My Yankees Plan for 2026
- Paul Semendinger
- 9 hours ago
- 11 min read
by Paul Semendinger
October 22, 2026
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Following Tim Kabel's lead (and everyone who reads this site should send a huge Thank You to Tim for stepping up and writing a gazillion articles and keeping us with great new daily content while I am back to full time work) I will share my plan for what the Yankees should do going forward to make the 2026 team the best it can be. I have been reading Tim's columns and I agree with much of what he is writing.
The first Yankees move should have been to replace Aaron Boone as the manager. I have made that point already. The Yankees won't do that, but they must upgrade the roster.
The Yankees should make it abundantly clear to their fans, and the rest of baseball, that they're not taking half-measures any longer. It is time for them to go big - to go gigantic. It is time for the Yankees to use their wealth, their financial strength, and their muscle, to put together an absolute power house club.
The Yankees used to be called "The Best Team Money Can Buy." It's time to go back to that old Yankees way.
It's time for the Yankees to bolder than they have been in decades. My plan allows them to do this.
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Here is a point that cannot be overstated. This point is also a point that no one, anywhere, has made, and yet it gets to the crux of what the Yankees' biggest problem has been during the entire Hal Steinbrenner Era:
The Yankees act as if they are embarrassed by their riches. They act as though they want to placate the other owners by not setting the highest bar for contracts and payroll. The Yankees want to be good "teammates" with the other clubs. The Yankees hold back - to be fair. The Yankees want to play nicely with the others.
The Yankees, baseball's most valuable franchise (by billions of dollars), are very reluctant to use their financial advantage to its maximum benefit. At the leadership level, they want to play fair with the others.
The disconnect that the Yankees have never figured out is that on the field, during the games, the other teams don't play fair. And they shouldn't. They're out to win. In fact, one storyline we hear multiple times every season is how other teams get "up" to play the Yankees. Playing the Yankees is a big deal. Other teams look to defeat them as often as they can. Of course. This is what sports is - you play to win. But, the Yankees do not play to win when it comes to building their teams. They hold back - partially out of respect or kindness (or something) to the other owners. There is the sense that the Yankees feel it isn't fair that they go all in.
This causes a huge disconnect.
The ownership and the management of the Yankees want to play fair, but the results on the field are winner take all.
It's time for that to end. It's time for the Yankees to seek to win on their field and at the front office and management levels. Always. Trying the approach the Yankees have tried all of these last many years, does not work to build a World Series winner. And it won't work.
The Dodgers have no problem being the big fish in the pond. The Dodgers have no problem playing big. The Yankees must follow that lead.
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Here then is how to do it - the Yankees should use their financial strength to acquire the best available players at the positions that need to be upgraded. There should be no cutting corners, no half-steps. The Yankees need to be all in. 100%.
They shouldn't follow only part of my plan outlined below. They need to follow the entire plan. They need to build a team that strikes fear into every opponent. They need to make a team that demonstrates without any doubt that they intend to dominate the league.
This approach also has a few additional added benefits. First, we have seen that the Yankees coaching and preparation is poor, at best. That's not a question. A benefit to my plan is that the greatest players do not need as much coaching. If the Yankees build a team of the best players, the negative impact of the coaches and the manager in game day preparation will be greatly lessened.
Next, we also know that the Yankees do not do well with developing young talent. This has been a flaw for more than a generation. As such, the Yankees shouldn't try to build a team around young talent. They should build a team around proven talent.
Third, the best way, within the Yankees' system (since they don't do well with the young would-be stars) for the young players to learn to be top players, is by watching and learning from those top players. This plan allows a few of the young kids to be role players (or more) on the squad as they themselves learn how to win at the Major League level.
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So, why should the Yankees acquire?
I'll look at this position-by-position from this list on mlb.com:
Third Base- Ryan McMahon was an upgrade over Jazz Chisholm at third in 2025, but McMahon is not a quality hitter. The Yankees need a third baseman who can hit and field. There's only one option - Alex Bregman.
I couldn't care less that Bregman was on the Astros. Years back, the Yankees acquired Roger Clemens. And Wade Boggs. They were hated rival players. The Yankees once acquired Sal Maglie. There are plenty of examples of the Yankees (and other teams) signing rival players who go on to flourish for their new team. Once a player is in pinstripes the old animosities will disappear. (A great manager can make that happen.)
