The New York Yankees fell short of the AL East title and were easily trounced in the playoffs. They’ve done almost nothing since. The teams they’re in competition with have all seemingly gotten significantly better, while the Yankees have made one moderate trade and have watched most of their key free agents walk. Cody Bellinger’s back, and Ryan Weathers is in town, but that’s a sleepy offseason still.
There is rarely an offseason when the Yankees aren’t active. One would think this year would be no different. They went from a World Series loss to an ALDS thumping at the hands of a division rival, and their response as of January 21 is to trade for Ryan Weathers? Re-signing Cody Bellinger is huge, but that’s not really an addition. It’s just not a subtraction.
This comes after a bevy of players have signed elsewhere. Devin Williams and Luke Weaver are gone. Mark Leiter Jr. is, too. Paul Goldschmidt is a free agent, and the Yankees don’t seem to want him back. Cody Bellinger is a free agent, and the Yankees don’t seem willing to actually spend to bring him back.
Pretty much every impact free agent is off the board, and the Yankees weren’t even in on any of them:
They hedged their bets on Bellinger’s return, and hopefully, his return is enough to salvage what’s been a weirdly disappointing offseason in the Bronx
Here’s what the Yankees have done so far:
That does not at all inspire confidence, even with Bellinger back in town. Brian Cashman is usually one of the most aggressive GMs in baseball, but he’s largely sitting on his hands this offseason. The Yankees have watched the Toronto Blue Jays (who won the division and made the World Series), Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies all get better.
They’ve established themselves as true contenders, while the Yankees are content to regress from a 94-win season. It’s strange and very unlike them. Even with Bellinger back, their lineup looks like this:
That doesn’t exactly strike a ton of fear into opposing pitching staffs, especially the bottom of the order.
At this point, it seems like the New York Yankees aren’t going to do much other than re-sign Cody Bellinger. They could and probably should sign a couple of the following:
Even then, the team doesn’t project to be better than any of the most aggressive teams this offseason. They might have to consider a blockbuster trade for someone like Byron Buxton, Jarren Duran, Steven Kwan, CJ Abrams, or Yandy Diaz, but those all feel quite unlikely at this stage.
Put simply, the Yankees have missed out. They still have enough talent, especially when all their pitchers are healthy, to contend, but they are currently on the outside looking in as it pertains to the real contenders for the 2026 World Series title.
Signing Bellinger is a big win because if they had lost out on him, they would have missed great defense and really strong offense, and that will have a ripple effect throughout their lineup.
