Perspectives: On The Off-Season Thus Far

by Paul Semendinger

December 12, 2025

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The off-season has not been exciting. I hope, each day, that we get some big news regarding the Yankees.

I miss the days when the Yankees were in on all the big names through trades or signings. Those off-seasons were fun!

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The Yankees have been very low energy since the end of the season. I started saying this a long while back and some readers got annoyed that I was noticing this. They wanted me to be all sunshine and rainbows. Some wanted me to write optimistic thoughts about all the moves the Yankees were going to make. I just didn't see it happening. I still don't. I'm sorry. I hope I'm wrong.

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The fact that Aaron Boone has not reached out to any free agents speaks volumes. Talk about low energy. There was a time when the Yankees gave everything they had to entice free agents to play for them. Now the manager can't even be bothered to pick up his cell phone.

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I know it's fun to speculate about trades. And it is. I just can't get into that talk this year because I don't think the Yankees are all that serious about getting appreciatively better for 2026.

I would think about players they could get and all of that if I thought there was a chance they'd get those players. I just don't see the Yankees making big moves this year.

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The Yankees have felt, for a long time, I started writing about this point in 2017, that good enough is good enough. I think they feel they're good enough. And they are. The Yankees are good. They're not great. They should be in the pennant race next year. You know the story... anything can happen in October. For the Yankees, that's all they need.

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There was a subtle narrative change that many fans all over the place are saying. I'm not sure if anyone noticed it.

The old saying, as I recall, was that not much happened at the GM meetings in November because that was where they set the groundwork for the winter meetings. Now many are saying that the winter meetings are setting the groundwork for later deals.

That seems to be a brand new talking point that fans are hoping on. They're moving the goal posts.

I think it's just the latest excuse for the team's inactivity and the low energy approach.

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BUT, maybe the Yankees are actually being very smart and with the very real potential of labor strife after 2026, they don't want to go all in for one year not knowing if there will even be baseball in 2027.

For fans, that would be terrible.

For a business, it could be smart.

I don't think anyone would dispute that more and more the Yankees operate as a business not a baseball team trying to be the very best.

As an organization trying to win the World Series, the Yankees have been terrible. One World Series in 24 seasons isn't good. It's bad.

But as a business making tons of money, the Yankees are very very good.

If the bottom line is making money, then everything they're doing is working. And working spectacularly well.

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If baseball shuts down in 2027, for any length of time, that would be a terrible, foolish, horrible, and ridiculous move. There are tons of fans that are already very frustrated with the game. They should not give fans the opportunity to walk away. That would not be smart.

Today, there are so many other things to occupy people's times than baseball. Many fans will find something else. Die hard fans, like me, and like the people who read Yankees blogs, will come back, but to the casual fan, they will go and might not ever return. A work stoppage could kill Major League Baseball once and for all.

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It seems the Yankees aren't against trading Jazz Chisholm. It seems they might not want to pay him after 2026. The thought process seems to be, "It might be better to trade him now and get something for him before he leaves as a free agent."

This is the Yankees talking (or their media people, or their fans, or all of them).

As the Dodgers keep getting players (and winning World Series and acting as the Yankees used to) the Yankees are talking more and more like they're some low budget operation.

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Last year Trent Grisham set career highs in At Bats, Runs, Hits, Home Runs, RBIs, Walks, Slugging, OPS, OPS+, and WAR. It is highly unlikely that he'll do that again.

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I sure hope the Yankees make some big moves and get us all excited again. That would be fun. Winters used to be a fun time to be a Yankees fan.

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Let's Go Yankees!