16+ hour, 33+ min ago (277+ words) The Yankees have signed RHP Yerry Rodriguez to a two-year Minor League contract according to MLB Trade Rumors, taking a flier on a hard-throwing reliever who is recovering from Tommy John Surgery. He's expected to return in the middle of the 2026 season, but in his MLB career has pitched to an 8.17 ERA in 30 appearances, serving mainly as a bullpen piece. Rodriguez pitches most recently for the Rangers and Blue Jays in 2024 before the UCL tear in Spring Training when he was with the Pirates. New York has excelled at finding reliever talent on the market, and the Yankees are targeting more hard-throwers over the offseason to improve their organization's fastball quality. The Yankees want to add more velocity to their bullpen and Yerry Rodriguez is a minor upgrade for that part of their roster as a Minor League addition. He…...

16+ hour, 50+ min ago (421+ words) Tatsuya Imai did a live interview on Japanese TV earlier today, and the Yankees were probably happy to hear some of the comments the right-handed pitcher made. In this interview, he mentioned that not only would he prefer to join an MLB team without a Japanese player, but he also mentioned that he'd want to beat the Dodgers; not join them: "I want to take them down'I think beating a team like that and becoming World Champions would be the most valuable thing in my life." During the 2025 season Imai was one of the top pitchers in Japan, sportijng a 1.92 ERA and striking out over 27% of batters faced, and he could get a serious payday this upcoming winter. Unlike with Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki, who wanted nothing to do with the Yankees it seems, and even Yoshinobu Yamamoto who…...

16+ hour, 52+ min ago (434+ words) In the minds of many New York Yankees fans, the New York Yankees print money. Their success is measured by rings, their failures by every dollar that didn't turn into one. Owner and managing partner Hal Steinbrenner's message on Monday wasn't exactly subtle. He pushed back against the idea that the Yankees live in permanent profit, calling the assumption unfair and inaccurate. He didn't break out spreadsheets or point-by-point breakdowns, but he didn't have to. He had made his point. The number he chose to highlight did the job: a hundred million dollars paid to the City of New York every February 1, even during the shutdowns and revenue collapses of the Covid season. Hal Steinbrenner said it is "not fair" to assume the Yankees make a profit. "I don't want to get into it, but that's not a fair statement…...

1+ day, 11+ hour ago (671+ words) A stunning trade by the Mets tonight has caused a big shake up on the outfield market, and the Yankees could face their crosstown rivals in another free agent showdown. Cody Bellinger, who would fit the Mets" idea of the run prevention, would fit them like a glove and is a player of interest to the Mets according to multiple public reports. Whether Steve Cohen and David Stearns focus their attention on retaining their free agents such as Pete Alonso or Edwin Diaz remain to be seen, but if they look externally for an outfielder, Bellinger is their best free agent match. Could the Yankees, who watched Juan Soto leave them at the alter for the Mets, see Cody Bellinger pull the same manuever this free agency? Let"s start with the negatives for a Cody Bellinger-to-Mets scenario, with the…...

1+ day, 18+ hour ago (490+ words) Some seasons feel long even before they're over. For the New York Yankees, the 2025 campaign became one of those years the moment their depth unraveled, forcing the front office into patchwork solutions at the trade deadline. They brought in Jose Caballero, Amed Rosario, and Austin Slater just to plug holes and survive the stretch run. They managed yet another empty playoff appearance, but the feeling wasn't nearly as confident this time around. Now, as 2026 approaches, they'll get one of their most versatile pieces back. The question is whether that solves anything meaningful or just masks deeper problems. The Yankees leaned on Oswaldo Cabrera plenty before his season was cut short. His fractured ankle limited him to 34 games, leaving behind a modest .243/.322/.308 slash with one homer and 11 RBIs. Those numbers have never defined his value, though. What makes Cabrera useful is…...

1+ day, 19+ hour ago (699+ words) With Trent Grisham's return, the Yankees will search for a second outfielder to round out their outfield, and while Brian Cashman didn't specify if he meant a starter or platoon hitter, he did insinuate a lack of trust in Jasson Dominguez. "The worst-case scenario would be those two kids fight it out, may the best man wins" Calling a scenario where Dominguez has to battle with Spencer Jones for a starting outfield spot the worst-case scenario isn't what I'd consider a vote of confidence, so I expect them to shop at the top of the outfield market. It feels like a reunion with Cody Bellinger just makes sense, you'd bring back an elite defensive left fielder who has already played in New York, but is it their only course of action? Before, the real need for a centerfielder made Bellinger…...

1+ day, 22+ hour ago (569+ words) Some offseasons start quietly. Others walk in with a number taped to the front door and dare you to beat it. For the New York Yankees, that number is $300 million " the luxury tax line that will hover over every decision this winter. They opened the offseason with roughly $70 million of space before hitting that threshold, a workable but tight amount for a team with championship ambitions. Then Trent Grisham accepted his $22 million qualifying offer. The math changed fast. What looked like a flexible offseason suddenly felt tighter, and the Yankees found themselves back in a familiar spot: wanting star-level upgrades while watching their budget shrink. But a new wrinkle might be changing the shape of the winter. According to Robert Murray of FanSided, Hal Steinbrenner isn't just comfortable crossing $300 million " he's prepared to go $2025 million beyond it. That's a meaningful…...

3+ day, 8+ hour ago (383+ words) The New York Mets non-tendered three players on Friday, but they also agreed to terms with center fielder Tyrone Taylor. We also delve into Mark Vientos saying he is putting in the work to improve at defense, and more! In contrast, they kept other rehabbing pitchers such as Tylor Megill and Reed Garrett, a clue that the club sees more meaningful upside in that tier. And by agreeing to a one-year, $3.8 million deal with Tyrone Taylor, they preserved outfield depth without overcommitting. None of these moves change the shape of the offseason on their own, but together they show a team trimming around the edges and clearing room for bigger decisions still to come. Mark Vientos has already shown the Mets how dramatically he can alter a lineup, flashing star-level power in 2024 before settling into a more modest offensive year…...

3+ day, 11+ hour ago (491+ words) A front office's winter usually turns on the big moves, but sometimes the story is in the edges of the roster. That's where the New York Yankees spent their Friday, trimming, sorting, and deciding who still fits in a picture they hope looks a lot sharper by Opening Day. Arbitration deadline day tends to force clarity. This one did exactly that. The Yankees walked into the deadline with 14 arbitration-eligible players, an unusually heavy group for a roster already in transition. Anyone paying attention knew they weren't keeping all of them. Five pitchers were cut loose, each for a different set of reasons but all tied together by the same theme: the Yankees want reliability in 2026, not questions stacked on more questions. Today, the Yankees non-tendered RHP Michael Arias, RHP Jake Cousins, RHP Scott Effross, RHP Ian Hamilton and RHP Mark…...

3+ day, 12+ hour ago (542+ words) Sometimes an offseason turns on the loud moments. Other times, it's the smaller, procedural choices that quietly hint at a team's priorities. Friday landed firmly in that second category for the New York Mets, a day of roster decisions that didn't generate splashy headlines but did help sketch the early contours of how this front office intends to shape 2026. The Mets aren't deep into their winter build just yet, but inactivity isn't an option in November. With arbitration deadlines forcing choices, the organization drew a clear line around which fringe arms they were willing to carry and which they weren't. It wasn't dramatic. It was necessary. New York declined to tender contracts to Jose Castillo, Danny Young, and Max Kranick, a trio of pitchers who combined for fewer than 65 innings in 2025 but still represented a set of interesting decisions. These…...