Where Do the Yankees Go From Here?

Where Do the Yankees Go From Here?

By: Derek McAdam

October 12, 2025

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The New York Yankees’ 2025 season came to an end Wednesday in another disappointing fashion. As opposed to making it the World Series last year, they only managed to go as far as the ALDS before the Toronto Blue Jays stopped them in their tracks in just four games.

And it is not to say as if this was a surprise to many Yankee fans. Sure, the Yankees got hot at the right time and came back to beat the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card round. Even though they struggled against both teams in the regular season, the Red Sox were not as deep as the Blue Jays were. After all, the Blue Jays left three veteran starters in Max Scherzer, Jose Berrios and Chris Bassitt off their ALDS roster.

But the Yankees were unable to contain the Blue Jays throughout the regular season, especially at Rogers Centre in Toronto. So I was not upset when they lost on Wednesday, since I did not expect them to beat the Blue Jays, but more just disappointed in how they came up short yet again. They had a cakewalk of a playoff run to the World Series last year, but they didn’t get so fortunate this year.

This left the ultimate question for not just myself, but many Yankee fans out there: where does the team go from here?

Looking at it piece-by-piece, the Yankees have several names slated to hit the free agency market, including Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham. The only free agent that I think should be worth bringing back is Bellinger, simply because he is a platoon player that gave the Yankees both offensive and defensive production throughout the season. Grisham showed some pop at the plate this season and became an everyday player, but I don’t think he is worth giving a long-term extension to.

If anything, the Yankees may choose one or the other, but there is no reason in signing both to extensions, unless the plan is to put Bellinger at first and leave Grisham in the outfield, simply because Jasson Dominguez should be playing every day next season. However, I would not like this plan, as I think Bellinger should be playing the outfield instead of first base.

Pitching-wise, the only free agents will be Luke Weaver and Devin Williams, neither of which I expect to Yankees to bring back. Tim Hill also has a $3 million club option for 2026, which I highly expect the Yankees to pick up, especially since Hill has the ability to pitch in almost any spot.

But the good news for the Yankees is that Gerrit Cole will be returning next season, most likely fitting in between Max Fried and Carlos Rodon. Cam Schlittler has also secured a rotation spot, and the 5th spot will be a battle between Luis Gil and Will Warren. I think the pitching staff is in much better shape than the rest of the squad, but the biggest question will be whether Cole to return to even a shell of his old self. If so, the Yankees’ pitching staff has the potential to (and probably should be) one of the best in the league.

Now the focus comes to some of the current Yankees and their future on the team. First up is Anthony Volpe, who had an u-and-down season both offensively and defensively. He finished the last couple of months defensively much better than before. But his offense was horrific in the ALDS, going 1-for-15 with 11 strikeouts.

Volpe has not proven that he is an MLB-caliber shortstop. His defense is still unreliable and he has not made up for his poor defense at the plate either. For the Yankees, Volpe is the “feel-good story.” He’s a New Jersey kid that grew up a Yankee fan and is now living out his dream by playing for the Yankees. It’s a nice story to tell, but it has been irrelevant since Volpe has shown decline. Andrew Velasquez was a nice story. Even Gerrit Cole was a nice story to tell. But the story becomes irrelevant to fans when players don’t deliver. And Volpe has fallen into that hole.

Realistically, I cannot see the Yankees moving Volpe this off-season, unless they want to take a shot at going after someone such as Bo Bichette. And no, George Lombard Jr. should absolutely not be called up, since he hit a miserable .215 in Double-A. He is nowhere close to being MLB-ready and we have already seen what happens when players are rushed to the big leagues simply because of a solid Spring Training they had, such as Volpe.

Austin Wells also had a tough campaign at the plate, although his defense is what the Yankees are far more concerned about, which was fine. I’m still not convinced that Wells calls great games, but I do think he is a far more superior defender to Ben Rice, who still does a decent job behind the plate. However, Rice will more than likely be the starting first baseman next season, unless the Yankees decide they want to take a run at Pete Alonso. Wells will probably be back behind the plate next year. In fact, I really don’t see a situation in which he’s not the starter, or at least on the team.

I also would like to see the Yankees try and seek a trade for Jazz Chisholm Jr. He is entering the final year of his contract and the Yankees have plenty of depth in the infield in both Jose Caballero and Oswaldo Cabrera returning from injury. As Joel Sherman said, the Yankees could maybe use some of the money that Chisholm would get towards Bellinger, which I think is a fantastic idea.

And last but not least is the management. As much as I want to criticize Aaron Boone for his decision-making, I have to be realistic in thinking that he is not the one calling the shots. It has also made me think about something crucial, which does not get talked about enough. Boone is not an idiot when it comes to baseball. He has been around the game his entire life and is clearly very knowledgable about the game and its history.

So how is it that someone like Boone continues to make the same mistakes year after year? Well, I don’t think he is entirely in charge of it. Brian Cashman is definitely making decisions during games, since he has become so reliant on his analytics team. It has been reported that Boone makes his lineup, the analytics team makes a lineup, and they meet to then work on combining the two lineups into one before each game.

Whether or not you think Boone is the problem, the fact is he is not going anywhere until Cashman is fired. Cashman is the problem with this team, and Hal Steinbrenner cares about one thing and one thing only: making money. Cashman continues to assemble teams that are just good enough to sniff the playoffs, but they don’t have enough to go the entire distance in winning a World Series. And as long as Boone continues to do as Cashman tells him, he will continue to be employed.

Boone definitely annoys me when it comes to his press conferences, as he shies away from being too critical about the team. However, this is also part of being a Yankee. The coaching staff and players are all taught how to speak to the media and how to answer questions a certain way. They’re simply doing their job, even as annoying as it may be. But as I said before, as long as Boone continues to do as he’s told, he will keep his job.

The Yankees are going to have an interesting off-season to say the least. I don’t think they’re going to be making any big splashes in free agency, but there may be some interesting discussions internally about how the team will shape up differently for next season. Aaron Judge had a fantastic season leading this team, and he will be 34 in April. The Yankees window is getting shorter, and they need to capitalize on it sooner rather than later. After all, it has been too long since their last World Series victory.