About the Off-Season: Going Semi-Wild

About the Off-Season: Going Semi-Wild

By Tim Kabel

December 6, 2025

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The Winter Meetings will open on Monday. I will not write another article until Monday. Between now and then, the Yankees could conceivably make some moves. There is no law against it and other teams are doing it so, the Yankees could join in. Even if they don't, they could very well make some transactions during the Winter Meetings. That would not be at all unusual. After all, the Yankees signed Max Fried during the 2024 Winter Meetings and traded for Juan Soto during the 2023 Winter Meetings. They also re-signed Aaron Judge and signed Gerrit Cole during the Winter Meetings. 

With that in mind, let's pretend that Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner are really going to go for it in 2026. Now considering who we are dealing with here, I'm not going to suggest that the Yankees sign every single top-of-the-line free agent or trade for every superstar. I'm going to take the approach that Louie took on Taxi when Jim burned his house down and he asked Jim's father for money to cover the damages. I'm not going to suggest too much and I'm not going to suggest too little. I'm going to try to find the perfect balance.

Let's accept the premise that the Yankees do have enough money so that they don't have to cut coupons at the Winter Meetings. Now let's get going. 

First, the Yankees should sign Tatsuya Imai. That would give the Yankees a starting rotation right now of Max Fried, Luis Gil, Will Warren, Cam Schlittler, and Imai. Bear in mind that Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole should be back on the mound fairly early in the season and Clarke Schmidt is likely to return later in the year. Ryan Yarbrough could also fill in if needed.

Next, the Yankees should sign Bo Bichette. He's a tremendous offensive player and bringing him in would not only strengthen the Yankees, but it would also weaken the Blue Jays.

After the Yankees sign Bichette, the next move or the simultaneous move should be to re-sign Cody Bellinger. He has proven what he can do in New York and would be a much better fit than Kyle Tucker.

Once the Yankees sign those three players, then they should take a package of Will Warren, Ryan McMahon, Anthony Volpe and Trent Grisham and send them to the Texas Rangers for Corey Seager and Kyle Higashioka. Higashioka would provide a right-handed bat at catcher to share the load. He is familiar with New York and was very popular with the fans and teammates while he was here. Sending Grisham to Texas would offset the salary of Seager somewhat, and because it is only a one-year contract, the Rangers probably wouldn't balk at it. If the Yankees needed to include a prospect in the package they could certainly do so although not one of their top pitching prospects. The Yankees could possibly send Henry Lalane to Texas if they needed to. His grandfather Jack might not approve but if that's what it takes, the Yankees should do it.

To address the bullpen, the Yankees should pull a reverse on the Mets and sign Edwin Diaz.

The Yankees should also do as Alan B has suggested and convert a couple of their prospects such as Ben Hess and Carlos Lagrange into late-inning relief pitchers. This should begin in Spring Training, and they should take as much time as necessary to develop the youngsters at the beginning of the season. In the meantime, the combination of Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, and Tim Hill should be sufficient to form the core of the bullpen behind David Bednar and Diaz. There are several candidates for the remaining slots including Yerry De Los Santos, Jake Bird, Brent Headrick, and others.

That would be a very good start, but it wouldn't complete the process. The Yankees need to go further. Giancarlo Stanton must be convinced to waive the no-trade clause in his contract. There are teams that would take him although the Yankees might have to pick up some of his salary. They also probably would not get much back unless they attached a prospect to the deal. If that doesn't work, they should simply release him because he clogs up too much space on the roster and in the lineup. At this point, the wisest course of action regarding Stanton would be to send him elsewhere. Since I believe the Yankees should trade Austin Wells and make Ben Rice the primary catcher, perhaps Stanton could be packaged with Wells for a dominant relief pitcher who has a few years of team control.

Finally, the Yankees should sign Munetaka Murakami to be the primary designated hitter. He can also play the corner infield positions when needed.

Okay, I have provided you with all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. How would they fit together? Here's what I would do: Rice would be the catcher with Higashioka backing him up. Bellinger would be the primary first baseman. Murakami could play first when Bellinger has a day off or is in the outfield. Jazz Chisholm, Jr. would remain at second base. If George Lombard, Jr. progresses this season and is seen as a viable possibility for 2027, then the Yankees could let Chisholm go via free agency. If not, they could re-sign Chisolm. Corey Seager would play shortstop. Bo Bichette, who is not considered to be as solid as Seager at shortstop would shift to third base. Leftfield would be manned by Jasson Dominguez.

Spencer Jones would be given every opportunity in Spring Training to win the starting centerfield job. If he didn't, then Bellinger could shift to center and Murakami could play first. 

The final piece to this would be to bring in Harrison Bader as a backup outfielder and right-handed hitter. In that scenario, he could play center field in a platoon with Jones if Jones was not up to par or he could simply take the job while Jones seasons some more in the minors. However, if Jones demonstrates that he can handle it, then he should be the starter in centerfield.

The moves I suggested are not the most expensive. They are also a blend of youth and veterans and most of the veterans whom I suggest bringing in are on the younger side. It also brings in two Japanese players who are highly touted. The offense might be a little too left-handed but, having Bader and Higashioka would help in that regard. Also, Jasson Dominguez was improving from the right-side last season and should be given every opportunity to do so this year. 

Ryan Yarbrough might have to fill out the starting rotation at the beginning of the year but that is not a terrible thing. If Rodon and Cole both return and are able to pitch effectively, then Yarbrough could shift back to the bullpen. It is conceivable that Luis Gil could even go to the bullpen, if need be.

I think these suggestions are realistic. They are enough to make Hal Steinbrenner wince a little bit perhaps, but not so much that he would pass out. Now let's see what the Yankees actually do.