{"id":355987,"date":"2025-12-18T12:24:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T12:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/355987\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T12:24:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T12:24:09","slug":"yankees-fans-are-anxious-about-the-slow-offseason-but-should-they-be-worried","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/355987\/","title":{"rendered":"Yankees fans are anxious about the slow offseason. But should they be worried?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been quiet lately outside Yankee Stadium. Several of the nearby bars and merchandise stores have been shuttered for the winter. Passersby bundle up and walk with their heads down, struggling against the cold and wind. Across the street, inches of snow blanket Elston Gene Howard Field.<\/p>\n

But inside Yankee Stadium, above the field and behind closed doors, the scene is obscured. Surely, baseball operations staffers have been hard at work behind their laptops. General manager Brian Cashman has been at his desk, glued to his iPhone. And perhaps a tumbleweed or two has formed out of thin air and rolled past his office.<\/p>\n

Or at least that\u2019s how it\u2019s probably looked in the minds of many New York Yankees fans, who have been begging for Cashman to do something, anything this offseason. Especially as their American League East foes continue shaping their rosters<\/a> and the New York Mets sign their castoffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Should Yankees fans continue to be so anxious? Or should they take a nice, deep breath and consider there\u2019s still plenty of time left before spring training?<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s rate the most popular fears floating around the fan base right now.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re not just going to run it back with the same lineup, right?<\/p>\n

Rating: Doubtful<\/p>\n

Look, Cashman wasn\u2019t wrong when he said this at the Winter Meetings: \u201cThe needs aren\u2019t so glaring. \u2026 We have good players spread throughout this roster.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was comparing this winter\u2019s roster to last winter\u2019s without Juan Soto. When Soto signed with the Mets, the Yankees executed a multi-pronged Plan B that allowed them to address several parts of their roster.<\/p>\n

This offseason, it\u2019s different in some ways. The Yankees are currently without Cody Bellinger, who would leave a big hole if he signed elsewhere. But they also expect sizable offensive contributions from Trent Grisham and Jazz Chisholm Jr., which they weren\u2019t sure last winter they would get. They will continue to believe Aaron Judge will be Aaron Judge until further notice. Ben Rice emerged this year as a true middle-of-the-order threat. Giancarlo Stanton ended the season healthy.<\/p>\n

But there are improvements to be made. Bringing back Bellinger would solve left field. Cashman hasn\u2019t ruled out upgrading at shortstop over Jos\u00e9 Caballero as the Yankees await Anthony Volpe\u2019s return. Though Rice could get the majority of the at-bats at first base, they could use a righty platoon partner at the position \u2014 though maybe they try Amed Rosario<\/a> there. They could also add a righty-hitting catcher behind lefty Austin Wells.<\/p>\n

Is Bellinger a goner?\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Cody Bellinger posted an .813 OPS in his first season in pinstripes. (Kent J. Edwards \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Rating: The jury\u2019s out<\/p>\n

If the Yankees were fully committed to bringing back Bellinger, it probably would have happened already, right? That he\u2019s still a free agent seems to signal at least some hesitancy on their part.<\/p>\n

Of course, the Yankees are well acquainted with the tactics of agent Scott Boras, who often prefers to aim sky high at the start of the offseason for his clients. Maybe the sides are playing chicken. Or maybe, as The Athletic reported previously via a league source<\/a>, what Boras appeared to signal early \u2014 that he may wait for Kyle Tucker to sign before finalizing a deal for Bellinger \u2014 remains in place.<\/p>\n

Remember: Bellinger had a strong first season in the Bronx and was valuable to the clubhouse. But the Yankees acquired him in what amounted to a salary dump from the Chicago Cubs, and the Los Angeles Dodgers non-tendered him after the 2022 season. The Yankees might prefer to pump his market, only to pair Jasson Dom\u00ednguez in left field with a righty hitter who mashes lefties. Cashman has spoken about wanting to give manager Aaron Boone as many platoon options as possible when it makes sense. For the Yankees, there\u2019s a path forward with Bellinger, and without him.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t they have to make a splash?\"\"<\/p>\n

\n The Yankees signed Max Fried to a $218 million deal last offseason. Is there a big move coming this winter? (Ron Jenkins \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Rating: Kind of<\/p>\n

They\u2019re the Yankees. They\u2019re not just in the baseball business. They\u2019re in the entertainment business, and last season they brought out a slew of new shiny toys for the fan base in Max Fried, Bellinger, Devin Williams and Paul Goldschmidt. The year before that, it was Soto.<\/p>\n

Boone can and should say all he wants about how excited he was about last season\u2019s team as it entered the playoffs, only to get ousted in the American League Division Series by the Toronto Blue Jays. But after that painful exit, Yankees fans are going to want upgrades, and the club has the prospect capital to make a significant trade or two.<\/p>\n

Plus, the Yankees\u2019 foes have been active. The Baltimore Orioles added Pete Alonso. The Blue Jays signed Dylan Cease and presumably remain in play for Bo Bichette. The Boston Red Sox traded for Sonny Gray. The Yankees have been relatively quiet but still have a statement to make.<\/p>\n

They can\u2019t just rely on this rotation, can they?<\/p>\n

Rating: Probably not<\/p>\n

Cliches become cliches because, more often than not, they are true. So, when you hear someone say, \u201cYou can never have enough pitching,\u201d it\u2019s true, particularly because pitchers can\u2019t be relied upon to stay healthy. That line of thinking works for the Yankees right now.<\/p>\n

They would be foolish to think they will go into next season without encountering some trouble. They hope Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery) will return around May or June and that Carlos Rod\u00f3n (elbow surgery) will be back around May. They also have to hope that last year\u2019s heavy workloads won\u2019t hinder Fried, Cam Schlittler and Will Warren, and that Luis Gil, who is often hurt, will be fine. That\u2019s asking a lot.<\/p>\n

The Athletic\u2019s Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon have reported that the Yankees were in on trade talks<\/a> for the Milwaukee Brewers\u2019 Freddy Peralta, who would be a major upgrade for any team.<\/p>\n

Of course, Cashman demurred when asked whether the club needed to add another starting pitcher, though he didn\u2019t rule it out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can add another starter, that would be great,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I feel like right now, we\u2019re in a pretty good spot.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been quiet lately outside Yankee Stadium. Several of the nearby bars and merchandise stores have been shuttered…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355988,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,369,99],"class_list":["post-355987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355987\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355988"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}