About the Off-Season: Love Me Non-Tender

About the Off-Season: Love Me Non-Tender

By Tim Kabel

November 22, 2025

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Yesterday was the deadline for Major League teams to offer contracts to players on their roster. If the players were not tendered contracts, they became free agents. Yesterday, the Yankees allowed their fans to breathe a sigh of relief, as they non-tendered five relief pitchers. Mark Leiter, Jr., Scott Effross, Ian Hamilton, Jake Cousins, and minor league reliever Michael Arias were not offered contracts and will not be on next year's team. Unless of course, they are snatched back off the scrapheap by Brian Cashman, something he has been known to do.

Before I launch into a discussion about the players who were not tendered contracts, I have another thought. This isn't something the Yankees control. It's a Major League Baseball issue. Why do they have teams set their roster and decide which prospects to add to the 40-man roster before they have the non-tender deadline? That's backwards thinking. That's like putting down brand new white carpeting in a room before you paint the walls lime green. It would make a lot more sense to do it in the reverse order. For example, if the Yankees had non-tendered these five relief pitchers first, there would have been more space on the roster to protect some prospects who may well be lost in the Rule Five Draft. I'm sure there is some arcane rule that is in a dust-covered ancient filing cabinet that only three people know about which explains the logical reason for doing this. I'm just saying that it would make a lot more sense to jettison players off the roster before a team adds players to the roster. Perhaps that's why they don't do it. As the old saying goes, “Common sense isn't very common around here."

Now, I don't think anyone is going to weep over the departure of the above-named players. They did not bring much to the table except for an occasional flash of competence here and there They can all be replaced very easily. The Yankees bullpen was an area that needed to be upgraded this off-season. Currently the bullpen consists of: David Bednar, Jake Bird, Fernando Cruz, Yerry De los Santos, Camilo Doval, Brent Headrick, Tim Hill, and Ryan Yarbrough. The Yankees could have added Jake Bird to the non-tendered list, but they just acquired him at the trade deadline this year. So, it makes sense to give him a chance to make the team in Spring Training. Not all those pitchers are guaranteed a spot on the team. If the Yankees add other pitchers, then someone such as Brent Headrick or Jake Bird might wind up in the minor leagues or off the team. It has been reported that the Yankees are having discussions with Devin Williams and his agent about returning to the team. They could do far worse than having him as a setup man. After all, he survived about the worst experience he could have had last year and wound up having a fairly decent season, particularly when he was not in the closer's role.

All in all, Brian Cashman did a good job in trimming the roster with the non-tenders. 

I know a lot of fans are upset about the way the situation with Trent Grisham was handled. Many people (possibly including Brian Cashman) suspected that Grisham would not accept the Yankees’ qualifying offer. Well, he did. Honestly, that is not the end of the world. I know he will be getting $22 million as opposed to the $5 million he received last year.

Now, if Grisham does remain on the roster, and reverts to the form he exhibited prior to 2025, that is still not the end of the world. The Yankees did not turn Grisham into the second coming of Aaron Hicks. This is a one-year contract. Remember the Yankees released Hicks in 2023 but paid him through the end of 2025. If Grisham does not play well, he could return to being the fourth outfielder that he was supposed to be all along. He could have a role like the one he had in 2024. I know he's making a lot of money but there's nothing that can be done about that right now. He is guaranteed a contract, not playing time. If Grisham struggles tremendously at the beginning of the season and Spencer Jones is playing very well, Jones could very easily become the starting centerfielder.

There's only one problem with that idea. That problem sits in the manager's office for the New York Yankees. When Aaron Boone decides that a player is one of “his guys” and he needs to play all the time, that's what happens. It happened with DJ LeMahieu. It happened with Josh Donaldson. It happened with Anthony Rizzo. It happened with Aaron Hicks. Boone needs to be able to determine when it is time to pull a veteran out of the lineup if he is not performing. It is unlikely but it is possible. 

The Yankees are beginning to shape the roster for 2026. Many fans are not thrilled about the return of Trent Grisham but the decision by Cashman to trim the roster by relieving five ineffective relievers of their spots on the team was a good move.

Let's sit back and watch this thing as it develops.