Yankees Opening Day 2025: Lineup, find out who takes Juan Soto's No. 22 & more

Modified Mar 27, 2025 18:04 GMT

New York Yankees v Baltimore Orioles - Source: Getty — Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees (Images from - Getty_

Despite a good season in which they won the AL pennant, the New York Yankees closed 2024 with a devastating World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Having lost superstar Juan Soto to free agency, a new-look Yankees outfit now prepares to take on the Milwaukee Brewers for the opening series of the new season, as the most decorated franchise in all of the major leagues looks to bounce back and add to their title tally in 2025.

With the season opener set to begin at 3:05 PM local time, the Yankees posted their lineup for game one via X (formerly Twitter).

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C Austin Wells
L RF Aaron Judge
R CF C. Bellinger
L 1B P. Goldschmidt
R 2B J. Chisholm
L LF J. Dominguez
S SS A. Volpe
R DH Ben Rice
L 3B O. Cabrera

Ben Rice has taken the No. 22 jersey, which was formerly worn by Juan Soto. The 26-year-old appeared to be in excellent form this spring, batting .242 with an .835 OPS, five home runs and 10 RBIs.

As for the starting pitcher, the Yankees have decided to hand the responsibility to veteran Carlos Rodon. The 32-year-old looked good in 2024, finishing the regular season with a 16-9 record and 3.96 ERA, striking out 195 batters. With Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil currently on the treatment table, Rodon seems to be the most trustworthy option.

Yankees catcher commends 'great' Carlos Rodon ahead of Opening Day start

As Carlos Rodon prepares to take to the mound on Opening Day, catcher Austin Wells talked about how the 32-year-old has showcased exemplary consistency over the past season.

"I think going back to last year, Carlos was really one of the more consistent guys we had throughout the whole season. Didn't miss a start and was just able to throw his innings and get outs," Wells said, via 'The Show' [20:38]

"Having the bouce back year that he did last year, I think that allowed him to kind of re-find out what makes him, him. I think that's just what him carrying into this year is going to be and I think sticking to that plan and being able to land other pitches early so that his best pitches can play up even more."

Wells added:

"That's just what makes Carlos great and the consistency of starts and how he's able to make his starts and not miss. That's what we do need out of a guy like him this year for sure."

With Rodon set to play a key role in the Yankees' rotation yet again in 2025, fans hope the right-handed pitcher is at his best.

About the author

Raghav Mehta is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda awaiting results for a Bachelor's in Journalism from Delhi University. He enjoys highlighting the key battles between players at different stages of the game and analyzing the decisive moments upon which they hinge.

One of Raghav's favorite moments, which underscores this, was the Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout clash in the 2023 WBC, where two of baseball's best players faced off against each other in the 9th inning. With the score 3-2 to Japan, Shohei eventually got the strikeout, which was absolute cinema.

Raghav is a Baltimore Orioles fan and is enjoying watching such an exciting young team compete at the top in a very competitive division.

Raghav has loved watching sports for as long as he can remember and realized he was pretty decent at writing his thoughts down at around the age of 14. Combining the two meant he had something he would enjoy doing every day, and he had identified that well before going to college.

Aside from work, Raghav enjoys playing sports, working out and watching movies.

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Edited by Krutik Jain