About the Off-Season: Meanderings of My Mind

About the Off-Season: Meanderings of My Mind

By Tim Kabel

November 25, 2025

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The Yankees were eliminated from the postseason in the ALDS, and there will be no more games to recap until March of 2026. We are now entering the part of the year that is marked by innumerable trade and free agency rumors and a few actual transactions. The Yankees have set their roster and non-tendered five players, all of whom were relief pitchers. They will soon begin constructing the roster for 2026. Since we will have a lot of free time on our hands waiting for Spring Training, I will be able to think and opine about a variety of issues. That could be dangerous for all parties. I will now move from topic to topic like Dr. Semendinger moving from classroom to classroom offering friendly greetings and support to his students. He truly puts the “pal” in principal. 

·       Recently, I suggested that the Yankees should bring Don Mattingly back as a coach since he severed ties with the Blue Jays but has indicated that he would like to continue coaching or managing. Although the Yankees recently named a new first base coach, they have not officially named a bench coach, hitting coach, or third base coach. There has been no word about that recently, at least as far as I could find. That is a bit strange, and it sort of leaves Brad Ausmus, James Rowson, and Luis Rojas in the lurch. Apparently, Ausmus is managing team Israel in the WBC. The point is that the Yankees have unfilled spots on their coaching staff and Mattingly is still available. Many people have stated that if the Yankees hired Mattingly to be the bench coach, that would put Aaron Boone in a very uncomfortable position. That would be wonderful. Perhaps Boone needs to be looking over his shoulder. There were games last year when he was seen on camera looking confused and almost helpless trying to figure out what the next move would be. He has done nothing to earn comfort. People can point to his win-loss record and the fact that the Yankees made it to the World Series in 2024 all they want. They didn't win the World Series. Boone can actually be held responsible for two of the four losses the Yankees had against the Dodgers in 2024. Maybe making him uneasy will help. If not, at least his successor will be nearby when the team goes into its annual “Boone-Swoon.”

·       I recently started watching Death by Lightning, a miniseries on Netflix regarding the assassination of President James Garfield by Charles Guiteau. I have not finished watching it but definitely plan to do so. It is very well done and is a fascinating portrait of a little known and long forgotten incident in American history. When you say the name Garfield these days, people think of the cartoon cat. Garfield was the last president to be born in a log cabin. He was the first left-handed president and was actually so skilled at being ambidextrous that he could simultaneously write a sentence in Greek with one hand and in Latin with the other. I asked my friend Roger about this, as they were classmates and he said, “yes but it was all Greek to me.” The acting in this production is outstanding. One of my favorite actors, Michael Shannon, plays President Garfield and Nick Offerman plays his vice president and successor, Chester A. Arthur. At one point Arthur delivers the brilliant line, “for chuckles, we have brass knuckles.” I'm thinking of implementing that policy for my annual Thanksgiving gathering.

·       As predicted, there is a daily barrage of rumors, suggestions, and discussions regarding which players the Yankees should bring in or discard for the 2026 season. There seems to be a strong sentiment for giving Jasson Dominguez more of an opportunity to play regularly next year. I am all for that. However, I see other suggestions as well. I even saw someone suggest that the Yankees bring Austin Slater back. I had to read that one five times just to make sure I wasn't mistaken. I believe that if Dominguez is given a legitimate opportunity to play in 2026, he will have results similar to those of Ben Rice in 2025. If you recall, Rice did not have a great season in 2024. It was suggested by many people that he should either spend 2025 on another team or in the minor leagues. Well, we all saw what Rice did. He essentially made himself indispensable to the Yankees last season and moving forward. The season that Dominguez had in 2025 was far superior to the season that Rice had in 2024. I have read comments that Dominguez struggled down the stretch. That's not true. He simply only had a handful of at bats from August on. He will be playing winter ball in the Dominican to improve his right-handed hitting and his outfield defense.

·       Returning to the topic of history, I recently started editing the first novel I wrote. It is called “My Uncles’ Son” and it is a historical novel about two Bataan Death March survivors. It amazes me that when I tell people about that, very few of them know what the Bataan Death March was. After all, this did not occur hundreds of years ago. It was during World War Two. The last Bataan Death March survivor, Ben Skardon, passed away in 2018 at the age of 102. Most Americans today know about a few isolated things from history but overall, I would say the knowledge of and interest in American history is miniscule. That is unfortunate. I was a history major but there are many things that I don't know. I learn more and more as I write books because there is frequently a historical component to my books, and I like to be accurate. The new Revolutionary War documentary by Ken Burns may spur some interest. Also, there will be a movie coming about out about George Washington in 2026. That will be something to sink your wooden teeth into.  

·       I am hoping that the success of the Toronto Blue Jays in 2025, and the Dodgers which has been going on for several years, is enough to spur Hal Steinbrenner to actually push the Yankees over the finish line in regard to winning the World Series. In other words, the Yankees high command must get past the mentality of “good enough” is good enough. There are upgrades that need to be made to the Yankees. It was a perfectly fine idea to bring in Ryan McMahon at the trade deadline in 2025. However, although he is a great defensive player, he is more or less a placeholder. He is not Scott Brosius who came to the Yankees and excelled. McMahon is adequate.

Anthony Volpe is adequate. There were times in 2025 when Anthony Volpe was inadequate. If the best he can aspire to is adequate, he should be replaced. One of the problems with Volpe is his injury situation. Aaron Boone asserts strongly that Volpe’s injury did not affect his play in 2025. Brian Cashman feels that it did. Most people believe that it did. It's just a question of how much it affected him. Even at his peak, is Volpe good enough? I don't believe so, which is why I think the Yankee should pursue Bo Bichette. The main issue is that Hal Steinbrenner has to stop clipping coupons and shopping in the bargain basement. I read recently that J Paul Getty had a payphone in his mansion so that guests would have to pay to make phone calls. He also reportedly clipped coupons until the day he died. That's fine but then again, he didn't own the Yankees. As fans, we want Hal to spend the money. That doesn't mean we want him to spend the money foolishly; we don't. The Yankees need to do whatever it takes as far as acquiring talent so that they will be perennial World Series participants. The Yankees used to set the bar. Now, they try to find ways to sneak under the bar. That has to stop. The Yankees need to make wise decisions and if money is an issue, it shouldn't be.