any sort of sound logic other than penny-pinching.

Regardless, the bigger issue with where Bregman ends up is that he joins a Red Sox team which has been dormant over the last several years, having missed the playoffs in each of the last three seasons and not finishing particularly close.

In one offseason however, Boston has rebuilt their rotation with a trade for Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet as well as signing Los Angeles Dodgers two-time All-Star Walker Buehler and now brings in a premiere right-handed bat who should rake at Fenway Park in Bregman.

After years of being criticized for being unwilling to spend, the Red Sox went out this winter and took legitimate and aggressive steps to improve their roster.

The Yankees on the other hand lost a generational player - who to their credit they made a competitive offer to keep - and outside of signing Fried, they chose to cheap veteran route rather than the relentless mentality Boston took.

Complacency kills successful runs, and while it may be a step too far to say New York has gotten complacent after their first World Series appearance in 15 years, they certainly didn't show the same level of desperation to improve.

It's no secret to say the Yankees got a favorable draw in the playoffs in 2024, defeating the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians on their road to the pennant. In 2025 and beyond, things are not going to be as easy, and New York is going to have to fend off some real contenders now including Boston in order to retain their American League crown.

With the Red Sox having won two championships since the last Yankees title, the pressure remains on New York to get it done.

Boston has established themselves in just a few short months as one of the teams New York will have to get through in order to achieve the ultimate goal.