New York Yankees 2025-2026 Offseason Wish List
After exiting the playoffs early in 2025, the Yankees have their work cut out for them in what should be a very busy offseason.
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To most teams, finishing any given season with 94 wins is in itself a major victory. For the New York Yankees, winning that many games only to fall to the division rival Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS means that the Bronx Bombers have their work cut out for them this offseason.
While this winter’s class is pretty top-heavy, the Yankees are going to be “in” on just about every one of the best-available players. Heck, the Blue Jays are going to be doing the same thing after experiencing their own playoff heartbreak, so the Yankees don’t have much of a choice but to keep their foot on the gas to one-up their rivals.
The good news is that they’ve already got a boatload of talent in-house.
Aaron Judge just won yet another MVP Award, Ben Rice had a breakout of his own, Giancarlo Stanton still hits tanks, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. has a case for being one of the best second basemen in all of baseball. That group makes for a pretty solid lineup.
The pitching staff may be hobbled by injuries, but the raw talent is undeniable too. Max Fried and Carlos Rodón both had outstanding seasons, while Cam Schlittler and Will Warren both showed flashes of long-term potential in the absence of Gerrit Cole. There’s work to be done here for sure, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
Anything less than a ring is usually viewed as a “loss” by followers of the Yankees, but seeing their rivals not only knock them out but then come within a few outs of winning a championship is going to light a fire under Brian Cashman and Co.’s rear-ends this winter.
This is an offseason where the entire roster needs to be looked at with a microscope. If there’s a player that isn’t doing enough, his position needs to be at or near the top of the priority list while looking around the league for replacements.
Let’s take a look at where the Yankees’ top priorities should lie this winter, and see if we can find some free agent and trade fits that will properly fill their needs.
Top Offseason Priorities for the New York Yankees
Bring Back Cody Bellinger
This one’s just about as straightforward as you can get. The Yankees already saw Trent Grisham accept the qualifying offer, so he’ll be back for at least one more season. Even with him back patrolling center field on a regular basis, the Yankees’ decision makers should still be doing what they can to bring back Cody Bellinger.
Kyle Tucker is obviously the best-available outfielder on the open market, but it sure sounds like the Yankees are keeping him in their back pocket and instead banking on bringing Bellinger back into the fold. The Yankees will never have a problem affording any player they want, but Tucker would likely be the one big fish they get this winter (especially because he’d cost picks and IFA money), while Bellinger could be brought back alongside another piece or two.
Bellinger, 30, made it into 152 games for New York this past season (the most he’s had in a single year since 2019 when he was the NL MVP) and also was worth 4.9 fWAR. Once again, this was the best he’s had since ’19.
A sweet-swinging lefty who hit 29 home runs with 98 RBI in 2025, Bellinger has the defensive versatility to play all three spots in the outfield and even first base here and there. This past season, he had 7 DRS and 4 OAA in left field (572 innings), while posting 8 DRS and 2 OAA in right field (416 innings).
Seven of the nine projected members of the Yankees’ 2026 Opening Day lineup had 20 or more home runs in 2025, but that doesn’t mean Bellinger doesn’t have a spot waiting for him on this team. Grisham’s going to retake his spot in center field and that Aaron Judge guy has right field locked down, but Jasson Dominguez hasn’t taken the step(s) forward the Yankees hoped he would, so Bellinger could very easily steal some playing time (or a roster spot altogether) from The Martian.
Rebuild the Bullpen
The Yankees need help in the bullpen, of that there is no doubt. In 2025, their relievers combined to rank 23rd in baseball in ERA (4.37), 18th in FIP (4.11). They punched out a lot of batters (fifth-best K/9 in baseball), but also had the ninth-highest BB/9 and 10th-highest HR/9.
That was before they saw Luke Weaver, Mark Leiter Jr., Devin Williams, Jonathan Loáisiga, Ian Hamilton, and Ryan Yarbrough hit the open market.
