Aaron Judge was still in uniform after the Yankees were bounced by the Blue Jays in the ALDS in October when he was asked about Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham heading to free agency.
“I hope we can run them back and see what happens,” the captain said.
Judge did not know it then, but he more or less offered up a tagline for the Yankees’ offseason to come.
Of course, it is not actually that simple, but with just over two weeks until pitchers and catchers report to Tampa for spring training, the Yankees are poised to bring back almost the same roster that ultimately came up short in the playoffs last fall, with a few notable asterisks.
Bellinger’s five-year, $162.5 million deal to remain in pinstripes last week was essentially the last big piece to the Yankees winter puzzle, barring a late surprise.
It followed Grisham accepting the $22.025 million qualifying offer; the club picking up Tim Hill’s $3 million option; Ryan Yarbrough, Amed Rosario and Paul Blackburn re-signing on one-year deals worth a combined $7 million; and the lone sizable external addition, acquiring hard-throwing lefty starter Ryan Weathers in a trade with the Marlins.
The Yankees could still use some reinforcements to solidify the bullpen and a right-handed hitting catcher, as they have not done much to change their admission that they are too left-handed.
Jasson Domínguez, whose role became much less defined with Bellinger back in the fold, could be used as trade bait to address one of those needs.
But for a team that won 94 games during the regular season last year, tied with the Blue Jays for the most in the American League, the Yankees are doubling down on the idea that they can be the best version of that team, not the one that endured another summer swoon and then got clobbered by those Blue Jays in the ALDS.
“Look, obviously the end of our season [last] year was, frankly, as hard a one for me [as we’ve had] — because I felt like we were really good, and really good and healthy and peaking at the right time and got beat in a series against a team that we obviously struggled with last year with the Blue Jays,” manager Aaron Boone said last month at the winter meetings. “So you want to take stock in that. Again, you’re always trying to improve your club and improve your team, but also pause and say, ‘Hey, we’re pretty good here.’ And we’ve got a lot of really good players and a lot of really good young core players that emerged on different levels last year that we need to continue to grow in their big league journey.”
The biggest potential change from 2025 to 2026 is that the Yankees expect to get Gerrit Cole back early in the season after not throwing a single inning last year because of Tommy John surgery. Exactly what version the former Cy Young winner comes back as, though, remains to be seen.
But they are also banking on getting a full season with Cam Schlittler in their rotation after his dazzling 14-start cameo last year. They believe there is even more in the tank for Ben Rice, who established himself as a middle-of-the-order bat last season and is now set to take on the challenge of facing lefties more often. They are betting that Grisham’s breakout season was real. And they are hoping that their 2025 trade deadline additions — David Bednar, Camilo Doval, Ryan McMahon, José Caballero, Rosario and Jake Bird — can continue to make an impact over the long haul instead of just a two-month boost.
Will it pay off, or will trying the same — or, at least, very similar — thing over and expecting a different result remind them of the definition of insanity? The Yankees are only a few weeks away from beginning the journey to find out.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