Mark my words, if Bregman became a Yankee and helped them win a World Series, he'd be a hero in New York. Remember when Tino Martinez helped the Mariners destroy the Yankees in 1995? He soon became a beloved Yankee. David Cone was once a Met. On and on. The fans want (and deserve) a winner. The best way to upgrade the position is with Alex Bregman who was worth 7.7 WAR last year. Period.
Second Base - There is not an available second baseman who is better than Jazz Chisholm. The Yankees have expected Chisholm to be a player who carries the team. He's not that type of player. But he is good. He's very good. He stays and plays second, but is no longer expected to be a middle-of-the-order bat. Jazz no longer has to feel he has to carry the team - he can just play. He will thrive on this club.
First Base - Ben Rice has arrived. Cold stop. Put him at first. Done. (Rice can also serve as a back-up, occasional third-string catcher giving the Yankees tremendous flexibility.) The Yankees should find a right-handed bat who can spell Rice at times at first. Rice, though, should get the bulk of the at bats. I'm not so worried here about his back-up. Rice needs to play against left-handed pitching to end all thoughts that he should be platooned.
Shortstop - Bo Bichette is available. He's the best shortstop out there. Yes, I know about the defense. For more than a decade, we heard that Derek Jeter wasn't a good defensive shortstop. It seems to work well when he played there. I remember a few championships won with that Jeter guy. Without Bo Bichette, the Blue Jays are also weaker. A positive for the Yanks with a negative to Toronto is a win win. Jose Cabellero can be the defensive replacement late in games.
Catcher - The Yankees need a right-handed hitting catcher to partner with Austin Wells. This will allow Wells more days off. This will also better balance the lineup and the bench. There's one easy fix there, a veteran who can also help support Austin Wells' growth and development along the way - J.T. Realmuto.
Left Field - Bringing back Cody Bellinger as the big off-season move doesn't work. Bringing back Bellinger as part of my plan makes all the sense in the world. Bellinger can also fill-in in centerfield, right field, first base, and designated hitter taking some of the burden off Aaron Judge and Ben Rice.
Center Field - A similar logic applies here - bring back Trent Grisham to be more of a supporting player. On this club, he'd be a bottom of the order hitter. The Yankees can hope that 2025 wasn't a fluke. (I am worried that it was, but the rest of the outfield choices here are simply uninspired or not good.)
Jasson Dominguez should then be the fourth outfielder. He should get time in center field and left field.
Right Field - The right fielder will be a guy named Aaron Judge. He is the best hitter in the game today. But, with a less-than-great throwing arm now, he should be used as a designated hitter a few times a week. This would allow Jasson Dominguez to receive a lot more playing time.
Designated Hitter - There is no better way for the Yankees to prove they are all-in than by making a tremendously bold move. That move would be to trade or DFA Giancarlo Stanton. I say this as one of Stanton's biggest fans. I loved the trade for him. (I thought that that trade, way back then, signaled that the Yankees were finally back. The Yankees of course proved otherwise.) It is time to move on from Big G. He doesn't serve a role on the 2026 team.
The Yankees should tell Stanton that they intend to trade him. If Stanton vetoes the trade, he should be released. At that point, any team can grab him. Faced with that alternative, I would think Stanton would accept a trade. In that way, he would, at least, have a voice (small perhaps) in where he plays in 2026. The nonsense about how he has magical powers in the playoffs, which I always pushed back against, was proven to be nonsense this year. It's time to move on from Stanton.
Other clubs shed big contracts. The Yankees can as well. Part of the luxury of having tremendous wealth is that big contracts do not have to become albatrosses for the Yankees. This would be using their wealth in ways most teams cannot to make their team better. (I was a lone voice when I applauded the Red Sox for trading Rafael Devers. That trade worked out great for them.) When a contract gets in the way, get rid of the contract even if it costs a ton of money. The Yankees will pay Stanton regardless. Pay him to not play for the Yankees rather than having his bat in the lineup hurting the team and clogging the middle of the lineup.
Then, go even bolder and sign Kyle Schwarber to be the primary DH. When he doesn't start Schwarber would also be a tremendous bat off the bench. He's not any younger, of course, but he put up 8.3 WAR last year. The man can mash. Let him mash right behind Aaron Judge in the lineup. Oh man, would that be something!
