About Spring Training: Opportunity is Knocking

About Spring Training: Opportunity is Knocking

by Tim Kabel

March 5, 2026

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The Yankees are playing games in Spring Training. Well, some of the Yankees are. The Yankees have 13 players who have left Spring Training to participate in the WBC. Most notably, Aaron Judge will not be with the Yankees. Neither will Austin Wells, David Bednar, and several others. They won't be gone forever but they will be gone for a little while.

What does that mean? It means that during their absence other players, notably younger players, will get opportunities to play more often and in more prominent roles than they normally would have. Of course, this also means Randal Grichuk and other faded veterans will get opportunities to play to show what if anything they can still do. I am more focused on the younger players.

Spencer Jones and Jasson Dominguez should both play a lot. I know everyone is now totally 100% relieved because in a game against Panama on Tuesday, Giancarlo Stanton hit a single that registered 114 miles an hour. So, even though he can't open a bag of chips or brush his teeth or do the hokey pokey, he was able to hit a baseball very hard one time. Now, I have not heard if there were any resultant problems the next day because with Stanton, that could certainly be the case. Who knows how long, how well, and how often he will be able to play. There is clearly an issue with his elbows. That's not going to go away anytime soon. I don't know that it's realistic to put all our faith in Stanton. Stanton has never been much of a vessel for faith and confidence. He always misses time. To be fair, he always misses a lot of time. I would bet the ranch and the ranch dressing that he will miss a lot of time again this season. It's what he does. If you don't believe me, ask Brian Cashman. I'm not casting aspersions on Stanton. It is just the reality.

Anyway, back to the youngsters. There are several young players, including Dominguez, Jones, George Lombard, junior, Carlos LaGrange, Elmer Rodriguez, and Ben Hess, who will get opportunities now that the regular players have left for the WBC. So far, Dominguez and Jones in particular have done extremely well as far as the offensive players are concerned. I expect that will continue. On the pitching end, Rodriguez, Hess, and LaGrange have all done extremely well. They certainly could continue to open eyes.

Under normal circumstances and with almost every other team in the Major Leagues, this would be significant. It would be exciting. It would be a situation where the fans and the organization would be getting excited about the prospect of these players breaking camp and being in the Major Leagues on Opening Day. However, we are talking about the Yankees.

We need to be realistic, and we need to remember which team we are dealing with here. I can basically guarantee that no matter what Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones do during spring training, it won't matter. Unless there is an injury, neither of them will be in the Major Leagues on March 25th. They will be in Scranton, making Shelley Duncan very happy. I like Shelley Duncan. I would love to see him as the manager of the Yankees. And I don't mean in two years. I mean today. However, that's a discussion for another day. 

Dominguez, Jones, Hess, Rodriguez, and Lagrange are all earmarked to go to the minor leagues at the beginning of the season. That will not change. Instead, we will see Randal Grichuk, Trent Grisham, Jake Bird, and Paul Blackburn on the Major League level. Does that mean that we shouldn't get excited about these young players? Does that mean all hope is lost for them making a significant impression on the Major League level in 2026? No, there is no need to worry. If these young players continue to do very well during Spring Training and once they are banished to the minor leagues, it may only be a matter of time before we see them.

If the Yankees struggle this season and Randal Grichuk is not the answer and Jake Bird is not the answer and Trent Grisham struggles mightily, things could change. If the Yankees as a team get off to a very slow start and they are just barely treading water while the young players are tearing up the minor leagues, there will be a great hue and cry for the youngsters to come north. That may be the only hope for this season.

As I have written many times, I don't have a great deal of confidence in this roster, especially not with Aaron Boone as the manager. However, there may be hope down the road. The young players may be the answer. Although with the Yankees, they won't be the answer right away. We simply must have patience.