About the Off-Season: Meanderings of My Mind

About the Off-Season: Meanderings of My Mind

By Tim Kabel

October 26, 2025

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Since the Yankees were eliminated from the postseason, there will be no more games to recap until March of 2026. The Dodgers and the Blue Jays are in the World Series. It is currently tied at one win apiece. Since we will have a lot of free time on our hands, I will be able to think and opine about a variety of issues. That could be dangerous for all parties. I will now wander from topic to topic as if I were my friend Roger at the stationery store, attempting to pick out a new red pen.

·      I have long advocated that the Yankees should go with young players whenever possible and prudent. If their farm system produces young players with enough ability to be successful in the Major Leagues, the Yankees should reap the benefits of their farm system directly whenever they can. If they have a glut of players at a certain position, then it makes sense for the Yankees to reap the benefits of those players indirectly via trade. For example, the Yankees have recently produced multiple catching prospects, many of whom have been used in trades, such as Carlos Narvaez. Many Yankees fans and the media questioned the trade of Narvaez to the Red Sox. However, Elmer Rodriguez Cruz, who was named the Yankees’ minor league player of the year may very well change their opinions on that. Anyway, although I am a proponent of the Yankees promoting young players, that does not mean that every single young player is going to be a successful Major Leaguer. I think that is the case with Anthony Volpe. I know he was injured last season and that injury along with many others, should have been handled much better by the Yankees. It wasn't. However, it is hard to separate which portion of Volpe’s poor and inconsistent play was a result of the injury as opposed to his actual abilities. That is why I am suggesting that the Yankees trade Volpe and bring in Bo Bichette to play shortstop. I know that many people feel Bichette is not a great defender. Perhaps he is not. But as Paul Semendinger has noted, many people complained about Derek Jeter’s defense. How did that work out for the Yankees? Bichette is an excellent hitter and Volpe is not. Besides, Volpe tied for the lead league in errors last year. He did win a Gold Glove in 2023 but, last year, he would have won the lead glove. The Yankees should still have multiple young players on the roster who came up from their system, including Austin Wells, Ben Rice, Jasson Dominguez, Spencer Jones, Will Warren, Clarke Schmidt, and Cam Schlittler. I know Schmidt is on the IL right now but, he will be coming back. There may well be others. Saying that Volpe did not work out is not the same as giving up on the Yankees’ farm system and their need to promote talent from within to the Major Leagues.

·      I have failed to note the passing of several significant stars from film and television. I would like to take a moment to do so. In recent months, we lost Loni Anderson, Terence Stamp, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, Ozzy Osbourne, Diane Keaton, Loretta Swit, Robert Redford, and June Lockhart. There were others as well and I'm sure I'm overlooking somebody's favorite. Anyway, I always enjoyed Loretta Swit on M*AS*H and thought she did an amazing job. Diane Keaton was in many, many movies that made lasting impressions on me and countless others. She was part of one of my favorite scenes ever in a movie. It is in The Godfather Part 2, after she and Michael have separated, and she is at the house visiting the children unbeknownst to Michael. She is at the door, attempting to get her son, Anthony, to kiss her when Michael enters the room. They stare at each other silently and a variety of emotions cross her face. Nothing crosses his and he simply and silently closes the door on her. My two favorite Robert Redford movies were Jeremiah Johnson, which I could watch a hundred more times and not be bored, and The Natural. I know the ending of The Natural was not consistent with the ending of the novel but, I liked the film very much. I think both of those films were aided by the presence of a mustachioed, crusty, curmudgeon. In Jeremiah Johnson, it was Will Geer and in The Natural, it was the incomparable Wilford Brimley. When I was a teenager, I had Loni Anderson's poster hanging in my bedroom. My friend Roger had June Lockhart’s in his bedroom. The stars we recently lost will be greatly missed.

·      As much as I was unhappy about the Blue Jays knocking the Yankees out of the postseason and then advancing to the World Series, particularly in the way the Blue Jays taunted the Yankees after beating them, it might be a good thing in the long run. Hopefully the fact that the Blue Jays beat up on the Yankees in the playoffs and humiliated them in the process might spur Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman to go all out in the off-season. Obviously, they don't need to sign every single free agent but there are moves they could make that would clearly strengthen the Yankees. As I noted in my articles on the 2026 roster, adding Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, and Kyle Schwarber would strengthen the Yankees exponentially for 2026. Bringing in two strong right-handed hitters to play shortstop and third base would help bring balance to the lineup. Having Schwarber batting behind Judge in the lineup would be possibly the best tandem since Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. Judge and Schwarber would probably be better. That would also allow the Yankees to be patient with the development of Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones. That would have both short-term and long-term benefits to the franchise. Look at the way Ben rice improved from 2024 to 2025. The lineup that I proposed in my article yesterday has five homegrown Yankees in it, Wells, Rice, Dominguez, Jones, and Aaron Judge. That speaks very well of the Yankees’ farm system. Using that farm system and bringing in top-notch free agents would make an extremely formidable lineup for 2026 and beyond. That may provide the Yankees with the last laugh over the Blue Jays, particularly if it involves bringing in Bichette to both strengthen the Yankees and weaken the Blue Jays.

·      I am very pleased and proud that I have been able to successfully pivot from a very lengthy career in Child Protective Services to becoming a professional writer. That career has not yet blossomed to the point that I would like it to, but I am satisfied. My only regret is that neither of my parents are alive to see it. I think that's a common experience for many people. It would truly have been something to give a copy of my books to my parents. No, I don't think I would have made them purchase them. I imagine they would have enjoyed the books, but just to see the look on their faces when they held the books in their hands would have been a memory I would have cherished. Instead, it is something I simply have to imagine. I will say to anyone out there who wants to try something different that might be a step out of their comfort zone or a change from the norm, to do it. The last thing you ever want to do in your life is to be 93 years old, sitting in a rest home, regretting the moves and chances you didn't take when you were younger. That is my unsolicited advice for the day.

·       I am strongly suggesting that the Yankees bring Spencer Jones north as the starting center fielder next season. However, I do not think he will be the only minor leaguer who makes it onto the Yankees’ roster and plays a significant role in 2026. I think any or all of the group of young pitchers, Elmer Rodriguez Cruz, Ben Hess, and Carlos Lagrange could be major contributors in the Bronx next season. Rodriguez Cruz could become the most famous Elmer since Mr. Fudd. By the way, the speech impediments from which Mr. Fudd suffered are called rhotacism (trouble pronouncing “r”) and lambdacism (trouble pronouncing “l”). Whoever came up with those names had a warped sense of humor for creating names that those afflicted with the conditions could not pronounce.

·      I would like to take a moment to wish my dear friend Kristen, a Happy Birthday. She shares that birthday with my great hero, Theodore Roosevelt. I have known Kristen for over 30 years and value her friendship immensely. She is truly a special person. As Kenny Rogers sang, “you can't make old friends”.