About the Off-Season: Drifting Away?

About the Off-Season: Drifting Away?

By Tim Kabel

December 19, 2025

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We are less than one week away from Christmas, and the rumors regarding free agent signings and to a slightly lesser extent, trades are starting to crystallize. In the next few days, many of the big names could be wrapped up in boxes under trees for some lucky fans. By the way, I'm planning on putting several really clever jokes in this article so that someone can take them and put them in his comments and pretend they are his.

Today is December 19th. Munataka Murakami must be signed by the 22nd of December, or he will not be able to play in the Major Leagues next year. His posting period will be over. There has not been a lot of chit chat regarding him. I'm sure he will go somewhere. Because he will only be 26 next year, there is some thought that he will sign a contract for just a few years to establish his market in the Major Leagues. The primary concern with him is his strikeouts but, I'm sure someone will pick him up. It wouldn't shock me if Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner signed him if his price went down. They like a bargain.

There are two weeks left before Tatsuya Imai needs to be signed. His deadline is January 2nd. The rumors regarding him coming to the Yankees are intensifying. Apparently, the Dodgers are not going to be players for him, partially because he said he would prefer to beat the Dodgers than to play for them. That may all be a smokescreen and he could wind up being the eighth man in the Dodgers’ nine-man rotation. Anything is possible. I do have a strong feeling that Imai will wind up with the Yankees. This is especially true now that Michael King has re-signed with the Padres. The Yankees have to sign somebody, and Imai would be a pretty good somebody to sign. As Dean Martin once sang, “Everybody signs somebody sometime." (I can’t wait to read that in the comments later today.)

As far as the other free agents, there are now reports that Cody Bellinger much like Alex Bregman, is looking for a long-term contract. Bregman will be 32 years old at the beginning of the season. Bellinger is 30. They both apparently want long term contracts after taking shorter ones previously. Bregman is looking for a six-year deal and it seems that Bellinger might want a contract of seven or eight years. In the words of Archie Bunker, that might be as popular with his prospective suitors as a lunch of baked beans before a long bus trip. The Yankees may be very reluctant to give out such a long contract to a player who has had some spotty years and a history of injuries. Even if the Yankees were ultimately willing to do so, it's probably not something they are going to jump on right away. It looks as if Bellinger will fall into the traditional Scott Boras pattern of dragging things out as long as possible. 

Bellinger's contract demands may also push him far enough away from the Yankees that they might never connect on a contract.

The Yankees may go in a different direction if Bellinger were to drift away from them. I don't think they will sign Wilson from the movie Castaway, but there are other options. If the Yankees were to sign Bo Bichette to play second base, trade for Corey Seager to play shortstop, and possibly sign Kazuma Okamoto to play third base, that would make Bellinger expendable. Of course, if they were to make those moves, they would also trade away Ryan McMahon and Jazz Chisholm, and most likely Anthony Volpe. I would think that the contracts would come close to evening out in such a scenario. Even if the Yankees did end up spending more, it would not be by a huge margin. Hal Steinbrenner would most likely retain consciousness.

If Bellinger does not return to the Yankees, signing Kyle Tucker does not and should not become Plan B. Kyle Tucker will want an even longer and more lucrative contract than Bellinger. Hal Steinbrenner’s head would spin at such a notion. I also don't think Tucker is a superstar. He's not Aaron Judge. He is not Juan Soto. Tucker struggled for a long stretch with the Cubs last year. If the Yankees ultimately shy away from Bellinger due to his contract demands, it is extremely unlikely that they will pivot to someone whose demands are even more outrageous. That would be like a woman breaking up with Perry Como because she thought his personality was too wild, and going out with Ozzy Osbourne instead.

I think that if Bellinger does not return, Jasson Dominguez will become the everyday leftfielder and leadoff hitter, and by that, I mean every day. He should be given a chance to continue his improvement as a right-handed hitter. I strongly believe that with more repetition, he will improve. If he sits on the bench, he will never improve. I also believe that at some point in the 2026 season, if he is healthy, Spencer Jones will wrest the job of starting centerfielder from Trent Grisham.

If Bellinger does not return and the Yankees make the above moves, it would give them a more well-balanced team and a better offensive team. Let's assume for the sake of argument that they will not unload Giancarlo Stanton and that he will be healthy and serve as the primary DH. That would give the Yankees the following alignment:

C-                               Austin Wells 

1B-                            Ben Rice

2B-                            Bo Bichette

3B-                            Kazuma Okamoto

SS-                            Cory Seager

LF-                             Jasson Dominguez

CF-                            Trent Grisham/ Spencer Jones

RF-                            Aaron Judge

DH-                           Giancarlo Stanton

I think that would give the Yankees a very formidable and well-balanced lineup. If Bellinger does return, there are a variety of ways he could be used. He could be the centerfielder, he could be the leftfielder, he could be the first baseman. However, if he and Scott Boras are insistent on a contract of seven or eight years, he might be doing those things in some other town. Or, since he did play for the Yankees, he could very well be doing them for the Mets, because playing for the Yankees seems to be a prerequisite these days to joining the Mets.