3 Yankees free agents are making their way out of the Bronx this postseason

The New York Yankees they reached the World Series for the first time since 2009. They reached the postseason with the AL East division title and a first-round bye because of their superstars Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. Both stars have been seen as candidates for the 2024 AL MVP, which will almost certainly go to Judge at season’s end.

But during the postseason, Judge struggled mightily. The rest of the roster, including several future free agents, picked him up, leading the Yankees to defeat the Cleveland Guardians and land in the World Series.

But, these players are playing so well that they may actually price themselves out of the Bronx in 2025. It will be nearly impossible for the Yankees to retain Juan Soto and also bring back the other free agents that make this world series. possible.

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One of the best pickups for the Yankees this year was also one of the most under-the-radar pickups for the Yankees. I’m not talking about Mark Leiter or Jazz Chisholm. I’m referring to left-hander Tim Hill, who has been excellent with the Yankees this year after being a below-average pitcher his entire professional career.

Hill had a 5.87 ERA in 23 innings with the Chicago White Sox before landing with the Yankees. With New York, Hill is 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 0.4 HR/9 in 44 innings. He was truly dominant as a left-handed specialist in Aaron Boone’s bullpen.

In the postseason, Hill threw seven innings for Boone, allowing six hits and one earned run. He was one of the best lefties in the Yankees dugout while being valued far higher than his value was when the Yankees picked him up.

Hill made just under $2 million this year and, until the White Sox got rid of him, looked like the kind of pitcher who would sign for the league minimum in 2025. But given that level of play, there will be a team that is willing to pay Hill in the $4 million to $7 million range per season, which could be more than New York is willing to offer him.

Heading into the postseason, it looked like the Yankees had a decent, not great, bullpen on their hands that included Tommy Kahnle. Kahnle was attached to a two-year, $11.5 million contract that he signed after the 2022 season. When Kahnle signed this contract, he was seen as a good reliever, but not a great reliever.

In 2024, he had one of his best regular seasons ever. He posted a 2.11 ERA and 1.14 WHIP while allowing 6.3 hits per nine innings and striking out nearly 10 hitters per nine innings. His production has been consistent and dominant this year.

But his dominance continued long after the regular season, as Kahnle threw 7.2 scoreless postseason innings in October. He was one of the best bullpen arms for the Yankees despite a high walk rate while only using one pitch: his changeup. Kahnle’s changeup is such a good pitch that he threw it more than 50 times in a row in October. All hitters know it’s coming, but there’s nothing they can do about it.

But his game could be so good that his contract in free agency may be in the $7 or $8 million per season range, which could put him out of the Yankees’ price range.

When the regular season ended, it looked like the Yankees would probably be perfectly fine with letting their second baseman Gleyber Torres hit free agency. He had a very pedestrian offensive campaign, being one of the worst statistical defenders in the league. This season, Torres slashed .257/.330/.378, posting the second-worst OPS+ season of his career.

New York had the option to let him walk, moving Jazz Chisholm to second base and signing a third-star player in free agency.

But Torres completely changed his game in the postseason. He’s slashing .289/.389/.422 with more walks than strikeouts. Torres was the ideal hitter for Boone’s team, setting the stage for Soto and Judge better than anyone could have predicted.

At this point, it’s hard to imagine the Yankees won’t aggressively try to bring him back this offseason, but it might take a price out of the Bronx. It’s not like New York doesn’t have money to spend in free agency, but with them looking to secure Soto for the next decade or so, they could commit too much money to Soto and run out of money for Torres, especially since his price goes higher. up with this great postseason play.

In a dream world, the Yankees can re-sign Torres, but if he continues to trend like this, New York may not be able to pay him as much as another team after re-signing Soto.