After signing Max Fried and losing Juan Soto, the New York Yankees have some work to do. While signing Fried was a step in the right direction, the Yankees now have a massive hole in the middle of their lineup, a big issue if they want to compete for a World Series in 2025.
There aren’t any hitters on the free agency market who do what Soto does. However, if the Yankees are willing to trade any of their top prospects and more, it’s possible they could find a replacement for Soto.
The first name that comes to mind is Spencer Jones, who the Yankees once viewed as an untouchable.
Baseball America believes his stock is low, citing the strikeout issue Jones dealt with in the minors last season. Jones was the first Yankees prospect to strikeout over 200 times in a season.
“Jones badly needs a strong 2025 season. If he can cut his strikeouts even marginally, his stock will rise in kind. For now, he looks like a player with plenty of tools who might be less than the sum of his parts,” Baseball America wrote.
Jones ‘Won’t Be Back’
The idea of trading Jones for an average player wouldn’t make much sense for the New York Yankees. Despite the rough showing in the minors last season, he has all the tools to be an elite-level player one day.
That’s much easier said than done, but outside of 2024, Jones has been an excellent player.
However, if the Yankees want to make a big splash, moving him seems to be the easiest way to accomplish that. Whether it’s for a superstar hitter or another arm, the Yankees could look to move him.
Chris Landers of FanSided predicted he “won’t be back” next season, adding that Jones could help them get a player back to help replace what they’ve lost.
“You could swap Jones out for any number of the Yankees’ top prospects, but we’ll go with Jones, who has tantalizing upside but also a scary floor given his swing-and-miss issues in the Minors. After signing Fried, New York should turn its attention to finding both an infielder to replace Gleyber Torres and a center fielder to allow Aaron Judge to slide over to right on a full-time basis.
The free-agent market for both is pretty thin, meaning that Cashman will need to dip into his farm system do check at least one of those boxes. And while Jones is a valuable piece, he comes with enough risk that the team shouldn’t be too scared to part with him if the right deal comes along,” Landers wrote on December 10.
Brian Cashman Isn’t Giving Up on Jones Yet
The New York Yankees have prospect hugged a bit too much recently, something they’ll need to consider with Jones. It isn’t easy to move on from prospects of his status, but the focus for the Yankees should be on their Big League roster, and moving Jones could help them improve that.
After his rough showing, Brian Cashman is still confident in him being a high-level player one day.
“I think he’s capable, obviously, clearly of more,” Cashman said, according to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. “I think he’s going through his journey of development. The physical beast — these bigger guys.”
Jones’ tools are what makes him intriguing, and should excite another team if the Yankees go down that path.
“So these superior physical beasts that Spencer Jones would also qualify as, their development takes time. All those tools are real. The excitement is all there. You also have to be patient,” Cashman said.
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