About The Off-Season: Meanderings Of My Mind

About The Off-Season: Meanderings Of My Mind

By Tim Kabel

October 19, 2026

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The Yankees were eliminated in the Divisional round of the playoffs this season. The Tampa Bay Rays, the team that beat the Yankees, are currently tied at two games apiece with the Cleveland Guardians in the LCS. By the time you read this, one of those teams will have the lead in the series. The winner will play the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series. As usual, the Yankees will be spectators. That has been the case since the Yankees won the World Series in 2009. I contend that it will remain the case as long as Aaron Boone is the manager of the team. Since I will not have any games to recap until at least March of 2027, I will now wander from topic-to-topic as if I were at a local farm trying to select just the right pumpkin while wandering around with an apple cider donut in one hand and a cup of pumpkin spice coffee in the other.

·      I read a comment the other day that “Spencer Jones played centerfield like a rookie in 2026.” That's true. It is also true that Shirley Temple danced like a child. Flipper swam like a dolphin. General Patton swore like a soldier. When young players make it to the Major Leagues, they are not finished products. There is room for improvement. When Wade Boggs became a Major Leaguer, he was not considered to be a very good defender at third base. Yet, he went on to win two Gold Glove awards in 1994 and 1995. Spencer Jones may not have been a perfect centerfielder in his debut season for the Yankees. However, I think it is fair to say that he was better at the position than Trent Grisham was. Yet whenever Grisham played the field, he was in centerfield, and Jones was in rightfield. Jones played the bulk of his minor league career in centerfield and was considered to be very good defensively. It is reasonable to believe that with continued repetition and experience, Jones will improve. Trent Grisham on the other hand, is regressing as an outfielder and will only get worse in the future. Questions have also been raised about Jones’ ability to play the position because he is “extremely tall and bulky”. Jones is actually not bulky at all, and the announcers of the games frequently comment that he is one of the fastest if not the fastest member of the team. He stole 10 bases last year and covered a lot of ground wherever he was in the outfield. Offensively, Jones batted .245 with 11 home runs and 40 RBI in 86 games.  In Aaron Judge’s first season as a Yankee, 2016, he played just 27 games, due to injury and batted .179 with 4 home runs and 10 RBI. I distinctly remember many articles and discussions on sports radio stating that Judge was destined to be a fourth outfielder at best. In Ben Rice's first season, 2024, he played 50 games and batted .171 with seven home runs and 23 RBI. Many commentators felt that Rice should not even be on the team in 2025. Now, he is a candidate for MVP. I am not saying that Spencer Jones will definitely follow the trajectories of Judge and Rice. I'm saying that Jones showed enough last year to be taken seriously and given a full shot at being the centerfielder next year.

·      When I was a kid, winter was my favorite season. I liked the cold weather. I loved being out in the snow. In fact, I would frequently stay outside for hours, only coming in when I had to. Now, I don't like winter very much. I don't mind it but it's not my favorite season anymore. Because of my mobility issues, I have to be very careful going out in the winter. Ice or snow might cause me to slip and fall, which could be disastrous. I think fall is now my favorite season. It is like a PG version of winter. It's just chilly enough to get your attention but it still allows you to go outside without fear of cascading down a flight of stairs. It also invites soups, stews and other meals that are hearty and warming. I also tend to like pumpkin and apple themed desserts and baked goods. So, all things considered much like Lee Majors, I guess I am a fall guy

·      The other day I wrote that I didn't want to see the Yankees divest themselves of a lot of their young players, including Spencer Jones, Anthony Volpe, and George Lombard junior. I stated that I particularly didn't want them to do that in exchange for veterans who would only be with the Yankees for one or two years. Among the players I cited as possibilities in such trades was CJ Abrams of the Washington Nationals. I stand by that. I would not like to see the Yankees send away George Lombard junior in a trade for Abrams. However, I read a trade proposal yesterday for Abrams that I rather liked. It suggested that the Yankees could trade Will Warren, Jasson Dominguez, and Carlos Lagrange for Abrams. Abrams just turned 26 years old and has two years of team control left before becoming a free agent for the 2029 season. Because the Yankees have a surplus of starting pitchers, including Elmer Rodriguez, who made a few starts for the Yankees last year, they could afford to give up Will Warren in a trade. It's fairly clear that Jasson Dominguez does not have much of a future with the Yankees. I think he has a future, but it will have to be with another team. Trading him as part of this package might be the best thing for him. Carlos LaGrange is the one player in the deal that makes me hesitate. Although he was injured and unable to make it to the Major Leagues this season, he projects as being a very intriguing piece in the bullpen. Perhaps, the Nationals would substitute Elmer Rodriguez for LaGrange in the trade. If not, the Yankees may pivot and move Rodriguez to the bullpen to see what he could do there. I think acquiring Abrams, who batted 261 with 33 home runs and 106 RBI along with 34 stolen bases in 2026 would be a tremendous move for the Yankees. Particularly if it didn't cost them any of their infielders. If the Yankees acquired Abrams, he could easily replace Jazz Chisholm junior at second base. Remember, Abrams shifted to second base near the end of the season for the Nationals in 2026. Now, what does that do to Anthony Volpe? Remember, Volpe played some games at third base in Scranton after he was demoted. He also played a little bit for the Yankees at third, even in the playoffs. If the Yankees acquired Abrams for the package listed above, Volpe could concentrate on playing third base exclusively in Spring Training so that he could begin the season as the replacement for Ryan McMahon. That would give the Yankees a very young and exciting infield. It's definitely something to consider.

·      The fact that the Yankees have not yet had their end of season press conference or really said much of anything about the future could indicate that Aaron Boone’s tenure as manager may be coming to an end. He has one year left on his contract but has not delivered a World Series victory in his nine years as manager. He sets the record for futility among managers in franchise history. Brian Cashman has said multiple times that he thinks the shelf life for a field manager is about ten years. It is unclear if he believes Aaron Boone has done enough to earn that last year before he expires like a container of sour cream. It would seem more logical to replace Boone considering that Cashman feels a ten-year term should be the limit for a manager and Boone has not done much to inspire confidence that he can actually win a World Series. Interestingly, Cashman has never stated what he feels the shelf life is for a general manager. I would imagine he thinks it is perpetuity.