About The Off Day: A Silver Lining

About The Off Day: A Silver Lining

By Tim Kabel

June 18, 2026

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This Is my 666th Article for SSTN. If you don't like this one, my excuse is in the words of Geraldine Jones, the alter ego of Flip Wilson, “The Devil made me do it”.

Losing Aaron Judge, and to a lesser extent, Max Fried and Trent Grisham is potentially devastating to the Yankees. The reason I say that losing Fried and Grisham is not as significant as losing Judge is because Judge is the reigning two-time American League MVP, who has won the award three times, and his injury will keep him out of the lineup for a longer period of time than the other two. Anyway, it will be extremely difficult for the Yankees to win the division having lost those players. Also, Giancarlo Stanton is not likely to return anytime soon. He suffered another setback in his recovery and will be having more tests done. However, difficult does not mean impossible. The Yankees will need to rely on pitching and defense and some of their young players.

That is the silver lining in this situation. Last year, Will Warren was placed in a position of being a regular member of the starting rotation probably a year earlier than he was supposed to be. That was due to injuries to Clarke Schmidt, Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil. With Judge and at least for now, Grisham out, Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones will become regular outfielders. Whether they remain regular outfielders for the full season remains to be seen. This is definitely an opportunity for them. On Saturday, Jasson Dominguez basically hopped off an airplane, drank some coffee, ran to the ballpark, and hit a home run. Spencer Jones has looked better in his second go-around with the team this season. If they continue to develop and improve at the Major League level, that will be an advantage for the Yankees for this season and the future.

Trent Grisham is likely to be back relatively soon. However, it is doubtful that the Yankees will bring him back next season because he will probably want more than a one-year contract at a substantial amount of money. After all, he is making 22 million dollars this year. Giancarlo Stanton has one year left on his contract with the Yankees. Who knows when or if he will return this season and what he will be able to do next year. It is easy to envision a scenario in which the Yankees starting outfield next year is comprised of Cody Bellinger, Spencer Jones, Aaron Judge, and Jasson Dominguez. Yes, I know that is four people for three positions. If Stanton is not on the roster, one of those four could serve as the DH in a rotation. If the Yankees want to bring Paul Goldschmidt back next season, he could fill in as the DH when one of the four outfielders needed a day off or he could play first base when Ben Rice needed a day off.

George Lombard, Jr. has shown a pattern throughout his minor league career. Whenever he is promoted, he struggles at that level and then either at the end of that season or the beginning of the next, he completely masters it. He seems to have accelerated that pace in Scranton, as he is already starting to do very well. I am not advocating that he be brought to the Major Leagues this season. I don't think he should be, even when the rosters expand by two more players in September. Instead, he should stay in Scranton for the year. However, if the Yankees were to determine that bringing him up at the end of the year if the team was in a playoff run might be helpful to his development much like they did with Derek Jeter in 1995, I wouldn't have a problem with that. I suspect that Lombard will be the starting shortstop for the Yankees if not at the beginning of 2027, at some point shortly thereafter.

I think Jazz Chisholm, Jr. has hurt himself tremendously as far as his next contract goes. He will be a free agent at the end of this season. I don't know that the Yankees will bring him back. If they don't, Jose Caballero is not eligible to be a free agent until 2030. He could certainly shift to play second base next season with Lombard playing shortstop.

Following that scenario, that would provide the Yankees with stability and a little more balance in the lineup. They would have Ben Rice at first base, Jose Caballero at second base, George Lombard, Jr. at shortstop, and an outfield/DH rotation of Cody Bellinger, Spencer Jones, Jasson Dominguez, and Aaron Judge. That would leave the positions of third base and catcher open.

I realize that Ryan McMahon has one year left on his contract. By the way, this year the Yankees are paying $31 million to DJ LeMahieu and Ryan McMahon to play third base. They are not getting a lot of bang for their buck. There are other options available for third base for this season and beyond. Apparently, Bo Bichette has made it clear that he intends to opt out of his contract with the Mets at the end of this season and will become a free agent again. If that is true, the Mets might be willing to trade him for a relatively small package rather than getting nothing when he becomes a free agent. I know Bichette has struggled this season but of late he has begun to play much better. He would certainly be an upgrade over McMahon. Also, if he came to the Yankees now, he may be willing to stay with them beyond this season. Whether that means he does not opt out of his contract or signs a new one with the Yankees is unclear. Let's get him here first.

Another option for the Yankees would be Teruaki Sato, who plays for the Hanshin Tigers and is expected to be posted in the offseason. He is a left-hand hitting third baseman who has won the MVP and has had multiple 40 home run seasons. He will be 28 years old next season and would definitely be an upgrade over McMahon. Sato would also be a long-term solution. 

The Yankees need to explore all catching options. If they are unable to find another starting catcher, Austin Wells could continue in that role as long as the Yankees get a solid platoon partner for him.

I will discuss the pitching prospects for the Yankees moving forward on the next off-day. Losing Aaron Judge is a major blow. The only advantage is that it gives the Yankees an opportunity to develop and assess Spencer Jones and Jasson Dominguez, who already has Major League experience. This will give them a leg up if they are going to play major roles in 2027 and beyond. It will also allow them to play major roles this season. If the Yankees are going to make it to the postseason, Jones, Dominguez, and Caballero will need to contribute significantly and often. 

I am less concerned about Dominguez getting a legitimate opportunity than I am about Jones. I think Dominguez will play almost every day. My thought is that rather than letting Jones play every day, Boone will instead send Jose Caballero out to right field to give starting opportunities at shortstop to Anthony Volpe. That would be a major mistake. We have seen Anthony Volpe for three years. We know what he is we know what he can do. It is more important to see and determine what Spencer Jones can do with a legitimate opportunity. Certainly, if it's a very tough left-handed pitcher Jones could sit. However, if the purpose of sitting Jones is just to get Anthony Volpe in the lineup. that is like designing a menu so that you can feature kale. Nobody wants that.

For the Yankees to remain competitive while Aaron Judge is on the IL, they are going to need major contributions from Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones among others. In order for that to happen, Aaron Boone actually has to put them in the lineup. That may be the biggest test of all.