{"id":394305,"date":"2026-01-07T17:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T17:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/394305\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T17:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T17:03:12","slug":"al-rival-blamed-for-yankees-slow-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/394305\/","title":{"rendered":"AL Rival Blamed for Yankees\u2019 Slow Offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New York Yankees<\/a>‘ offseason has been underwhelming, and fans hope their biggest moves are still in front of them with Cody Bellinger<\/a>, Kyle Tucker<\/a> and Bo Bichette<\/a> still in free agency. <\/p>\n

When asked why the offseason has been so slow, Scott Boras (who represents Bellinger, among many others) pointed to Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins, implying that Atkins has been setting the pace.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s Ross\u2019 fault,\u201d Boras said<\/a>, h\/t MLB’s Keegan Matheson. \u201cIt\u2019s very, very difficult to determine when there are going to be ebbs and flows. I\u2019ve had superstars sign in March with Bryce Harper, J.D. Martinez, Manny Machado. It\u2019s not talent related, it\u2019s just how the market flows.”<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

Oct 7, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) is tagged out by Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (27) in the third inning during game three of the ALDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

“This year, we saw a dramatic increase in how relievers are pursued. I think the position-player market and the starter market is starting to flow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yankees Falling Behind in AL East?<\/p>\n

Boras fueled what Yankee fans have been fearing — the Blue Jays are calling the shots this offseason after their World Series bid, and they’re not showing any sign of letting up. <\/p>\n

\u201cToronto has become something in the league that is not [just] one of the premier franchises, they\u2019ve become a state-of-the-art example,\u201d Boras said. \u201cI send my staff to sports science meetings and I find Blue Jays representatives there all the time.”<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

Dec 18, 2019; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, second from right, holds the sign he was photographed holding at the 2001 World Series as a kid as he poses for photos with, from left, Scott Boras, Hal Steinbrenner, and his wife Amy during a press conference at Legends Club at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-Imagn Images | Danielle Parhizkaran-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

“They\u2019re at the forefront of so many things: leadership, player training, development. We\u2019re starting to see the culmination of this now, rewarded in standings and competitiveness at the Major League level.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Blue Jays were the superior team in 2025, and their offseason so far is concerning for the Yankees. The Blue Jays have landed Dylan Cease, Kazuma Okamoto, Cody Ponce and Tyler Rogers so far this offseason, and they are still pursuing Bo Bichette, Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker.<\/p>\n

Radically Different Offseasons<\/p>\n

The Yankees, of course, have not been nearly as aggressive, making several minor league deals and reuniting with outfielder Trent Grisham in addition to several relief pitcher reunions. The Yankees missed out on the best of the free agent reliever market, and may ultimately make their biggest moves in trade.<\/p>\n

\"Chicago<\/p>\n

Oct 9, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs right fielder Kyle Tucker (30) reacts after hitting a home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the seventh inning for game four of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Rumors at the MLB winter meetings suggested that Boras may be waiting on Tucker to sign a deal before he makes a final move with Bellinger, and Bellinger is currently the favorite in New York for both the Yankees and the New York Mets. Bellinger is expected to be less expensive, and thrived in Yankee Stadium last year.<\/p>\n

The remaining free agents are expected to be impactful when it comes to leading the AL East, and the Yankees aren’t looking good so far. The Blue Jays are hungry to stay at the top, and the way they’re moving, they might pass us by.<\/p>\n

Make sure to bookmark Yankees On SI to get all your daily New York Yankees news, interviews, breakdowns and more!<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New York Yankees‘ offseason has been underwhelming, and fans hope their biggest moves are still in front…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394306,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-394305","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}