As of today, the Yankees are bringing forth an old and brittle lineup. That isn't likely to change before April.

When the music stops, and the final free agents - Bregman, Alonso, et al - scramble for the last empty chairs, it's increasingly clear that the Death Barge has quit this winter's game and will not sign another impact player for 2025. 

Cooperstown Cashman will make tweaks - vets with minor league contracts and opt-out clauses - (think Dominick Smith, this year's Franchy Cordero/Willie Calhoun.) But here's the lineup, as it now stands...

Jazz Chisholm (3B/2B)
Aaron Judge (RF)
Cody Bellinger (CF)
Giancarlo Stanton (DH)
Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
Austin Wells (C)
Jasson Dominguez (LF)
Anthony Volpe (SS) 
DJ LeMahieu (3B/2B)

Close your eyes and imagine everybody healthy - and it's 2021). If the Yankees can get full seasons from Judge and Stanton, and bounce-backs from Goldschmidt and LeMahieu - Breaking News: This lineup will win 90 games.

The problem, though, is - well - reality. 

Generally, Stanton misses a third of every season. He's 35. He couldn't run the bases in October. LeMahieu and Goldschmidt face career twilights. Bellinger has missed substantial parts of recent seasons. And if Judge goes down, it's an asteroid strike. He's replaced by Trent Grisham. Maybe the Martian and Volpe will hit? Yeah, and maybe they won't. Tweak a few gonads, and the lineup looks straight out of 2013 (AKA, the Year ofYoukilis.)

Jazz Chisholm (2B)
Cody Bellinger (CF)
Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
Austin Wells (C)
DJ LeMahiue (DH) 
Jasson Dominguez (LF)
Oswaldo Cabrera (3B)
Anthony Volpe (SS)
Trent Grisham (RF)

I'm not trying to scare you. But the 2025 Yankees are skating on perilously thin ice. And there is no cavalry in Scranton. If you're looking for youthful upgrades, well, there is Ben Rice and - um - Jorbet Vivas? Oh, wait, there's Spencer Jones, and his newest retooled swing. Do you feel lucky?

Early this winter, we traded the most interesting player in our system - Caleb Durbin, who may or may not be overhyped, but who looked to be, at least, full of youthful spirit and grit. Maybe the Martian can bring it. Who knows? But we're facing a spring when Boston may have baseball's most abundant farm system, with a wave of youth on their doorstep. Are we really a tweak away from Grisham?