About the Off-Season: Meanderings of My Mind

About the Off-Season: Meanderings of My Mind

By Tim Kabel

January 4, 2026

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The Yankees were eliminated from the postseason in the ALDS, so there will be no games to recap until March. The off-season has been painfully slow and boring so far for the Yankees. Other teams are making moves, but the Yankees have done next to nothing to improve the team that was slapped around by the Blue Jays in the ALDS. If things do not change for the Yankees soon, 2026 will not look to be a very promising year for them. Since we have a lot of free time on our hands while we are waiting for Spring Training, I will be able to ponder and speculate about a variety of issues. I will now move from topic to topic as if I was at a holiday cookie swap with a full glass of eggnog. 

·      There was an old Bugs Bunny cartoon in which Bugs was being threatened by Yosemite Sam. Bugs proceeded to draw a line in the sand with his foot and dare Yosemite Sam to cross it. He did. Bugs continued to draw lines and Yosemite continued to cross them until they reached a point where Yosemite crossed the line and fell off a cliff. That is how this off-season is going for the Yankees. Every time we see a free agent player that the Yankees could sign or should sign or may sign, they don't. Another team does. This week, Tatsuya Imai signed with the Astros instead of the Yankees. Yesterday, the Blue Jays signed Kazuma Okamoto.  Yankees fans continue to draw lines, hoping that the team will step up and sign that player. They don't. The next lines will be for Cody Bellinger, Alex Bregman, and Bo Bichette. The Yankee should sign any or all of them. However, at this point it's hard to have any confidence that they will do so. It is more likely that the Yankees will just keep stepping over the lines and doing nothing else until they, like Yosemite Sam, fall off a cliff.

·      I have received a couple of calls so far from my son Jack at Basic Training. The actual training hasn't started yet. They are just doing paperwork and things of that nature. He seems to be adjusting well and this week I should receive the address to which I can send letters. He has made it through the first week and although as a parent, you always worry, I am confident that he will excel.

·      The Blue Jays signed Kazuma Okamoto yesterday. While it is true that he has never played in the Major Leagues, he is considered to be an excellent hitter. He is also a right-handed hitter. He hits for both power and average. Okamoto can play either third base or first base and has also played the outfield. He would have been an excellent fit for the Yankees. However, he is now a Blue Jay. Not only have the Yankees not improved but they have also fallen further behind the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays were already ahead of the Yankees and now they are even better. The Yankees are not improving. At this point, they have lost both Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt from last year's team. I'm not saying that they need to sign both of those players. The point is that the Yankees have holes in their roster and have made no effort to fill them. I honestly never thought that we would be at this point of the off-season without the Yankees having made one significant move. It is true that there are still players available and there are moves the Yankees could make. However, their complete inactivity thus far does not inspire confidence.

·      Tomorrow marks one year that we have had Clancy living in our home. I realize that not everyone likes pets and of those who do, some only like dogs as opposed to dogs and cats. However, I am very glad that we made the decision to bring this fellow (I can't really call him a little fellow) into our family. He brightens my days and is a very entertaining character. I have owned many pets in my life, but Clancy is truly special.

·      Whether or not the Yankees sign any free agents or make any trades, one thing definitely has to change in 2026. Aaron Boone must make a conscious effort to develop young players. Jasson Dominguez must play every day. Spencer Jones should play very often in Spring Training, and he must be given an opportunity to make the team on Opening Day. Look at it this way, who has more potential to make a long-term impact on the Yankees franchise, Spencer Jones or Trent Grisham? Grisham was by definition, a journeyman player who had a very good year last year. Can and will Grisham replicate that this year? I'm not overly confident that he can. He was not as good defensively last year as he had been in the past. Will he improve his defense? Since the Yankees do not appear to be willing to spend money, they need to develop the young players on their roster.    

·      Yesterday, my wife and I had a delightful lunch with a couple we met through our cat breeder. She has a website where people can stay in touch and update each other with pictures of their cats. In the past, I made friends through work or school and even through my children by making friends with the parents of their friends. I never thought I would make friends through Clancy but that's just another way he has made himself useful around here. It truly was a very pleasant afternoon with lively and interesting conversation, laughter and extremely delicious baked goods brought by our guests.

·      I do not have a great deal of confidence in the Yankees roster at this point. I'm not overly concerned about Austin Wells because I suspect he had an unreported injury last season. I think Ben Rice will become a major player on this team and I would not be surprised if he makes the All-Star team. I think Jazz Chisholm will have a very good walk year but, the fact that it is his walk year is a disappointment. The Yankees should either sign him to an extension or trade him. I have very little confidence in Anthony Volpe and would like to see Jose Caballero or Oswaldo Cabrera be given a chance to keep the starting shortstop job after Volpe returns from the IL, instead of just handing it back to Volpe. Although Ryan McMahon is a very good defensive third baseman, his offense is spotty at best. Having him and Volpe man the left side of the infield is underwhelming. I have touted Jasson Dominguez for a while, and my concern is not with him. I find it highly unlikely that Aaron Boone will give him a genuine opportunity to play regularly. I don't have a great deal of confidence that Trent Grisham will repeat the offensive production he put up in 2025. Furthermore, I don't believe that Aaron Boone will give Spencer Jones a legitimate opportunity to win the centerfield job. As far as Aaron Judge is concerned, if he remains injury free, I have no reason to doubt that he will put up another MVP caliber season. I think the sand is running out of the hourglass on Giancarlo Stanton. He misses a significant amount of time every season and I would not be surprised if 2026 is no different. There is a lot of uncertainty in both the starting rotation and the bullpen. Based on all that, I would not be surprised if the Yankees do not make the playoffs in 2026. I'm not trying to be a Negative Ned but that is the reality of the situation.