Yarbrough’s already been brought back into the fold, which was the right move by all accounts. Williams, who at times was problematic for the Yankees during his single season on the team, signed with the Mets. Weaver and Leiter remain unsigned and could be candidates to come back to the Yankees in the coming season, especially Weaver.
The 32-year-old spent two and a half years on the Yankees and posted a 3.22 ERA with a 3.65 FIP across 129 outings. He saw his career really take off with this team, and you could see during the 2024 ALDS when he earned three saves in four games against the Royals that he was earning the trust of this team and its leaders.
Weaver needs to come back, but the Yankees will have to do a little bit more than him alone to rebuild their bridge to the ninth inning. David Bednar and Camilo Doval, two trade deadline adds from this past season, will be returning in 2026, but they both showed that there’s more than a little bit of uncertainty in their games.
Potential free agent additions: Weaver, RHP Edwin Díaz, RHP David Robertson
We’ve already touched on Weaver, but why not aim even higher and sign the free-agent pool’s best reliever? Díaz, 31, just wrapped up an outstanding six-year stint on the Mets, and while he remains a possibility to join the ex-Yankee Williams across town, the Mets are going to have some competition.
One thing you should know by now about the Yankees is that they’re always going to throw their money around and spend money to upgrade the team. Díaz is not going to come cheap, but the results he’s put up time and time again over the years really do speak for themselves.
The right-hander made 62 appearances in 2025 for the Mets, earning 28 saves while striking out 98 batters and walking just 21 in 66+ innings of work. The fact that his career FIP is 2.56 and his career K/9 is all the way up to 14.5 tells you all you’ll need to know about this arm. He’s electric and is one of the game’s very best closers. If the Yankees want to meaningfully upgrade the back-end of their ‘pen, why not start at the top?
Another option that makes a ton of sense is Robertson, who the Yankees know well. The 40-year-old didn’t sign until late in the 2025 season, but he wound up making 20 decent appearances for the Phillies, posting a 4.08 ERA with 22 strikeouts and eight walks in 17+ innings.
Robertson’s prime is well in the rearview mirror at this point, but he’s been as durable and consistent as they come on the mound as he’s aged. It’s true that he’s one of the oldest remaining big leaguers, but it’s also true that he’s just one year removed from a 68-outing season with the Rangers where he almost struck out 100 batters as a relief pitcher.
After spending nine of his 17 years on the Yankees across multiple stints, Robertson is a well-known commodity around these parts. He’s not going to close games for them, that’s what Bednar’s for, but adding him (back) to the bullpen would go a long way to solidifying that bridge.
Potential trade additions: LHP JoJo Romero, LHP Wandy Peralta, LHP Matt Strahm
I didn’t intend to have all of the free agent targets be right-handed and the trade targets be left-handed, but here we are.
Romero, 29, has gone from a bad Phillies reliever to a quietly dominant Cardinals reliever over the past few years. He’s been one of baseball’s most durable arms and just wrapped up an outstanding showing for the Cards. In 65 games, Romero posted a 2.07 ERA (200 ERA+) and 3.28 FIP while earning eight saves and surrendering just two home runs all year.
Romero is entering his final year of control, which should bring his price down a bit, but he’s also still a relatively unknown commodity that shouldn’t cost the Yankees an arm and a leg. He is reportedly drawing interest already this winter, and would be a big help to a Yankees bullpen that saw its left-handers be worth -0.2 fWAR in 2025.
Acquiring Peralta from the Padres would bring him back to the place where he put his name on the map. The 34-year-old made 165 appearances for the Yankees across three years and posted a 2.82 ERA in 153 innings of work. This past season, he made a career-high 71 appearances and had a respectable 3.14 ERA and 3.62 FIP.
Peralta is durable and consistent in his results. With the Padres looking to trim up some payroll wherever they can, it’d make sense for them to ship him and the nearly $9 million remaining on his deal off to whoever wants him. He’s far from a sexy name that’ll automatically make the Yankees any more of a World Series favorite, but he’s a familiar asset who can fill a handful of roles in their ‘pen.
