LIVE: What if the Yankees don’t make any significant changes for 2026?

LIVE: What if the Yankees don’t make any significant changes for 2026?

[music] [music] [music] Yo, what’s going on everybody? Welcome back to another Yankees Avenue off seasonason live stream. It is Saturday afternoon, December 20th, just 5 days away from Christmas. What up, chat? How are we doing? Hope everybody is having a fantastic weekend so far. And uh yo, as you guys see from the title of the video, we’re going to discuss a little bit of doom and gloom, but we’re going to have fun doing it. Um we’re the current team, the 2026 Yankees, as they’re constructed at this very moment. Now, I’m going to get into a couple things without trying to play the source game, but I’m just going to give it to you by telling you where my head’s at, and you could do what you will, maybe wondering why I’m at these certain conclusions. There will be moves to be made, though, so don’t get it twisted. While on one hand I’m not so sure we’re getting this guy that I want or maybe I’m a little less optimistic that it’s going to play out maybe how I initially hoped. Yankees aren’t going to just run it back completely with the roster we’re going to analyze and look at today. With that said though, let me say this. Not playing the source game. I can’t play the source game. One, I don’t like to. Two, I’m giving you my opinion right now. So, don’t take this as somebody told me this. Wink wink. But put it like this. I don’t think the Yankees are going to sign Tatsuya Amay. That’s the main thing that I want to get off my chest. I don’t know why I said it like that, but I can’t operate on here with my streams the way I want to if I’m still holding out hope for something that I don’t think is going to happen. Now, it doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee it’s not going to happen, but let’s just say I believe the way Jack Curry has been talking, there’s a reason for that. And I am now accepting of that world that in all likelihood the Yankees aren’t in that heavily on Tatsuya Mai and they’re probably not going to sign him. So until we hear a concrete rumor that contradicts that and you know says otherwise, that’s what I’m putting out there. I’m not a source, but if you’re watching these streams, know that’s the mindset that I’m operating under. The Yankees are not in on Tatsuya Mai. I wish they would. And I still am holding out hope that this offseason goes, whether it’s with Amay included or some other direction that gets us all excited. And that is possible the other direction. Like there are still things that absolutely could happen. I’m holding that hope that they’ll sign Cody Bellinger. And there’s reason to believe they’re, you know, they are they are they’re in on him. his market might get ridiculous. We’ll see how ridiculous. But I’m still holding out hope and it’s reasonable to hold that hope that Bellinger returning is a possibility. So yeah, just putting that out there that going forward until we hear something else, I’m staying away from Tatsuya because to be honest from what I’ve heard per se, but again just going off of my personal opinion, that’s how I want to present it. We’re going to stay away from Tatsuya on these streams because it would feel like we’re wasting our time. So, with that said, that gets us into what we’re going to discuss today. Well, more moves or kind of like the first moves. Although, you know, they Christian qualifying offer, Rosario back, Yarro, those are significant, but in terms of external ads, not just players returning, things are going to happen. I I have no doubt about that. There’ll be a time this year where we get a notification. We’ll be like, “Yo, word about time.” We not be like jumping out of our seat the way we did with Juan Sto a couple years back. Or maybe we will. Who knows? But for today, we’re really going to look at the roster as currently constructed because I was watching uh Michael Kay yesterday and he had Jeff Passen on and they eventually got around to the Yanks and one of the things that he said which I fully believe even without hearing Jeff passing who obviously I trust say it is that the Yankees like their team right now and they will look at 2025 hence or and with that 2026 as a very similar squad to a degree. tied the Blue Jays for the best record in the American League last year. And if Devin Williams doesn’t [ __ ] himself for half the year, good odds. They they win that division. That’s not me coping. I don’t think the Yankees look at it as a cope. They look at that as fact. They had a squad that is very similar this year that tie the Toronto Blue Jays who went on to almost beat the Dodgers in the World Series with the best record in the American League. Toronto was better than us obviously. Also, what’s obvious is yo, this is not the same squad right now. Cody Bellinger was very important to the 2025 Yankees. He’s not on the 2026 Yankees right now. So, that of course remains to be seen. With that said though, I do want to acknowledge there are a lot big a big many facets of this team that I will still be excited about. And there are going to be times this year, let’s just say this offseason doesn’t go the way we hope, which still remains to be seen. There will be times this year where I fall into slight coping mechanisms of, “Oh, well, this could go right, that could go right. Hey, they’re still