Yankees Updates: The Slow Offseason

The Yankees are hard at work this offseason trying to improve the team. The offseason has been super slow this offseason, and there are some reasons for that.

Bellinger Race

The first reason the offseason his slow is who they are targeting. Scott Boras is taking his sweet time with Cody Bellinger, waiting for his market to develop. Boras is planning to wait out the Kyle Tucker market to see if other teams come calling for Bellinger's services. The issue -- Tucker does not have many suitors.

Nobody has come close to meeting Boras and Bellinger's demands as of yet.

The Yankees are trying to wait out the Bellinger market because they can then deal from their outfield surplus, as Cashman mentioned earlier this offseason.

Bullpen Needs Improvement

The Yankees bullpen does need some work. While the Yankees seem to be trying to piece it together with project arms, that is not going to work.

Saturday, the Yankees re-signed Paul Blackburn to a one-year, $2 million deal. While I think the Blackburn signing is a savvy one with upside, it's no sure bet that Blackburn will perform.

The Yankees are betting on a bounce-back from Camilo Doval. Doval initially struggled when he came over at the trade deadline. The good news, Doval showed promise down the stretch and drastically improved as time went on. He is someone the Yankees should have belief in going into 2026, but he needs to prove it.

Relying on Cade Winquest is not going to work. The Yankees see what they saw in Luke Weaver when he was picked up off waivers in September 2023. It could work, but it's no sure thing. If he becomes something, that is a great look for the pitching development department, but the Yankees can't afford for this project to fail.

Jake Bird, who was brought in at the deadline, is expected to make an impact in the bullpen. Bird was so bad in his limited sample with the big league team, he was optioned to AAA.

The one issue that should concern you -- they don't have a flashy name in the 'pen yet. Sure, Blackburn, Bird, and Winquest could turn into 1996 Mariano Rivera, but that is no guarantee. There is no certainty in this bullpen. For a pen that costed the Yankees their division in 2025, it does not seem to be a big concern for the Yankees front office.

Starting Rotation

The Yankees starting rotation could be one of the best in baseball. It won't be till May or June, and even that is a stretch. We don't know what Gerrit Cole will look like coming off Tommy John Surgery. We don't even know what Max Fried, Will Warren, and Cam Schlittler will look like after each pitching a career high in professional innings.

The point is the Yankees need another starter in their rotation. That also has a trickle down effect where they can add one of their starters, like Luis Gil, to the bullpen. Gil would be the ideal candidate because he can hone his command in for the short time he is on the mound and has tremendous velocity.

According to sources, the Yankees interest in Japanese starter Tatsuya Imai is limited at the most. It's more likely the Yankees trade for a starter than sign one, as been reported earlier this offseason. There are many names the Yankees have been linked to, but if I were them, I would look at a starter with multiple years of control like Edward Cabrera. This would cover the Yankees for next season when more of their internal depth is ready.

The bottom line, the Yankees need to start making bigger moves soon before it's too late.