The Phillies don’t have a whole lot of glaring needs as they gear up for 2026, but they’re reportedly receiving trade interest on a handful of left-handed relievers. Rumor has it that they could dangle one (or more) of them in talks to try and upgrade elsewhere on the roster. Enter Strahm, who’s been an absolute innings sponge for them in each of the past three years.
Strahm, 34, has made 66 appearances in each of the last two years and has put up some great results along the way. The 10-year veteran had a 1.87 ERA( 225 ERA+), 2.29 FIP and 11.3 K/9 in 2024 before following that up with a 2.74 ERA (161 ERA+), 2.99 FIP and 10.1 K/9 in 2025. The former starter has really come into his own as a full-time reliever on the Phillies, and would be another pure rental for the Yankees, as his contract is up after the 2026 campaign.
Make a Decision at Shortstop
The Yankees thought they had their long-term shortstop of the future when they took Anthony Volpe in the first round of the 2019 MLB Draft. Now he’s three full years into his big league career, and the output has not matched the potential.
Volpe, 24, simply may not be an above-average player, which is a tough pill to swallow and a tough reality to face for the Yankees. He’s got pop and can steal bases, but strikeouts are an issue and he hasn’t posted a wRC+ above 87 (13% below league average) in the big leagues. The vast majority of his fWAR in each year he’s been up has been carried by his defense, but a labrum injury significantly held him back defensively in 2025.
| Anthony Volpe | OAA | DRS |
| 2023 | 1 | 15 |
| 2024 | 14 | 6 |
| 2025 | -7 | 2 |
That very same injury is expected to keep him out of action to start the 2026 regular season. In his absence, José Caballero will get the starting gig, and he won over the hearts of the Yankees and their fans by posting 1.1 fWAR and a 134 wRC+ in 40 second-half games for the club this past year. If he comes out of the gate playing solid ball next season, do the Yankees automatically hand the keys back over to Volpe once he’s healthy? I’m not convinced.
With the Yankees undoubtedly feeling a sense of urgency to field another competitive unit, they’re going to have to try and upgrade every position that can’t pull its weight.
As of right now, shortstop looks to be a major one that needs a closer look.
Options: Bo Bichette, Ha-Seong Kim
Bo Bichette is the big prize on the free agent market at shortstop. If the Yankees were to bring him aboard, it would not only be a massive middle finger to the Blue Jays, but it would also give them a significant upgrade offensively at the position.
Bichette and Volpe bring two different sets of skills to the table. The former is a pure bat who can swing it with the best of ’em when he’s healthy (which has at times been an issue) that can’t defend to save his life. The latter can hit home runs but is much more of a glove than a bat, and his glove really fell off last year.
The logistics wouldn’t be perfect having Bichette sign with the Yankees, but it’d be some form of an upgrade either way. Jazz Chisholm is the team’s second baseman, but he’s only under control for one more year. The Yankees could always sign Bichette and have him be their shortstop for a year before shifting him over and giving someone else (top prospect George Lombard Jr.?) a shot at shortstop. There are options.
How about an option that will cost a bit less and be a shorter term deal?
Kim, 30, swings a bat that’s right around league average and can function as a more-than-capable defender at shortstop, as well as both second and third base. The five-year veteran saw his 2025 season shortened by injuries, but his 24-game cameo with the Braves down the stretch provided some hope for him moving forward.
Sure, the .684 OPS he had with the Braves doesn’t jump off the page, but he was so much better of an overall player in Atlanta than he was with the Rays before the trade deadline. Kim is predicted to sport a 100 wRC+ and be worth 2.4 fWAR in the coming year by FanGraphs Depth Chart projections. Those numbers would be much more in line with where he’s been at previously in his MLB career.
