About The Off Day: Meanderings of My Mind

About The Off Day: Meanderings of My Mind

By Tim Kabel

June 2, 2026

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The Yankees just finished a road trip against Kansas City and Sacra-Tomato in which they went 5-1 and outscored the opposition 53-18.  After an off day, they will open a three-game series at home against the Guardians. Then, they will play the Red Sox, Guardians again, and the Blue Jays.  Since I don't have a game to recap today, I will now move from topic to topic as if I was Willy Wonka touring his factory with a band of Oompa Loompas.

·      The Yankees will likely be getting Max Fried back fairly soon. Obviously, he will return to the starting rotation. That means that someone who is currently in the starting rotation will need to go elsewhere. It is highly unlikely that anyone in the rotation will be either traded or sent to the minor leagues. None of those pitchers have performed poorly so a demotion to the minors would be out of the question. As far as a trade, it seems doubtful. The only possible candidates for such a thing would be either Ryan Weathers or Will Warren. Since the Yankees just acquired Ryan Weathers in the offseason from the Marlins, trading him wouldn't make much sense. I would strongly caution the Yankees against training Will Warren because he has become a very solid member of the starting rotation. His record is 7-1 and he has 70 strikeouts in 64.1 innings. He never misses a start, and has become a reliable and gutsy pitcher. With all the other dominant pitchers in the rotation, Warren is somewhat underrated and taken for granted. As long as they keep him in the rotation, that is fine. Warren has progressed very nicely in his career since coming up two years ago. He was not expected to be a member of the starting rotation last year, but injuries forced him into that role. Although he might bring a nice return in a trade, I think it would be a major mistake for the Yankees to do so. Warren is not as flashy as Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole or Max Fried, but he is reliable, and he is now able to pitch a big game when needed. I think Warren could be a key piece in the Yankees starting rotation for years to come.

·      I am looking forward to seeing the movie Young Washington, which is set for a July 4th release, to coincide with the 250th anniversary of America's independence. I have always liked historical movies, particularly biographical ones. I think the World War 2 films are running out of fresh material, which is fine. They can make multiple movies about the same topic as long as they are well done. However, when they make movies about the mail delivery and weather forecasting during the war, I think they are getting near the bottom of the barrel of new ideas. Those are certainly interesting topics, but I don't know that they are worthy of a full-length movie. Anyway, I am truly looking forward to the movie about George Washington, particularly because it focuses on his youth and development into the leader he later became. The previews indicate that it is seems to be a very well-made movie. Speaking of biographical movies about presidents. I'm disappointed that the long-rumored movie about Theodore Roosevelt with Leonardo DiCaprio has not been made yet. It was supposed to be based on the works of Edmund Morris and directed by Martin Scorsese. That is a movie I would truly like to see.

·      I think Ryan Weathers would be the most logical choice to move to the bullpen when Max Fried returns from the IL. Having Fried and Carlos Rodon in the starting rotation would allow the Yankees to continue to have two left-handed starters. I also believe that Weathers’ strikeout ability would translate very nicely to the bullpen. I do not see him as a replacement for Ryan Yarbrough or Paul Blackburn. By the way, I don't know that the Yankees will continue to need both of them in the bullpen. This isn't a knock on them, but two long relievers might be too many. I actually think Weathers could become a dominant late-inning reliever to give the Yankees another option alongside David Bednar. They do have the option of working Carlos Lagrange into that type of a role as well and moving Weathers to the bullpen would certainly not negate that possibility. The more dominant relievers, the merrier.

·      My wife and one of our best friends went to see Air Supply in concert this weekend. Apparently, they have been around so long that they have now changed their name to Oxygen Supply. My wife had a wonderful time, and I finished my latest book while she was away. Now she will have something to read on her computer while I work on another one.

·      Jasson Dominguez is reportedly getting close to playing in rehab games which means his return from the IL could happen fairly soon. I hope he returns to the Major League level as opposed to going back to Scranton because he had earned that opportunity and has a lot to offer. We are approaching the point in the season when Trent Grisham can be traded without his consent. Grisham has heated up lately, but the end result of that hot streak is that he is still only batting .207 with seven home runs and 31 RBI. The decision by the Yankees to extend Grisham the qualifying offer at the end of last season was roundly criticized and at this point it seems that it was not money well spent. Regardless of whether the Yankees trade Grisham this season, I think it is fair to say that he won't be back next season because there really would seem to be no chance that he would get another big contract from the Yankees even a one-year deal.