New York Yankees Still Need Improvement in This Key Area As Season Nears

The New York Yankees could be considered a better team now than they were in 2024, but they still need improvement in one area with the season starting soon.

Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees general manger Brian Cashman before game two of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Even with losing superstar free agent Juan Soto to a crosstown rival, there is no question that the New York Yankees have had a fantastic offseason.

Adding Max Fried to the rotation was a major coup, one that many are sleeping on, while Paul Goldschmidt and Cody Bellinger will be welcome additions to both the lineup and the defense.

Sticking with Fried, the ace is one of the preeminent groundball pitchers in MLB today, with a career ground ball rate of 55.3%, and consecutive marks of 59.2% over the last two years.

Throughout his career, he has pitched in front of strong infield defenses with the Atlanta Braves, and, as things currently stand, that is just not the case for the Yankees.

While Anthony Volpe and Goldschmidt are capable defenders at shortstop and first base, respectively, Fangraphs currently projects Oswaldo Cabrera as the starting third baseman and Jazz Chisholm Jr. as the starting second baseman.

Cabrera is not a complete disaster at third, with a career total of four Outs Above Average at the hot corner for his career, but Chisholm is a much better option for that position than second base, and he proved as much in 2024.

Chisholm's only experience at the hot corner in Major League Baseball came in New York after the franchise acquired the star from the Miami Marlins ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline, but in that small sample size of only 400 1/3 innings, he accrued eight Outs Above Average, the same mark he has totaled in 1,330 1/3 innings at second base.

On the flip side, Cabrera has tallied zero Outs Above Average at the keystone, but his offensive profile better suits him as a defensive replacement than an everyday player, anyway.

Enter international pop star and free agent Jose Iglesias.

Iglesias is approaching his age-35 campaign, and while he is no world-beater at the plate, his career OPS of .710 is a far better mark than Cabrera's .643.

Iglesias has also tallied one Out Above Average at second base throughout his career, and while it is not much better than Cabrera's zero, it would still be an improvement.

The veteran also saw an unlikely spike in his popularity in 2024 with those same New York Mets that won the Soto Sweepstakes, and it would be nice to repay the favor with one of their fan favorites.

Adding Iglesias would allow the team to pencil Chisholm in at third base daily, and keep Cabrera on the bench, improving the infield defense as well as the offense's production.

It has been a fantastic offseason to this point for the Yankees, but improving second base is a must to get the most out of their massive offseason signing Fried.