The Line-Up:
Bo Bichette - ss
Cody Bellinger - lf
Aaron Judge - rf
Kyle Schwarber - dh
Alex Bregman - 3b
Ben Rice - 1b
J.T. Realmuto - c
Jazz Chisholm - 2b
Trent Grisham - cf
bench - Jose Caballero, Austin Wells, Jasson Dominguez, Oswaldo Cabrera
WOW! That line-up wins. 94 wins? 104 wins? I'm thinking 114 wins.
Starting Pitching: I said from the moment he had surgery that there is no guarantee that Gerrit Cole will come back and be a top pitcher again. He might be. He also might not. Many of the people who state, "He'll be great" are the same ones that said, "Stanton always hits in the postseason." The Yankees need to protect against rushing Cole and the reality that he might not bounce back as a top starter again.
Carlos Rodon is also injured. Clarke Schmidt is injured. Luis Gil was injured. There are a lot of questions here.
Max Fried is the number one starter, and then the Yankees have a bunch of players they can only hope on: Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Luis Gil. That's not good enough. Not by a longshot.
The Yankees must, must, must get another starting pitcher. They need an ace.
The Yankees have a collection of very appealing prospects: Spencer Jones and George Lombard, Jr. to name two. The Yankees also have some players who have big league value including Anthony Volpe and Ryan McMahon. Will Warren and Luis Gil would also create interest as trade pieces...
The Tigers must know they're going to lose Tarik Skubal. Offer them whatever they want outside the starting players listed above. Let them have them all. Make the bold gutsy trade. Make them an offer they cannot refuse. Make the offer so good it's impossible for the Tigers to turn it down. Spencer Jones, Will Warren, Anthony Volpe, George Lombard, and throw in a few more. Go big. Blow the Tigers away. Get the big guy before another team does.
We have been told, for decades now, that "the next core of young kids will all be stars." We are told that the next group of kids will bring in an era of glory. This never happens. Every year so many fans buy in and then quickly forget about the players that failed as they salivate over the next would-be stars. No more of that. Trade the farm to land an ace.
Then they should sign Dylan Cease. Yes. No half-meaures here.
Of note, even if Volpe, Jones, Lombard Jr. and Warren are traded, this club would still have Luis Gil, Ben Rice, Jasson Dominguez, and Austin Wells as starters, or off the bench, all from the farm system. There would still be youth on this team. Bo Bichette, Jazz Chisholm, and Trent Grisham are also still under 30-years-old.
2026 Opening Day Rotation: Tarik Skubal, Max Fried, Dylan Cease, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil or Will Warren (one of the two stays on as the # 5 starter)
When Gerrit Cole comes back, they'll slot him in over Gil or Warren. Cole can then come back slowly as the fifth starter. If he becomes great, that's great.
Next, if Clarke Schmidt proves to be healthy, he can be traded to help replenish the farm. If Carlos Rodon comes back strong, he or Cease, could also be traded to help build back the minor league clubs. If Cam Schlittler struggles, he could be traded if Rodon and Cease are doing well.
I don't care about the future. I have had enough of the Yankees promising a future. I want the Yankees to win now. Unless they go bold, they won't win in 2026. Then we'll watch Aaron Judge's decline and hope for the next big star who also will not be able to do it alone. It is time to go big. Play to win. The future will take care of itself. (That's another benefit of having the deepest pockets. When the next stars become available, the Yankees could get them too, like they used to.)
2026 August Rotation: Skubal, Fried, Cole, Rodon or Cease, Schlittler.
The Bullpen: David Bednar is the closer. Tim Hill returns. There are no great free agent arms available. The Yankees will have to piece this together. With workhorses in the starting rotation, the pitchers the Yankees already have in the bullpen and in the high minors will be more than sufficient to get the Yankees a host of wins. With this team, the Yankees can sign me. I can give them 200 innings out of the pen. This team will be so good, they could carry me. They'll just need mop-up innings many days. They can find pitchers to fill that role.
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Final Note - This plan is pie-in-the-sky thinking, but it does make sense, if the Yankees were to throw caution to the wind and go bold.
In truth it's time for the Yankees to stop playing nicely. The other teams don't play nicely back. The other teams want to win. Of course. This is what sports are all about. When the Yankees don't play big, they're hurting their own chances of success. It's a ridiculous approach and it does not work. It is time the Yankees go boldly and big and all-in.
It's time for the Yankees to be champions. This plan gets them there.
(I know this will not happen, but it was a fun plan to imagine and create.)