Yankees built a World Series roster using a variety of methods

The Yankees, like every other major-league club, would love to have a roster filled with low-priced homegrown players in the prime of their careers.

That rarely happens.

But what owner Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman have done in assembling the roster of the 2024 American League champions is to flex the franchise’s financial muscle when necessary and also use the farm system to grow their own stars and acquire stars from other teams.

Aaron Judge is the best example of the Yankees growing their own star and then using their seemingly boundless financial resources to re-sign him as a free agent.

Juan Soto is the best example of the Yankees using their farm system to pick up a star, as they did when they sent five players to San Diego for Soto and Trent Grisham in December.

Giancarlo Stanton is the best example of the Yankees trading for a player in a salary-dump situation, as they did before the 2018 season when they took on about $260 million in salary to acquire the slugger from Miami for Starlin Castro and two prospects, neither of whom panned out.

Gerrit Cole is the best example of the Yankees using pure cash to lure a top free agent, as they did when they signed their future ace to a nine-year, $324 million contract before the 2020 season.

Sprinkle in more than a dash of smart trades and an uncanny ability to find hidden pitching gems in other organizations, and the Yankees have a recipe for success that has gotten them back to the World Series for the first time since 2009.

“I don’t believe I should have to have a $300 million payroll to win a championship,” Steinbrenner said in May, even though he was well aware the Yankees had an Opening Day payroll of about $303 million. “I believe I need a good mix of veterans who are going to make a lot more money. But also, we’ve put a lot of money into our player development system in the last five to 10 years. And in my opinion, we have one of the better ones in baseball now.”

The Yankees had seven homegrown players as key contributors in 2024. Start with Judge, second-year shortstop Anthony Volpe, rookie No. 1 catcher Austin Wells and starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt.

Versatile backup Oswaldo Cabrera and top prospect Jasson Dominguez also are products of the player development system.

Lefthander Nestor Cortes was a Yankees draft pick way back in 2013. He left the organization twice before re-signing as a free agent in January 2021, made the AL All-Star team in 2022 and is 33-20 as a Yankee.

Cortes may not be a total success story for the Yankees’ farm system. Depending on how you slice it, he may count more as one of many examples of the Yankees finding players who hadn’t amounted to much in other organizations and turning them into better versions of themselves.

Almost their entire bullpen fits that bill. Sure, there are free-agent signee Tommy Kahnle (who was originally drafted by the Yankees in 2010 and is in his third stint with the organization) and Mark Leiter Jr., who was picked up from the Cubs for a pair of prospects. But there also are Clay Holmes (acquired from Pittsburgh for minor-leaguers Diego Castillo and Hoy Park), Jake Cousins (acquired from the White Sox for cash), Tim Hill (signed as a free agent after being released by the White Sox), Tim Mayza (signed as a free agent after being released by Toronto), Ian Hamilton (signed after choosing to become a minor-league free agent after a stint with Cleveland) and closer Luke Weaver, a failed starter who was claimed off waivers from Cincinnati last September.

Weaver became a free agent after three late-season starts for the Yankees and re-signed in January. The Yankees were hoping he could be a sixth starter/multiple-inning reliever type to replace Michael King, who was traded in the Soto deal.

“Really since the end of spring training, he really started to look the part [of a reliever],” manager Aaron Boone said during the ALCS. “I remember going into Houston, that opening series, and he is kind of our long man, maybe a sixth starter at some point. We were not really sure of the role.”

Now they are: Weaver finished six of the Yankees’ seven postseason victories to date with four saves in five chances. He was the winning pitcher in the ALCS-clinching Game 5 victory.

See? It’s not all big-money free agents with the Yankees.

Carlos Rodon was one. But Anthony Rizzo was acquired in a 2021 trade and obviously likes wearing pinstripes; he has twice re-signed as a free agent.

Luis Gil and Gleyber Torres were savvy trade pickups when they were minor-leaguers. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was rescued from Miami for — you guessed it — three prospects.

In January, after the Yankees signed Marcus Stroman, Cashman said: “I think we’ve improved . . . We’ve, I think, jump-started in a lot of areas.”

All the way to the World Series.

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.