About the Off-Season: Budget Unconscious

About the Off-Season: Budget Unconscious

By Tim Kabel

December 12, 2025

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Alice Roosevelt, the daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt, was known for her rapier-like wit and biting sarcasm. She carried an embroidered pillow with her that read, “if you don't have anything nice to say, sit next to me.”  Alice once described President Calvin Coolidge by stating that he looked as if he was weaned on a pickle. If you ever saw a picture of Calvin Coolidge, that was an accurate description. His lips were perpetually pursed in a pucker of distaste and mild disgust. Well, Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner both adopt similar expressions when the subject of finances comes up. 

The fact that the Yankees maneuvered themselves into the position of paying Trent Grisham more than four times what he earned last year doesn't help things. When I consider the Trent Grisham situation, it makes me think of the 2000 season when the Yankees tried to get cute and claimed Jose Canseco off waivers from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to block him from going to the competition. Well, the Yankees wound up being stuck with Canseco, which is something they didn't want. Canseco actually received a World Series ring as a result.

It's quite possible that something similar happened with Grisham. The Yankees very well may have expected him to decline the qualifying offer. Instead, he accepted it. Now, the Yankees are stuck with Grisham, at least for the time being. I was unaware that he cannot be traded until June 15, without his consent. Perhaps he will consent, you never know. 

Having Grisham on the roster may affect what moves the Yankees make. Because Grisham is far from a certainty and may very likely regress to his pre-2025 level of performance, I would be reluctant to trade away either Jasson Dominguez or Spencer Jones, as Grisham might only be with the Yankees for 2026. However, how many of us thought he would be back for 2026? How many of us even thought he would have been here in 2025?

Even though the Yankees didn't make any moves at the Winter Meetings, they did make one yesterday. The Yankees signed former Guardians right-handed relief pitcher Bradley Hanner to a minor league contract. Cue the choir singing, “Hallelujah”.  This is another one of Brian Cashman’s patented scrap heap retrieval moves. The fans want Brian Cashman to be shopping in the boutiques. Instead, he is going to the thrift shops. 

I'm not overly concerned by the Yankees’ failure to make any moves at the Winter Meetings. Frequently, the Winter Meetings are a place where teams lay the groundwork for free agent signings and trades. That may very well be what happened with the Yankees this year. There weren't many moves made at all and it wouldn't be fair to say that the Yankees lost out on any of the players who were either traded or signed, as they were probably not targets for the Yankees. 

The issue will be whatever happens from this point until the beginning of the 2026 season. If the Yankees continue to avoid spending money and limit their improvements to bargain basement deals, the roster will not look that formidable headed into 2026. If, however; they sign Tasuya Imai, Cody Bellinger, and Bo Bichette, then all will be right with the world. 

My mother was very frugal and clipped coupons for years. I can still picture that little folder she kept them in. However, when she wanted steak, she bought steak from the butcher shop. It was good steak too. The point is that Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner can be careful in how they spend money, but they still need to acquire the players who will put the team over the top in 2026. Perhaps they should have been a little more careful regarding Trent Grisham, but what's done is done.

The Yankees came up empty at the Winter Meetings. However, there is still a lot of off-season left and except for a couple of big signings, there was not a lot of activity across the board at the Winter Meetings this year. So, there is still a reason for optimism as we consider the Yankees’ off-season. Just don't look at Brian Cashman's or Hal Steinbrenner’s facial expressions too closely when they are discussing finances.