a pretty good team. They have Aaron Judge. Their pitching rotation, especially particularly only when healthy, is going to be one of the best in baseball. I will rationalize things in my head. I’ll say a lot. a good amount will be true. There’s a lot of talent on this team and reason to believe they’re probably going to make it to the postseason in 2026 as they do every single year, which even the biggest pessimists out there probably don’t doubt that all that much. And I don’t blame the mindset there cuz I’m right with you when we all say who cares about that. It’s about winning the World Series and not just getting to the World Series. Like 2024 was a failure just like last year was. We didn’t win. So ultimately getting the postseason means nothing. But there’s going to be things that I say that are truthfully fact about this upcoming Yankee squad before any further moves are made that there’s reason to believe they’re still going to be really good. But also, you know, as we get closer, and hopefully I don’t have to do this, and it won’t be intentional, but just the way my mind works, I’m a very optimistic person, and that’s naturally the way the brain of a baseball fan will work. the closer and closer you get to opening day ultimately I know come March 25th against the Giants opening night on Netflix that’ll be something I’ll be ready to go yo and I I’ll be saying let’s go get 28. So on one hand it’s no matter what chat I’ll be watching the Yankees every single day. I’ll be doing watch parties just about every single day. I’m holding that hope for more more moves. I think there will be more moves, but for now, maybe it’s a little bit of acceptance of, you know, let’s look at what we got right now because there’s a good chance this is what we’re going to have in a couple months. So, with that said, I say we get into it, chat. Um, first thing I do want to look at, and I’m not going to go crazy analytical here, you know, for those that might be watching from the Facebook link that I post. Shout out Yankees Avenue Facebook. But something I look at every single year is when Fang graphs projects the team war for the upcoming season and they do it both with offensive war and pitching war combined into like a rankings overall war. Who are the projected best teams in baseball that they have at least as of this very moment given the current roster construction? Well, given the current roster construction, the Yankees are projected to be the third best team in baseball. essentially tied for the second best team in baseball because a margin of 0.1 when talking war is essentially irrelevant. Blue Jays projected to be a 46 win team. Well, not 46 win, but going off the war projected to have 46 war, Yankees 45.9. That’s basically a tie. You got Dodgers, Blue Jays, Phillies, Brewers is a top five projected for the upcoming season. We’re not going to spend too much time on this, but I look every single year and in terms of the conversation, which I know doesn’t mean all that much to people, but being one of the better teams in the league come the regular season, that should remain with the Yankees even at this very given moment before potential moves are to come. They should be a really good squad. And I’ve looked at this in the past, whether it be 2022, 2023 as well, which in fairness, if Aaron Judge didn’t get hurt, we probably make the postseason that year as well. 2024, 2025. It’s very accurate. And let’s be real, regular season wise, we have been one of the best teams in baseball majority of the time, as long as Judge stays healthy. And that’s obviously a big caveat, but I want to get that part out of the way, not that it’s a guarantee by any means. And trust me, I’m with everybody that’s thinking, well, who cares? It’s going to be the same thing as previous years as 2025. We make it to the postseason, then get bounced. Whether it’s in the first round or the last round, ultimately it’s all the same. We don’t win the World Series. I’m with you. But some people get a little hyperbolic with, oh, this team’s going to be a fifth place squad in the American League East. At best, you are a fourth place team right now. That’s a line of pessimism that I just can’t fully get behind. if you’re just being negative. Yes, the have to make moves. Yes, the American League American League East has been very active. But I’ve heard this all said before. Not that you’re wrong and thinking the Yanks aren’t a World Series team right now, which let’s be honest, by the way, regardless of what moves are made, the fans that are often that negative always say that [ __ ] But fair enough, I’m with you. I think it’s there’s holes to be fixed. They want to win the World Series next year. This is probably not the squad that’s going to do it as currently constructed. We’ll say that line a lot today. But no, I don’t think they’re a fifth place team. I don’t think they’re a fourth place team. There’s a world where, you know, things could go wrong. And that’s part of why you got to make more moves because, yo, forget Judge, put him to the side for a second. It’s almost inevitable that Jan Carlo Stanton goes down with an injury at some point. God bless his soul. You know, I love Stan, but you know, we’ve pulled up to the lineup before, but the way things are currently obviously with before a resigning Cody Bellinger, Jason Dominguez is your left fielder. You got