The 2026 Yankees Right Now (Infield)
- Paul Semendinger
- Jan 12
- 2 min read
by Paul Semendinger
January 12, 2026
***
As it stands right now, the Yankees of 2026 might be a mediocre to poor team.
As it stands right now, the Yankees have not addressed many of their needs for 2026.
Let's take a quick look at the 2026 Yankees as they stand right now.
The Infield:
First Base - Ben Rice is the first baseman. He batted .255/26/55 last year in a solid season. He seems to be coming into his own. His OBP+ was 131 making him a well above hitter. The negative is that he was a negative fielder. That doesn't bode well. What also isn't a good sign is that he hit only .208 against left-handed pitching.
Needs - A right-handed platoon bat.
Second Base - Jazz Chisholm is coming off a career year: .242/31/80 with a 125 OPS+. The good news is that is was a career year. The bad news is that players usually play to their lifetime averages meaning a regression is likely. The Yankees will need Chisholm to be the 2025 version not the player he's been otherwise over his career (109 OPS+).
Needs - Second base is set, but the Yankees will be counting on Jazz Chisholm to perform at his 2025 (career best) levels.
Shortstop - Anthony Volpe is a well-below MLB hitter. His career OPS+ is 84. He has never had an OPS+ above 86. This is over three seasons now. Supporters point to small periods where he performs, but he has never performed consistently over a sustained period enough to even be an average MLB hitter. He's coming off his worst defensive season. He's also coming off surgery.
Jose Caballero will start the year at shortstop. He's also a below average MLB hitter (career OPS+ of 88) coming off his best season. He brings energy, and can steal bases, but he is also with his third MLB team in four MLB seasons. If he's a productive player, why do teams keep getting rid of him?
Needs - A shortstop who can hit.
Third Base - Ryan McMahon is a solid defensive third baseman who also cannot hit. Over nine seasons, his career OPS+ is only 91. A left-handed hitter, he also hits even worse against southpaws.
Needs - A third baseman who can hit, or, at worse, a right-handed platoon mate for McMahon.
Catcher - It was said that Austin Wells was a player who would absolutely hit MLB pitching. His career OPS+ is 99. In short, he has not proven he can hit. An excuse for his less-than-stellar performance in 2024 and in 2025 was that he was banged up. Catchers gets banged up. He needs to hit.
The Yankees do not have a viable back-up to Wells.
Needs - A catcher who can hit and a legitimate back-up to Wells.
Conclusion - Heading into the 2026 season, the infield does not project, in any way, as a strong suit for the Yankees.
The infield looks worse and worse the more you inspect it… especially when you add in the fact that the current utility IF (Cabrera) is coming off a major injury/rehab and also can’t hit lefty pitching.
Yanks definitely need to sign or trade for a versatile infielder that can hit LHP. There aren’t many attractive options left (Wilmer Flores comes to mind).
They also desperately need a righty catcher. Again, slim pickings, unless perhaps they can lure Realmuto for 1 year.
The infield looks worse and worse the more you inspect it… especially when you add in the fact that the current utility IF (Cabrera) is coming off a major injury/rehab and also can’t hit lefty pitching.
Yanks definitely need to sign or trade for a versatile infielder that can hit LHP. There aren’t many attractive options left (Wilmer Flores comes to mind).
They also desperately need a righty catcher. Again, slim pickings, unless perhaps they can lure Realmuto for 1 year.
What the Yankees really need is better coaching. The Yankees coaching on hitting has been complete and utter garbage since they let Kevin Long go all those years ago. And I'll say it again: Coaching by Analytics is total garbage.
Volpe has been more down than up as a MLB hitter, but what actual help has he gotten from the Yankees coaching staff? When national broadcasts can point out things, or MLBN can point out what was wrong with LeMahieu back in 2023, but nothing was done here. Put Sean Caey under oath and ask him why he really chose not to continue as the HC in 2024. They hired a Director of Hitting after the 2024 season, did anyone…
That infield, not including 3rd base, will add over half a run to pitchers ERA.