Whether the New York Yankees ultimately win the Yoshinobu Yamamoto MLB free agency sweepstakes, they are already offseason winners in the eyes of many after they landed star outfielder Juan Soto via a trade with the San Diego Padres.

That being said, the Yankees can't just rest on their laurels after acquiring Soto. There is still plenty of time to shore up their roster, and while their pitching was decent in 2022, adding someone of Yamamoto's caliber to the pitching staff will virtually increase the floor and ceiling of the team on the mound.

Yankees still in pursuit of Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Yoshinobu Yamamoto (pitcher) as the woman and Brian Cashman (Yankees GM) as the guy

The New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers are still considered the Yankees' chief rivals for Yamamoto, the Japanese superstar who has taken over the free agency headlines following Shohei Ohtani's decision to take his talents to the Dodgers.

Nevertheless, Soto was indeed a huge get for the Yankees. While there's no guarantee that he'd be wearing Yankees pinstripes beyond the 2024 MLB season, one year with Soto could just be what they need to finally bring a World Series title again to the Bronx. At just 25 years old, Soto is still very much at the height of his career. Last season with the Padres, the talented Dominican hitter slashed .275/.410/.519 with 35 home runs, 132 walks, and a 158 OPS+.

Together with Aaron Judge, Soto forms a scary Yankees duo that is expected to be a huge problem for opposing pitchers.

Apart from Soto, the Yankees also got the services of outfielders Alex Verdugo and Trent Grisham. Verdugo arrived in New York via a trade with the Boston Red Sox, while Grisham was part of the blockbuster deal that sent Soto to the East Coast.