Gisham, Judge, Rice, Stanton, Jazz, Jason, McMahon, Caviierro, Austin Wells, and then against lefties, I actually came to the idea of not a groundbreaking thought, but I think I remember Zario probably leads off against lefties this year the same way Paul Goldmitt did. But anyways, Milan vers lefties, Rosaro, Judge Rice, Stanton, Jazz, Gisham, Cabierro Wells, Dominguez, and obviously Jason batting against lefties is not a deal. He’s struggling mightily against them last year. But that’s a conversation we’ve had many times over. Going back to the right-handed lineup here, because that’s the main. What happens if Stanton goes down? Not only is that something to think of as a possibility, you should almost assume it. And right now, who’s a DH if that were to happen? Now, if you can sign Bellinger and Jason’s on the bench if he’s not traded, all right, perfect. Jason slots in right there at DH or can play right and you give Judge some time at DH. And I guess you could call up Spencer, but we’re leaving Binger off to the side for now. Just looking at things that are currently constructed. The one through nine. This isn’t terrible, but it’s not terrible if everything goes perfectly according to plan. I’m a believer in Trent Gisham. I know many people though aren’t, at least don’t think he’s going to be able to replicate what he did this past year in 2025. That doesn’t concern me all that much. You look at the metrics, the batted ball stats, it shows he made improvements that significantly changed how hard he hit the ball. you do the math along with some other things that people that are smarter than me come to these conclusions in a more articulate way. But there’s many reasons to believe that last year 2025 was not a fluke for Gisham. I believe in him. But yo, with that said, obviously I don’t know. What if he takes a step back? Then again, are you banking on Spencer Jones come the postseason? Now, there’s also the trade deadline, which is a huge thing to think about. And going back to the lineup, the balance is still an issue. Obviously, that’s one of the main talking points this season of this offseason is Cash said it himself, we’re too left-handed without a doubt. We need to get more righty bats. They brought Rosario back in. He’ll play third against lefties in place of McMahon. Nice little patoon there. Okay. But still, you got Jazz, you got Jason, you got Gisham, you got Wells. I mean, some of those guys are better against lefties than others. Like, Jazz sometimes can hold his own against lefties. He was above league average, I believe, last year against them. Let me double check to make sure. Yeah. 134 WRC plus versus righties, 106 against lefties. It’s still a way less, for lack of a better word, competent of an atbat seeing Jazz face a southpaw. Feel like I’m saying lefty too much, so I had to throw in a like I’m writing an article. That’s what they always do. Ben Rice, we’ve talked about this a lot. Yeah, he’s better against righties, but he still slugs against lefties. He’s not incompetent against lefties. Gisham though, it’s such a stark difference and so bad against lefties where, you know, he’s well below league average at an 88 WRC plus against him last year in a breakout year form. That’s so bad to where all right, you obviously don’t lead him off against lefties, which they’re probably going to stick to early on against righties, which fair enough. Or maybe it would be Ben Rice, if they get a leadoff hitter, but we’ll see. We’re analyzing the current team for now, which has Gish probably leading off against righties. At the very least, they never really let him off for the most part against lefties last year. But it’s such a stark difference there and how he performs righty versus lefty that you should almost consider him a platoon guy. The Yankees desperately need to get at the very least if you don’t bring Bellinger back, you got to get whether it’s Rob Revider who rakes against left. He’s not a great defender, but some sort of out right-handed hitting outfielder that they can play for whether it’s, you know, if you’re doing Gisham against righties and then if it gets so bad against lefties, not that you would ever play Rob Reider in center field, but and I know Jason, they’re so adamant that he’s a left fieldielder, not a center fielder. Well, somebody’s going to have to be able to play that position on days where you either give Gisham off or he’s hurt or if a patoon, which probably should be in play, comes into the fold here. Bottom line is like you got to wonder about Gishamman, his ability to hit lefties consistently, which not even wonder about it, we know for a fact he’s not really able to do that. So, the balance remains an issue. players overall which Castron said like individually Christian my like judge speaks for itself Rice love Stanton when he’s healthy love Jazz really good player that’s frustrating sometimes Jason excites me but I don’t want to bank on him because I know if you were to sign Bellinger which Yankees are still trying to who Jason’s going to get playing time, man. He just is. There’s so many worlds where that happens. God forbid, knock on wood, if Judge were to go down, which you know, we saw him go down for 10 days last year, but you know, the inevitable call stand injury or again like, god forbid, if Ben Rice gets hurt, okay, you have Bellinger, you slide belly to first, Jason goes to left. So, it