Yankees banking on offseason roster turnover paying off after World Series disappointment

TAMPA — It is painstaking enough having to pick yourself up off the mat when you come up short in the World Series, especially the way Game 5 ended against the Dodgers. Then the Yankees were dealt the double body blow of losing the bidding war for Juan Soto, and losing him to the Mets at that, which quickly threw their offseason into the Plan B version. A few months later, the Yankees are about to begin the journey to find out whether their pivot was good enough to take another crack at a championship. “Some people may disagree with me — but some people will agree with me —I think we have a better team right now than we did a year ago today,” Hal Steinbrenner said on the YES Network last month. While Steinbrenner’s claim was the topic of plenty of debate, the only thing that ultimately matters is whether the Yankees will be better in October this time around. They have a long way to go to get that chance, but tried to set themselves up for it in the wake of missing out on Soto despite offering him a 16-year, $760 million contract.They did not redirect all of that cash and spend like “drunken sailors,” as GM Brian Cashman promised they would not, but used a chunk of it in an attempt to get more well rounded, better defensively and more athletic. The Yankees added left-hander Max Fried (on an eight-year, $218 million contract), outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger (taking on the two years and $52.5 million left on his contract in exchange for Cody Poteet), first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (one year, $12.5 million) and closer Devin Williams (and his $8.6 million salary, in exchange for Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin), among others.

That group has a combined 13 All-Star selections and two MVPs, though the Yankees are paying them for what they can do this year (and at least in Fried’s case, beyond). The addition of Fried should help further solidify a rotation that could be one of the Yankees’ biggest strengths.Of course, it was only last sp...