About the Off-Season: Let's Get This Party Started

About the Off-Season: Let's Get This Party Started

By Tim Kabel

November 18, 2025

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As the Yankees turn their focus to the 2026 season, there are a lot of moves that need to be made. They don't all have to be made at once. They don't all need to be made in the next few weeks but by the same token, they don't all need to wait until two days before Spring Training opens either. The Yankees should start making moves soon. Most likely the first thing they will do is trim the current 40-man roster to make room for players they want to protect from the Rule 5 draft. That would also free up space for any trade or free agent acquisitions the Yankees will make.

Once they remove players who are not in their plans for 2026 and beyond, the Yankees should start making some additions. There are a lot of reasons for that.

First, by making at least one or two moves early, it will set the tone for the off-season. It will send a message to the current team members, the organization, fans, the league, and perhaps most importantly, to prospective free agents whom the Yankees might want to sign.

For example, if the Yankees were able to sign one or possibly two of the Japanese players who were recently posted, that would be a good first step. Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto, and Tatsuya Imai have all been posted, or are about to be. The posting process allows 45 days for these players to be signed by a Major League team, otherwise they will revert to their Japanese team.

So, if the Yankees were to sign Imai in the next two or three weeks, that would accomplish a few things. It would solidify the starting rotation while Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt and Carlos Rodon are recovering. It would show that the Yankees are once again in the market for Japanese players. Seemingly almost every player from Japan recently has gone to the Dodgers. It would also show that the Yankees are being creative in addressing their needs. If they were to sign Imai, then they probably wouldn't be in on some of the other free agent pitchers, allowing them to allocate their resources elsewhere.

Similarly, if the Yankees were to sign Okamoto or Murakami to play third base, that would effectively take them out of the market for Alex Bregman. It would also free up Ryan McMahon for a trade.

Making moves in the off-season often has a domino effect. If the Yankees acquire someone else to play third base, they can trade McMahon. If they trade McMahon for a relief pitcher or two, they might not need to pursue free agent relief pitchers. If the Yankees sign Bo Bichette, Anthony Volpe should probably start thinking about having his mail forwarded to another city.

In recent years, it seems that many of the top free agents are signing later and later in the off-season. That particularly applies to players represented by Scott Boras. Many times, these players do not sign a new contract until just before Spring Training begins and occasionally, even after it has begun. The Yankees may not have a lot of control in that situation, as the player and the agent may choose to deliberately stall, hoping to increase the size of the contract. However, in cases where there is seemingly a great deal of mutual interest, such as what may be the case with Cody Bellinger and the Yankees, a deal could be struck fairly soon.

So, the Yankees may not be able to accomplish all of their off-season plans between now and the end of 2025, but they should be able to do reach some of their goals. Whatever they are able to do, they should do. In the case of Murakami, he has to be signed before Christmas, otherwise he will return to his Japanese team. I'm not saying the Yankees will sign him, but someone will, and it will be done within the next month.

The Yankees have a lot of work to do. The best way to get a lot of work done is gradually, carefully, and slowly and not wait until the last minute and slap everything together. So, let's see what the next few weeks bring.