would almost be quas DJ Lameu when they signed him for 2019. He’s not going to play opening day, but he’s going to play. Not so much as like a Rover the way DJ did, but you just know even if Jason is not starting on paper when everybody’s healthy, I would still see him playing over a 100 games via all those reasons we just listed. I’m excited for him regardless. And maybe there’s a trade out there that could get a starting pitcher in return because the Yankees are still looking to upgrade the rotation. Sounds like free agency wise that’s not going to be the plan because they’re at on my which I think they are. We’ll see. And obviously Michael King goes back to the Padres’s really the only free agent starting pitcher left if I’m not mistaken is Fran Valdez. So if they’re going to upgrade the rotation it probably comes via trade. Does that involve Jason Dominguez at all? We’ll see. Maybe you know if they were to like Edward Cabrera from Miami could you do a Jason one forone trade there. something along those lines. But if Jason were to stay, I see him playing a lot regardless of if they bring Bellinger back or not. Obviously, if they don’t bring Belly back, Jason’s playing every day against lefties and against righties, or I should say righties and against lefties. He ranks against righties. You look at the uh difference here. I mean, 116 WRC plus against righties, and he’s possibly the fastest Yankee I’ve ever seen in my life next to 2011 Brett Gardner, which was my first year watching. Um, anyways, back to the lineup. McMahon excites me because he’s okay against right-handed pitching and his defense is incredible. We’ve talked with this a couple times on the stream. He strikes out a lot, but what’s interesting is he doesn’t chase. He whiffs on pitches in the zone and the Yankees are already trying to correct that like as we speak essentially like right now McMahon is already working on that. The Yanks already working on that with him. If he can fix that issue, which I know is a lot easier said than done with the defense, if he can just get that, go back to WRC plus overall for the year with Colorado and New York 86 on the year. So, he was 14% below league average. If McMahon just gets to being around a league average bat, even bump it up by another 10, get like a 96 to a 95 to 100 WRC plus McMahon, which yo, with the platoon of Rosario, that should be where he’s at almost certainly because he was every day playing in Colorado and he played against some lefties last year, no doubt about it. This year, I believe with the return of Rosario, that’s going to be a strict straight platoon. Majority of McMahon’s at bats will come against righties, which last year he wasn’t amazing against him, but he was significantly better against right-handed pitching. And for his career, significantly better against right-handed pitching. So, if he’s strictly just playing against against righties, and not to mention some tweaks to his swing, hopefully reduce the the amount of whiffs he has, strikeouts with that defense. If he gets above league average offensively, and he was looked pretty okay in the postseason, remember, hit the home run in game four against Toronto. If we get a Ryan McMahon that’s above average offensively, that changes a lot. A lot. We’re talking with his defense. I mean, he could be he could be a four-war player. And if he ever learned to hit lefties and was playing truly every day, 150 plus games with his defense and above league average offense and that large a sample size, he could be a five plus win player. But for now, he’s not that. He’s pretty ass with the bat. But I’m excited to see what he’s going to be. By the way, I don’t want to underell like my love for Jazz. I I love Jazz a lot. and he really to a degree kind of like I don’t want to say transcended the old Yankees into the new Yankees. But Jazz has brought like a very nice touch of like new age I’m trying to think alternative word to swag. That’s why I’m taking so long to but you know like that whole vibe that Jazz brings that was needed on the Yankees. little things like that that he’s the reason why Judge wears the Liberty Green. But there’s a perfect blend between the old age and the new age, how the Yankees handle themselves. And I think Judge is actually the perfect example of this. Judge is as classy as they come. But, you know, he’ll he’ll drip it out sometimes. I mean, a lot of the times he’ll back flip when it’s necessary. Jazz, not to mention how great of a player he is, 3030. He does frustrate me a lot, but like his vibe was needed. Like that young just the way he is. I think we need a little sprinkle that. It can get annoying at times, you know, his attitude. I did not like for those that were watching um during the playoffs, his attitude after sitting game one against Boston, which yo, fair enough if you think he should have played that game. Word up. That’s I don’t argue that at all. But turning your back on the media, we don’t do that. that should never ever have happened and Judge talked to him about that and I doubt he would ever do it again. But, you know, little things like that frustrate me with Jazz, but it’s also part of why I love him and you know, he loves being a Yankee. And he’s like dynamic when I know I bring this example up a lot when I’m gassing him up, but I always got to point out the first to home scoring against Boston on the Austin