About the Off-Season: Meanderings of My Mind

About the Off-Season: Meanderings of My Mind

By Tim Kabel

February 16, 2026

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The Yankees were eliminated from the postseason in the ALDS last season. Well, Spring Training is underway. Pitchers and catchers showed up last week, and position players will arrive tomorrow. The first Spring Training game will be on Friday against the Baltimore Orioles. I can taste the hot dogs and smell the grass already. Since I don't have any games to recap, I will now move from topic to topic as if I was Jutta Leerdam running around the Olympic village giving away Thor pins.

·      I have read a lot of articles so far about what the Yankee should do with Jasson Dominguez. The most popular opinions seem to be either sending him to the minor leagues or trading him. The third option would be to keep him in the Major Leagues in a limited role on the bench. One part of this discussion is the frequent characterization of last year's season by Dominguez as either a disappointment or a failure of some kind. It really wasn't. Considering that he was essentially banished during the second half of the season, especially in August and September, Dominguez had a very solid rookie season. It wasn't spectacular, but it wasn't anything that I would characterize as a failure or a disappointment. Dominguez appeared in 123 games and batted .257 with 10 home runs, 47 RBI, and 23 stolen bases. In Anthony Volpe’s rookie season, he played 159 games. He batted .209 with 21 home runs,60 RBI, and 24 stolen bases. Considering that Dominguez played about 75% of the games that Volpe did, I don't see how you can characterize Dominguez as a failure or someone who should be relegated to the bench while Volpe should be anointed not only a starter but someone who barely misses any games. As another example, In Ben Rice's rookie year, he played 50 games. He batted .171 with 7home runs and 23 RBI. Last year, Rice improved to bat .255 with 26 home runs and 65 RBI. I don't think it is unreasonable to surmise that if Dominguez were given a similar opportunity this season, he could have a comparable level of improvement. Now, to the matter of what to do with Dominguez. I think trading him would be a huge mistake. After all, injuries are very likely to occur. Whether to the starting outfielders or Giancarlo Stanton, injuries could open a spot for Dominguez. Second, Trent Grisham is only under contract through this season. There will not be the issue of the qualifying offer in the next offseason. It is doubtful that Grisham will be back in 2027. If he reverts to form and has an awful season, it won't even be an issue. If he has another solid season, he may price himself out of returning to the Yankees. Therefore, trading Dominguez would be an awful move. Similarly, keeping him on the bench would not be in his best interest or the best interest of the team. Although he only had one at bat in the postseason and hit a booming double at the end of the Yankees’ final game, Dominguez is only 23 years old. He needs to play every day. Therefore, as much as I hate to say it, the best thing to do for Dominguez and the Yankees would be to send him down to AAA. If he excels there as I expect he will, he will be ready to go when the Yankees have a need due to either injury or poor performance. If Grisham is struggling mightily to start the season for example and Dominguez is flourishing, there will be a great hue and cry to bring Dominguez back up and relegate Grisham to the bench. Aaron Boone will be extremely reluctant to do that. However, if Dominguez is playing every day as opposed to sitting on the bench, it will be harder for Boone to ignore him.

·      My wife gave me a very lovely package from Caramels.com for Valentine's Day. I am not trying to turn this into a commercial, but I have to say these are the best caramels I have ever eaten. There were three flavors in the box, chocolate marshmallow, grandpa's bourbon, and walnut. I'm not sure what bourbon grandpa drinks but the caramels were delicious. If you like caramels, I don't think you will be disappointed if you try them. They are a bit pricey but, I think they are worth it.

·       Spencer Jones presents another dilemma for the Yankees. Although, unlike Dominguez, Jones has never played at the Major League level. It would not be unreasonable to send him to Scranton along with Dominguez. I can imagine a scenario in which the Yankees experience injury and/or poor performance from Grisham and Giancarlo Stanton. Another problem could be an injury to Austin Wells which would require Ben Rice to assume a large portion of the catching responsibilities. That would of necessity move Cody Bellinger to first base. I don't believe the Yankees view Paul Goldschmidt as an everyday player. They shouldn't. The point is that there is a world in which both Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones could be prominent players on the Yankees this season. It probably won't happen right away but perhaps by the middle of the season, they could both be here. The only problem with that is that Brian Cashman and to a larger degree, Aaron Boone would have to be open to it. Grisham could be batting .027 and Boone would still want to trot him out there believing that sunny days are just around the corner.

·      When I am working on my novels, I keep an open folder in the notes app on my phone and when I see an article or something interesting, I make a note of it so that eventually, I can write about it. The novel I published in October, “The Sea Change of Dr. Abernathy”, was developed that way. I saw an ad during one of the Yankees games about needing people to adopt special needs pets, particularly cats or dogs suffering from cancer. I wondered for quite a while about what type of person would ever do such a thing. That is how I created the character of Dr. Lowell Abernathy, and the story just came from there. Recently, I saw a listed word of the day, which was Morgenmuffel.  It is a German word that means a person who is extremely grouchy, particularly in the morning. It will be a title the title of a book I will write down the road.

·      Recently, I read an article about how Aaron Boone was recently discussing his legacy. I immediately checked the calendar to see if it was April 1st as opposed to February 1st. It was not. Aaron Boone discussing his legacy would be like the American Film institute conducting a tribute and film festival of the great movies of Elvis Presley or Madonna. Boone is entering his ninth season as Yankees manager. Of all the men who have managed the New York Yankees, Aaron Boone is the only one to complete eight seasons without winning a World Series. Like Tigger, “he's the only one”. There is no reason to expect that the futility will end this season. Boone will extend his streak of ineptitude to nine seasons. I know a few of you are spitting your coffee an exclaiming that “Boone has a tremendous win-loss record. Boone has been in the playoffs every year except one. The Yankees tied the Blue Jays for the best record in the American League last year”. All those things are true and with that and two dollars, Boone can buy a Snickers bar. The Yankees claim that their goal every season is to win the World Series. Boone has come up short in each and every season he has been the manager. How much longer will this continue? Must this legacy of ineptitude and inadequacy continue for 10, 12, or even 15 years? Perhaps it must.