New York Yankees Not Addressing Third Base Was 'Biggest Surprise' This Offseason

Do the New York Yankees need to do more to truly be a contender?

Feb 20, 2025; Tampa, FL, USA; New York Yankees third base DJ LeMahieu (26) during work outs at George M. Steinbrenner Field. | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

With spring training underway for the New York Yankees, players are battling it out for the final roster spots before the start of the campaign. 

After what has been a busy offseason for the Yankees, the team is once again positioned to be able to compete for a World Series in 2025. 

This winter, New York made a lot of upgrades to their team in a couple of different areas. In the rotation, they made a significant splash with the addition of All-Star left-hander, Max Fried. 

For the bullpen, Devin Williams came over in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers and will be the new closer. 

While the pitching staff is a lot better with those two additions, it is going to be the lineup that will take some time to prove itself. 

After losing Juan Soto, the Yankees pivoted nicely with the additions of Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt. While Bellinger will be in the outfield to replace Soto, Goldschmidt is a significant upgrade to what they have received at first base. 

Even though they have a good-looking batting order on paper, there is a glaring issue at an important position. 

Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com recently spoke about the most surprising decision this offseason for the Yankees being that they didn’t address third base. 

The lack of urgency and plan at third base this winter has been a puzzling move for New York. While going after a player the caliber of Alex Bregman to upgrade the position was unrealistic after the moves they have already made, they don’t appear to have a great plan in place. 

DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera appear to be the two most likely starters for the team on Opening Day, and neither inspire much confidence. 

For LeMahieu, he has missed a ton of time because of injuries in recent years and his production on the field has declined quite a bit as well, even when he is on the field. 

Cabrera has had some chances in the Majors, but has yet to put anything of significance together. In 108 games last year, he slashed .247/.296/.365 with eight home runs and 36 RBI. While he does have a little bit of power, the offensive numbers weren’t great. 

This position should be a major concern for the team heading into the new season as it currently stands. For a team that has World Series aspirations and expectations, the hot corner is a glaring hole that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.