Two Notable New York Yankees Players Don't Have Options Remaining

Two important New York Yankees players are out of options.

Oct 1, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; New York Yankees second baseman Oswald Peraza (91) throws to first base during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

The New York Yankees have already been bitten by the injury bug.

That is not how they envisioned their year getting underway after putting together a solid offseason which has this roster in better shape from top to bottom compared to how it was in 2024 coming off their World Series appearance last October.

But the depth is going to be tested early.

Not only is Giancarlo Stanton going to miss Opening Day with his elbow issues, but DJ LeMahieu picked up another injury, reigning AL Rookie of the Year winner Luis Gil is undergoing an MRI and reliever Scott Effross will miss some time with a hamstring strain.

This is going to vault other players into more important roles, and perhaps two of the biggest beneficiaries are two of the three Yankees players who are out of options as outlined by Darragh McDonald of MLB Trade Rumors.

-Yoendrys Gomez, SP/RP
-Mark Leiter Jr., RP
-Oswald Peraza, IF

It's hard to get a gauge on who actually is going to make the Opening Day roster or not right now.

New York is already trying to figure out who will replace Stanton and Effross, and if LeMahieu and Gil also have to miss time to start the year, then those are two more spots that need to be filled.

Mark Leiter Jr. and Oswald Peraza now factor into the mix.

While neither of them were expected to be DFA candidates at the beginning of spring, the roster was in much better shape than it is now, so there was a chance they could both have missed the cut.

However, there is now little chance neither of them aren't part of the 26-man group.

Leiter will be a greater factor in the bullpen now that Effross is hurt, but he'll have to prove why he should stick around in this revamped unit after posting a 4.98 ERA across his 21 outings with the Yankees last season.

Peraza is firmly in the running for the starting third base job.

LeMahieu was expected to be handed that role, but with another injury to his name, that leaves Oswaldo Cabrera and Peraza to battle it out for the spot at the hot corner unless they want to put Jazz Chisholm Jr. there instead.

As for Yoendrys Gomez, conventional wisdom at the beginning of spring would suggest he'd get designated for assignment. And while that still might happen, he could also find himself in the mix if Gil has to sit for a length of time.