About The Off-Season: Random Thoughts

By Tim Kabel

October 29, 2026

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·       The Yankees began their offseason this year earlier than they wanted to but not earlier than expected, to be honest. For the second year in a row, they took care of the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card round but then lost the Divisional Series to the team that won the division. Last year, it was the Blue Jays. This year, it was the Tampa Bay Rays. Who will it be next year? Maybe it will be the Red Sox? The Yankees have become perennial silver medalists. They always come up short. To be clear, they aren't always silver medalists. That is simply the best they can do. Apparently, around the Yankees office officers, the slogan “Go for the Gold” has been replaced by “Settle for the Silver”. Many people remember gold medal winners from various Olympic events. Very few people other than their immediate families, remember silver medal winners. The Yankees have to divest themselves of the philosophy that good enough is good enough. The Yankees are like the people who moved across the West in the Conestoga wagons in the 1800s. They are settlers. They have to stop settling and go all out to win. I don't know if they will. They seem to be perfectly content with second place, but they shouldn't. Don't get me wrong, silver is very nice, but unless you are The Lone Ranger, it's not good enough.

·       I have read several articles suggesting that Brad Ausmus may be in line to get the Houston Astros managerial job. Good for him. I hope he does get it. He has managerial experience with the Tigers and Angels.  For his sake, I hope he hasn't been drained of his baseball knowledge and expertise by sitting next to Aaron Boone for three years. If he suddenly starts blowing bubbles as the manager of the Astros and telling everyone, “It’s right there in front of us”, you will know that Boone wore off on him. Who knows, maybe the Astros will keep him around for ten years the way the Yankees have kept Boone around. The best part about Ausmus possibly being hired as the manager of the Astros is that it would free up the bench coach position for Shelley Duncan. Now, the Yankees could bring in someone else, but Duncan would make the most sense. That is precisely why the Yankees might not do it, but there's always hope. The Yankees have to do something different. Even if it's just getting a new bench coach, that is something. It would also put Duncan in the position of taking over as manager when the Yankees enter their annual Boone-Swoon. For the Yankees the Boone-Swoon has become an annual tradition, much like the opening of the beaches every summer in Jaws. Aaron Boone sort of reminds me of the mayor in Jaws. When Aaron Boone says that everything is fine and if there is nothing to worry about with injuries, it's just like when the mayor in Jaws said there was no shark problem. All Boone needs is a jacket with little anchors on it.

·       Jorge Posada recently made headlines by stating that he doesn't feel welcome by the current Yankees management team. It's hard to argue with something like that. After all, every single one of us has been in a situation at some point in our lives, where we didn't feel welcome. Whether it was at a job, a gathering of friends or relatives, or some type of an organizational meeting, it really doesn't matter. The feeling is the same no matter what the setting is. It's hard to define that feeling. It is like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s statement regarding pornography, “I know it when I see it.” It's the same with that feeling of not being welcome. So, if Jorge Posada, one of the key members of the Yankees championships teams in the 2000’s feels that way, the team needs to do something about it. Posada does not strike me as an overly sensitive fellow who is easily offended. There must be some legitimacy to what he is saying. Posada could be a true asset to this team in the way that Andy Pettitte is by working with the pitchers. I don't know if Posada would accept a coaching position but at the very least, he should be actively involved in Spring Training and could be a visiting instructor to work with catchers or hitters. It's up to the Yankees to fix this. Whether they will remains to be seen. Remember, there was another Yankees retired catcher who didn't feel welcome for a very long time and stayed away. George Steinbrenner finally fixed that. It's time for Hal to fix this.

·       The Yankees are being linked rather heavily to Japanese third baseman Teruaki Sato. This has happened several times in the past few seasons, but the Yankees always come up empty. It's as if they are fishing with a net that has a hole in it. No wonder the fish always get away. Sato would be a good fit for the Yankees. He is a left-handed power hitting third baseman. He would be a massive upgrade over Ryan McMahon. Well, that is not saying very much. You could take an old peach basket and lie it on its side at third base, and it would be an upgrade over Ryan McMahon, at least offensively. If the Yankees truly want to show that they are serious about contending next year, they need to bring in Sato. Letting him go to the Red Sox would be the worst possible thing they could do. Not only would the Yankees not be improving; the Red Sox would be. Can I guarantee that Sato will be a star if the Yankees sign him? No, I can't. However, he's on the verge of winning his second straight MVP award in Japan. Having Sato at third base for the Yankees would make me much more optimistic than seeing Ryan McMahon out there and listening to Dave Sims saying, “Well, that's McMahon’s second hit in his last forty at bats, maybe he's turning the corner.” No, he's not turning the corner. If he is, he's going in the wrong direction. The Yankees have been taking the same approach in acquiring free agents and making trades that they have been in attempting to win the division. They come close. Close isn't good enough.

·       In 2026, Spencer Jones and George Lombard, Jr. showed some real promise. They were learning to play in the Major Leagues and they both did well. Jones had a larger sample size than Lombard but still, they both showed enough to give the Yankees and their fans optimism regarding their future. Anthony Volpe went from being demoted to Scranton at the beginning of August to coming back and showing that he could be the answer at second base in 2027. He deserves credit for that. Cam Schlittler has evolved into the ace of the pitching staff. Will Warren is a solid Major League pitcher. Elmer Rodriguez showed some potential in his limited Major League performances. Ben Rice became a major offensive player for the Yankees and is mentioned as a potential MVP candidate. Austin Wells struggled tremendously offensively in 2026 but showed a few flashes at the end of the year. The jury is still out on him. The Yankees are showing an ability to produce some very talented Major League players. It would seem that Dax Kilby may be the next one in line. He is currently playing in the Arizona Fall League at 19 years of age. He is considerably younger than most of the players in the AFL. Through 11 games, Kilby is batting .311 with 2 home runs, 8 RBI, and 5 stolen bases. In one game, he hit a 419-foot home run to dead center that left the bat at 107.1 mph. In the same game, he hit a double that was clocked at 109.8 mph. When he was drafted by the Yankees in 2025, he was highly touted. One of the things he is working on in the AFL is adjusting his swing to produce more power. I'm not saying that he will be in the Major Leagues next year. He won't be. However, if he continues to excel, he could be in the Major Leagues sooner rather than later. Right now, he is a shortstop but if he continues to hit, the Yankees will certainly be able to find a place for him. The development of all these young players is a very good thing. Now, if the Yankees could only get a manager who knew how to nurture, encourage, and develop these players, that would be something.