About the Off-Season: A Whole Lot of Nothing

About the Off-Season: A Whole Lot of Nothing

By Tim Kabel

December 11, 2025

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The Winter Meetings are over. Unless Brian Cashman and his minions left the hotel in Orlando with some towels shoved in their suitcases, the Yankees came away with... absolutely nothing. Well, let me correct that. This year for the first time in recent memory, the Yankees did not lose a player in the Rule 5 Draft. They actually took one for the first time since 2011. The Yankees claimed Cardinals relief pitcher Cade Windquest. He seems to have a lot of potential. He will need to be on the Major League roster for all of 2026 or he will return to the Cardinals.

That's it. That's all the Yankees did. No free agent signings. No trades. Not even some souvenirs from the hotel gift shop. It was as if the Grinch stole the Winter Meetings from the Yankees. I am tempted to say that the Yankees had the worst Winter Meetings imaginable.

But then I looked at the Mets. In the past few weeks, the Mets lost Brandon Nimmo, Edwin Diaz, and Pete Alonso. They brought back Marcus Semien and Devin Williams. Williams is spending his time bashing the Yankees after saying a few weeks ago that he wanted to return to the Yankees. The Yankees didn't acquire anyone but at least they didn't lose a starting outfielder, a lights-out closer, and their slugging first baseman, who in many ways was the face of the franchise. I guess the fact that the other New York team actually has done worse this offseason, will temper the blow somewhat for Yankees fans. 

Now there are rumors that the Yankees are interested in Rockies centerfielder Brenton Doyle. This is yet another reclamation project who will not get very many people excited. The Yankees are supposedly trying to figure out what to do regarding Cody Bellinger, Jasson Dominguez, and Spencer Jones. Doyle would only seem to complicate matters.

Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner remind me of those old skits of Jack Benny where he tries to avoid spending any money whatsoever on anything. It is still possible that the Yankees will acquire Tatis and Bichette during this offseason. Of course, that will be Fernando Tatis, Sr. and Dante Bichette, Sr.. Brian Cashman would probably say, “Well they are a little older. but we feel they still have something in the tank.”

The Dodgers are improving. The Blue Jays are improving. Heck, even the Orioles are improving. The Red Sox are making moves. I don't know if I would consider acquiring Sonny Gray an improvement. He will have a lot to prove playing in the tough environment of Boston. The Yankees have done practically nothing so far this offseason. The key words there are “so far."

Tatsuya Imai and the other players who were posted from Japan will have their situations resolved soon. Many people believe that Imai would be an excellent fit for the Yankees. Cody Bellinger has not signed. Bo Bichette has not signed. There are many very good free agents who are still available. Although the Yankees have primarily been spectators so far this offseason, the parade has not completely passed them by. If Bellinger, Bichette, Alex Bregman, Imai and all the other players who are legitimate possibilities for the Yankees sign elsewhere, then the Yankees and their fans will have a lot of problems.

I suppose it's better that the Yankees didn't acquire anybody as opposed to losing key components of the team the way the Mets did or making moves simply to make moves. For example, I think it's fair to say that the Yankees are better off not having signed any pitchers other than Ryan Yarbrough than if they had traded for Sonny Gray. Sometimes the moves you don't make are just as important as the moves you do make.

The fact that the Yankees did not add anyone to the team is frustrating, but that frustration can be remedied very quickly. If by the end of the year, the Yankees reel in Tatsuya Imai, Cody Bellinger, and Bo Bichette as free agents and maybe make one or two trades, the team will look much better and Yankees fans will be able to breathe a collective sigh of relief.