When he’s on his game, Kim is a better hitter than Ryan McMahon, who will be the Yankees’ primary third baseman in 2026, and Caballero. He won’t break the bank and could be an oft-used utility option if Volpe comes back and earns some more reps as the Yankees’ primary shortstop.
Add Another Starting Pitcher
If every single starting pitcher on this team was healthy, the rotation would consist of Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil, and Cam Schlittler. Clarke Schmidt and Will Warren, two outstanding righties in their own … right, would be a part of the mix as well. That right there would be baseball’s best rotation, and it’s going to be hard to argue that.
Of course, I said this is what it would like if everyone’s healthy, and that’s not the reality the Yankees face heading into 2026. Cole, Rodón, and Schmidt all missed time this past year, and the former two will not be ready for Opening Day. The latter underwent Tommy John in July and will not be seen in ’26.
Gil only threw 57 innings in 2025 thanks to his own slate of injuries as well. That leaves Fried, who just set a new career-high in innings pitched this past year, and Schlittler, who only just broke into the league, as the only two remote “locks.”
Can you see where there’s room for a bit more stability?
Instead of listing out a large group of potential targets, I’m going to focus on a pair of arms the Yankees are reportedly already looking at. Former Yankee Michael King and Japanese standout Tatsuya Imai are both on the club’s radar, and both would be damn near perfect fits for the 2026 rotation.
Michael King Reunion
King, 30, spent the first five years of his big league career on the Yankees and made a transition to a full-time starter’s role after he left New York. The right-hander turned himself into a star after making the switch, and is now up for a nice payday on the open market.
The Yankees gave King looks as a starter earlier in his career, but he didn’t really take off in that role until late in the 2023 season. In nine starts that year, he posted a 2.23 ERA with 51 strikeouts and just nine walks in 40.1 innings of work. That was enough for the Padres to insist on him being a part of the Juan Soto trade package, and the rest is history.
Now the Yankees could really use King near the top of their rotation. He has been so consistent with most of his rate stats, regardless of what role he fills on a pitching staff, so the club would know exactly what they’re getting from him. The only wart with him is that he’s also had some health concerns, so who knows if the Yankees would really want yet another question-mark like this.
We predicted King would earn a three-year, $66 million contract in free agency with an opt-out after the coming season. A deal like this would work nicely for all involved. Should King show up on the 2026 Yankees and continue to dominate as a starter, he can re-enter the market the next winter and by then the Yankees should have the rest of their rotation up to speed and at full health.
Taking a Chance on the New Guy
Imai, 27, is one of the best starting pitchers available on the market this winter, and it feels like not enough people are talking about him. The right-hander just finished his ninth season with the Saitama Seibu Lions in Japan, and went 10-5 with a sparkling 1.92 ERA across 24 starts. In that time, he struck out 178 batters while walking 45 and allowing just 5.6 H/9, which would’ve led the majors in 2025.
While ERA is not the only stat one should use while evaluating a pitcher’s success, it’s important to note that Imai posted an ERA of 2.50 or less four times in his nine-year stretch in Japan. That’s an incredible run. Armed with a fastball that can top out at 99 and a slider that’s widely regarded as his best pitch, Imai has a filthy arsenal that is sure to help any team hungry for pitching this offseason.
The odds of Imai’s market driving his price up higher than King’s are, well, high. He’s the higher-end arm of the two and is going to have many more suitors that will likely be willing to offer a lot more money. If that happens, it’s entirely possible the Yankees pivot from Imai to King and still end up happy campers.
With a payroll already full of expensive pitchers who are making north of $100 million, it’s highly likely that Imai would become another. He’s also something of a lottery-ticket in that the Yankees aren’t positive what they’re going to get from him, seeing as how he’s never thrown a pitch in Major League Baseball. Still, they’ve had success with bringing pitchers over from Japan and having them excel for them at the big league level, so don’t write it off.
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Eric Treuden (troy-din) is one of Just Baseball's Managing Editors and Facebook manager. After previous stops at FanSided's news desk, Yardbarker, and Jays Journal, he has…