About The Off-Season: If I Were The GM

About The Off-Season: If I Were The GM

By Tim Kabel

October 24, 2026

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The Yankees announced earlier this week that Aaron Boone will be back to manage the Yankees for the 10th year in 2027. It is also the final year of his contract. Not long after, it was announced by Brian Cashman that his own contract had been extended by the Yankees. That was the first step toward constructing the team that will take the field for the Yankees in 2027. The manager and general manager are set.

Brian Cashman will seemingly be in place longer than Aaron Boone since Boone’s contract only extends through the 2027 season. As I wrote the other day, the possibility of Boone being fired before the end of that contract is a realistic possibility. Now we have to sit back and see what Cashman does with the roster. That got me to thinking, which is often a dangerous thing. What would I do if I were the general manager of the New York Yankees? Buckle up.

The first thing that I would do is something that can't be done. I would hire a different manager, but that's off the table. So, let's move past that. Here are the moves I would make:

·       Trade or release Giancarlo Stanton. He did not play for the Yankees in the regular season after April 24th and had two dismal at-bats in the ALDS, striking out both times. It is a given that if he is on the roster in 2027, he will spend a significant period of time on the IL. It is unlikely that another team will trade for Stanton. but you never know. If that proves to be impossible, the Yankees simply need to bite the bullet and release him.

·       Do not re-sign Jazz Chisholm, Jr. or Trent Grisham. Do not make the qualifying offer to Chisholm. Although it is doubtful that Chisholm would accept a qualifying offer, why take the chance? The Yankees don't need a repeat of the Trent Grisham scenario in 2027 this time with Chisholm in the leading role. Bringing Grisham back in 2026 was a mistake. He regressed offensively and defensively and is on the verge of becoming the next Aaron Hicks, particularly if the Yankees were to sign him to a multi-year contract. Chisholm was not a total disaster but certainly regressed and did not live up to his lofty expectations and predictions for the season. In addition, there was always an unnecessary level of drama and chaos with him. Whether it was arguing with umpires or players from other teams, sucking on a lollipop while in the field, or making a big production about borrowing other player’s bats or gloves or shoelaces. By the end of the season, Chisholm had become more trouble than he was worth.

·       Trade Ryan McMahon. The Yankees will take a loss on this. They will not recoup the prospects they sent away for him, but this will definitely be a case of addition by subtraction. The Yankees had major holes in the lineup last year at catcher, second base, third base, and center field. They cannot enter 2027 with those same issues.

·       Sign Teruaki Sato to play third base. Sato, who is 27, played for the Hanshin Tigers this season. He batted.306 with 39 home runs, 106 RBI, and a .991 OPS in 143 games. The Yankees have revamped their international scouting and development program and hopefully are ready to return to the Far Eastern market. Sato would be a tremendous addition to the Yankees, as he is a left-handed power hitting third baseman. He would be a massive upgrade over Ryan McMahon. Let's face it, Fred “Chicken” Stanley would be a major upgrade over Ryan McMahon, even at 79 years old.

·       Acquire Hunter Goodman from the Rockies to be the catcher. If Austin Wells is included in that trade, then the Yankees will also need to acquire a backup for Goodman. JC Escarra and Ali Sanchez are not the answers. Goodman is 27 years old and hit 41 home runs in 2026. He is a right-handed power hitting catcher who will bring balance to the lineup and major offense to the position of catcher.

·       I would like to make a trade with the Washington Nationals for CJ Abrams to play second base. However, I don’t think the Yankees can trade for both Abrams and Goodman. If the Yankees only have enough resources to make one of the two trades, they should focus on Goodman. I have stated previously that I was impressed with the work that Anthony Volpe did after being demoted to Scranton and that he showed that he could handle being the replacement for Jazz Chisholm in 2027. Volpe might not be the long-term answer at second base, but he is unlikely to slobber on lollipops during a game. If Volpe could ever achieve some level of consistency, he would be a very solid choice to play second base at this point. Let's put it this way Volpe and Goodman would be a better duo than Abrams and Wells.  

·       Re-sign David Bednar to be the closer. He proved capable of handling the closer’s roll since the Yankees acquired him from the Pirates. He just turned 32, so a three-year deal would seem appropriate.

·       Sign Adrian Morejon as a free agent. He is a top left-handed reliever and is only 28 years old. The Yankees are unlikely to bring back Tim Hill and Morejon would pair nicely with Bednar at the back end of the bullpen. The Yankees should also re-sign Paul Blackburn to pair with Brent Headrick in middle relief/setup duty.

·       If Will Warren is included in a trade, that would leave the Yankees with a starting rotation of Cam Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, and Ryan Weathers. Clarke Schmidt could be shifted to the bullpen. If the Yankees had to sacrifice Elmer Rodriguez or Carlos Lagrange in a trade, the one who remained could go to the bullpen as well.

·       If the Yankees made the above moves, this would be the offensive alignment of the team:

Catcher-                                  Hunter Goodman

First Base-                             Luis Garcia, Jr.

Second Base-                     Anthony Volpe

Third Base-                            Teruaki Sato

Shortstop-                             George Lomabard, Jr.

Leftfield-                                 Cody Bellinger

Centerfield-                          Spencer Jones

Rightfield-                              Aaron Judge

DH-                                             Ben Rice

The lineup could look like this:

1.         George Lombard, Jr.

2.         Cody Bellinger

3.         Aaron Judge

4.         Ben Rice

5.         Hunter Goodman

6.         Luis Garcia, Jr.

7.         Spencer Jones

8.         Anthony Volpe

9.         Teruaki Sato

I think the offense would be markedly better next year than it was this year. That will include the removal of players who were not productive and the addition of two new players. It will also allow for the improved development of young players who assumed major roles in 2026.        

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