About the Off-Season: Filling My Stocking
- Tim Kabel
- Dec 24, 2025
- 2 min read
About the Off-Season: Filling My Stocking
By Tim Kabel
December 24, 2025
***
It is Christmas Eve. Once again, the Yankees have done nothing this week and with the holidays upon us, I don't imagine they will make any moves the rest of this week. Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner seem to be in hibernation mode. I and many others keep encouraging them to make moves but to this point, they haven't. Yes, they have signed a lot of minor league cast-offs and role players, but they haven't done anything substantive. Will they? A couple of weeks ago I would have said definitely, but now I think the best answer is that it remains to be seen. Your guess is as good as mine.
Since the Yankees have not actually made any efforts toward building the roster for the 2026 team. I'm going to go over the heads of Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner. I'm going straight to the big man. No, I don't mean dr. Semendinger. I mean Santa Claus.
I'm going to ask Santa for the Yankees team that I want to see on the field next year. I'm going to be realistic. That is important. When little kids ask Santa to bring them a pony and they live in a two-room flat in the city, it's probably not going to happen. I'm asking Santa to do what is needed to make this the team that will play for the Yankees next year.
As one fat man with a beard to another, I'm asking for this special request. This is the team I want in 2026 for the New York Yankees:
Catcher- Austin Wells
First base- Ben Rice
Second base - Bo Bichette
Third base- Kazuma Okamoto
Shortstop- Corey Seager
Leftfield- Jasson Dominguez
Centerfield- Spencer Jones
Rightfield- Aaron Judge
DH- Randy Arozarena
Bench- Trent Grisham, Oswaldo Cabrera, Jose Caballero, Amed Rosario, Kyle Higashioka
Starting Rotation (Opening Day)- Max Fried, Luis Gil, Will Warren, Tatsuya Imai, Cam Schlittler
Bullpen- Ryan Yarbrough, Tim Hill. Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz, Brent Headrick/ Cade Winquest, Carlos Lagrange, David Bednar,
Lineup-
Dominguez- LF
Bichette- 2B
Judge- RF
Rice- 1B
Okamoto- 3B
Seager- SS
Arozarena- DH
Wells- C
Jones- CF
This is the team I am asking Santa to bring me for 2026. I may not have been very good this year but, I think we can overlook that.
What team do you want in your stocking?
let Cashman be good to the Padres
send them Warren, Elmer Rodriguez and Spencer Jones
and allow them to make the Yankees responsible for playing and paying Tatis and Miller
Oops, I counted it twice (hopefully I did better than yesterday's brain cramp). Lagrange has to start the year in SWB (AAA). 9 starters + 5 bench + 5 starters +8 bullpen = 27. Active roster limit is 26.
I like Winquest over Bird. I don't like Arozarena (MLB let him get away without punishment for kidnapping/custodial interfence/assault), I'll stick with Stanton, and divvie up his DH ABs when he invariably gets hurt. Seager probably does cost the Yankees Gil or Warren + Lagrange. Currently they have DeGrom, Leiter, & Rocker, in their rotation. Love there is no Bellinger, but would feel better with someone like Austin Hays as the 4th OF. Instead of paying a rehabbing reliever a guaran…
Higgy Stardust reunion. Ambitious wishlist, sans arozarena. Bellinger is a must sign. Get it done!
Stanton has a no trade clause, so that would mean that Santa would eat over 50 million. Glad that he woukd have them sign FA Bichette, Okamoto and Imai and trade for Seager. You can build a super team without Bellinger. Santa will walk past Boras.