Sports
25 Yankees predictions for 2025: A big trade, Juan Soto visits and another round vs Astros
NEW YORK – As for last year’s Yankees prediction column, well, we got one thing right.
“Juan and Done: Scott Boras seeks $700 million for Juan Soto in free agency.’’
Of course, we didn’t predict that he’d leave the Yanks on a $765 million deal with the Mets.
We also didn’t have the Yankees making it to the 2024 World Series against the eventual world champion Los Angeles Dodgers… but, hey, it’s time to take a few more big swings.
Here’s our fearless forecast, 25 predictions for the 2025 Yankees, with a roster still under construction:
1. Roki Sasaki chooses…
Defeated again by their crosstown rivals this winter, the Yankees are stunned as Japanese ace Roki Sasaki, 23, chooses the Mets.
2. So long to Marcus Stroman
Seeking to unload Marcus Stroman’s $18 million contract for ’25, GM Brian Cashman trades the right-hander back to the willing-to-spend Toronto Blue Jays for two lottery pick prospects.
3. Spring training competition
Finding nothing more appealing on the trade or free agent market, the Yankees enter camp with an open competition at third base between Oswald Peraza, Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu.
4. Alex Bregman signs with…
Before a March 1 exhibition game against Houston at Steinbrenner Field, word circulates that third baseman Alex Bregman has re-signed with the Astros on a $175 million deal.
5. Aaron goes Boom!
Before a March 9 exhibition game, his 52nd birthday, manager Aaron Boone puts on a BP home run show. After which, he’s listed as the fourth option on the Yankees’ third base depth chart.
6. Now playing third base…
A dark-horse infield candidate, Jorbit Vivas caps an outstanding spring training by being named the Yankees’ Opening Day third baseman.
7. Yankees’ Opening Day 2025 lineup
Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B; Aaron Judge, RF; Cody Bellinger, LF; Giancarlo Stanton, DH; Austin Wells, C; Paul Goldschmidt, 1B; Jasson Dominguez, CF; Anthony Volpe, SS; Jorbit Vivas, 3B.
8. Devin Williams holds on to save Opening Day
Against his former team, Devin Williams pitches out of a self-induced bases loaded jam vs. the Milwaukee Brewers to save a 4-3 Opening Day win at Yankee Stadium.
9. Royal flush: Watch out for Bobby Witt Jr.
Bobby Witt Jr. goes on a tear as the Kansas City Royals sweep a three-game, April 14-16 series in the Bronx, knocking the Yankees into last place.
10. Wasn’t this our place? Yankees fall at Steinbrenner Field
Make it a seven-game losing streak, as the Rays sweep the Yankees in a four-game set at Tampa Bay’s new temporary home, a sold-out Steinbrenner Field.
11. Revenge by a former Yankee
On Luke Weaver Bobblehead Night in the Bronx, Marcus Stroman blanks the Yankees through seven innings of a 4-1 Blue Jays’ late April win.
12. April: The cruelest month for Yankees
Yankees drop two of three games at Baltimore to close out April, having lost 20 of their first 31 games. Jorbit Vivas is optioned to Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
13. Gerrit Cole vs. Luis Severino
At Sacramento, Gerrit Cole outduels Luis Severino, completing a three-game sweep of the Athletics and giving the Yankees an 8-1 record to open May.
14. Juan Soto returns to the Bronx
In his Bronx return, Juan Soto’s go-ahead ninth-inning homer is negated by Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger’s back-to-back shots, giving the .500 Yankees two of three games in the Subway Series.
15. Feeling Dodger blue
Following a three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium, the Yanks hold a June 3 players’ only meeting and the front office strategizes on how to fix a stalled lineup before the MLB trade deadline.
16. Yankee All-Stars
Aaron Judge, Gerrit Cole, Devin Williams and Clarke Schmidt are the Yankees’ All-Star representatives in Atlanta, where Juan Soto and the NL team walks off with a 7-6 win.
17. A turnaround begins
Opening the second half at Atlanta, Max Fried takes a no-hitter into the sixth inning vs. his old team, and the Yanks take two of three games against the NL East-leading Braves.
18. Blockbuster trade with Twins
Dealing with the disappointing Twins, the Yankees acquire Carlos Correa and install him at third base, in a trade that sends prospects George Lombard Jr., Chase Hampton and Will Warren to Minnesota.
19. Car-go! Here comes Carlos Correa
The suddenly surging Yankees take back-to-back Bronx series vs. Carlos Correa’s old teams, the Astros and Twins, through Aug. 13, as Correa bats .600 in six games with four homers and 12 RBI.
20. Jasson Dominguez becomes Mr. August
After a non-descript first four months of the season, the red-hot Jasson Dominguez is named AL Player of the Month for August, with Correa a close second.
21. Yankees take over first place
For the first time since Opening Day, the Yanks reach first place in a tight AL East race as Clarke Schmidt outduels the Red Sox’s Walker Buehler at Boston to open a long road trip, Sept. 12.
22. AL East clincher
On the last day of the regular season, the Yankees’ extra-inning home win over Baltimore clinches their second straight division crown.
23. Goldy locks it in
On a late, Paul Goldschmidt grand slam, the Yanks clinch a four-game AL Division Series victory over the Detroit Tigers and advance to the American League Championship Series.
24. Not again, Houston
Alex Bregman is the series MVP as the Astros knock out the Yankees in the ALCS for the fourth time since 2017, a six-game crusher that ends in Houston.
25. Just asking: How much for Vladimir Guerrero Jr.?
In a call to his agent, the Yankees learn that free-agent bidding on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. begins at $500 million.
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