New York Yankees‘ season was World Series or bust. These are the expectations that come with acquiring a player of Juan Soto’s caliber.

While the Yankees advanced to the World Series, they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The series ended in five games; The Dodgers dominated the Yankees in every aspect, leading New York into a winter of extreme uncertainty.

Of course, the most pressing question is Soto’s future. The superstar outfielder is a pending free agent and will attract interest from several teams, including the Yankees, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers and others. The Yankees are seen as one of the favorites to sign Soto long term — he likes New York and they have the financial resources to sign him — but there are no guarantees, especially with Mets owner Steve Cohen lurking.

Here’s our Yankees offseason preview.

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This list obviously starts with Soto, and their offseason has been either Soto or a bust. If they lose Soto in free agency, especially to the Mets, people in New York are going to want general manager Brian Cashman’s job, fair or not. This is the truth.

With Soto, the Yankees are a completely different team. This postseason, he has been their best player and has long been one of the best players in major league baseball. Soto, 26, is hitting .288/.419/.569 with 41 home runs and 109 RBIs this season. He hit .285/.421/.532 with 201 home runs and 592 RBIs in seven career seasons.

Signing Soto would be expensive — it would be one of the richest deals in baseball history — and would run somewhere between $500-$600 million.

Besides Soto, the Yankees’ roster will also need significant addressing. They have seven pending free agents, and the team’s star right-hander, Gerrit Cole, has a $36 million option that he can waive to become a free agent. Look for the Yankees to be active in covering nearly every part of the roster: first base, outfield, infield, starting pitching and bullpen.

This will be one of the most active and perhaps even one of the most important offseasons of Brian Cashman’s tenure. It is very important to do this correctly.

They have to be. They really need to be active in exploring every avenue to upgrade this roster due to how it is constructed and looking forward in 2025.

Cashman and Co. He can’t fill this roster through free agency alone. It will come from within, in the form of young players stepping into key roles. He will come via free agency. And that will happen through trade talks that will begin at next week’s Chief Executives meetings in San Antonio, Texas.

This clearly starts with Juan Soto. After all, how could it not be? Besides Soto, the Yankees’ other free agents include Gleyber Torres, Alex Verdugo, Clay Holmes, Tommy Kahnle, Jonathan Loasiga and Tim Hill. Cole has a $36 million player option for next season, Luke Weaver has a $2.5 million club option and Lou Trivino has a $5 million club option.

Torres appears to be the Yankees’ second priority. The 27-year-old Torres has improved since moving to the leadoff spot, hitting .257/.330/.378 with a .709 OPS, 15 home runs and 63 RBIs. He hit .265/.334/.441 with 138 home runs and 441 RBIs in his seven-year career. He is a candidate for the qualifying offer and it is possible that he will accept it. He’s definitely one to watch and a player the Yankees should seriously consider bringing back.

Cole will be another big priority if he opts out. Weaver is a player the Yankees should definitely keep on the $2.5 million option. Kahnle, who posted a 2.11 ERA in 50 innings, should attract strong interest in free agency and is someone Cashman should try to bring back.