Wells go ahead RBI single in the wild card series or that diving stop to save a run in the wild card series. Like, there’s so many times I’m watching Jazz, I’m like, man, you are by default already. you’re you’re a really good player. Jazz could be a pure true superstar, but there are also drawbacks where, you know, he forgets how many outs there are or gets picked off in Miami or, you know, game four he makes that really bad error which could have been an ending ending double play and kept the game at just a one-run deficit. So, I mean, as much as I love Jazz, there are some drawbacks that frustrate me. Like always like little caveats that I got to mention when discussing how much I’m a fan of the guy. He’s also entering his walk here, though. And in the end, he did have a really, really good season. There’s a world where if he’s healthy next year, 150 plus games played, he could be a 4040 guy. And as of right now, he is on the team. I know there’s trade talks. I don’t think for sure he’s getting traded, although I would not rule it out. And I shouldn’t even say there’s trade talks. They’re listening. They’re listening on proposals from other teams. Assuming he’s a Yankee though, which that’s what the theme of this thing is as currently constructed. Jazz coming off best year of his career. Entering a walk year, hopefully going to be healthy, lot of talent. Figure going to get get mature, even more mature as the years go on. Just like all of us, just like you know myself, you get older, you get wiser, you get more understanding of how to act in certain situations. Even just going back to the wild card, not not playing in game one and then turn his back on the media. Like I said, I don’t think I’d like to think at least if Judge talked to him, he’ll never do that again. So more uh what I say maturation, is that the word? sprinkle a little more maturation on top of Jazz’s talent. And for all we know, we’re seeing a player next year that eclipses a six war over a full healthy season. So, make no mistake, the talent of Jazz Jr., like he’s a damn good player. Damn good player. And he had a damn good year. Just little things do frustrate me. But, um, going back to the lineup here, Kyra, we already discussed on a recent stream, excited about what he could be offensively in the first month of the season. And Cashman mentioned how, yo, if he’s playing well, may it be the best man wins it and keeps the shortstop job. Vulpi will get his chance. He’s set to return right around May, early May. But what if Cabayro, you go to the stats that he put up with the Yanks? 40 games, just under 100 at bats, had an OBP of 372, a 134 WRC plus, and he’s the best base stealer they’ve had in a long time. Long time. He’s really the best base dealer in the league. If he’s balling out, while Vulpi will certainly get his chance to prove himself now, what is, you know, year four for him? What if VP is struggling for a couple weeks and Cabier remains a really productive player at the plate? If that’s going to be the there’s Santa going out going on outside. Should I say what up? Um what were you saying? Yeah. If Cabo is balling out for two weeks into Vulpi’s return and Vulpi struggling, what happens then? Well, according to Cashman, Schwarz up is going to be may the best man keep it. So, obviously a lot of pressure on Vulpi going into this season, but we’ll discuss him more upon his return in early May. But uh yeah, and then Austin Wells, last guy we’ll talk about here before turning it over to the rotation. Need more from him offensively. I was definitely in a little bit of a pissy mood after the postseason as I always do and this is going to happen. Like I get emotional obviously and I try not to ever let it get into my takes as like a when I’m streaming or whatever it may be. I try to actually, believe it or not, be pretty levelheaded with this stuff. I was on the team like, you know, trade Austin Wells. I was just so dumb with it. I was like, how do you change the lineup and then fix the balance of the lineup without trading one of the main stays, which is still a conversation we’ll have, you know, one of Jazz, Wells, Jason, uh, Rice, which I would never do, like has to go or else how are you getting less left-handed? How’s he going to be more balanced in the lineup? for that reason and also because I’ve just been so disappointed with how he’s performed offensively ultimately now in um you know two years into his career. I’ve cooled off on that. I mean he’s a really good defensive catcher. Really good. So I shouldn’t just try to like ship him out of town. Not that I could do that anyways. I’m not the GM. Although if I was chat oh boy we’d be having we we’d have a lot of a lot of fun. Um no I’m just kidding. But we do need more from his bat. No doubt about it. And there’s times, there’s stretches where he looks so good. 2024, remember he was protecting Judge at times, hitting cleanup. You go Sodto 2, Judge three. Well, was hitting cleanup for a good little bit and he was doing it well. And then the end of the season, come like mid August to through September, he started to fall off, which that I kind of just attributed to, yo, he’s a catcher, playing a lot of games. The minor league season is shorter than the major league season. He might just be like, he might just be gassed. his body might be taxed really. And after the spring training, too, which I can’t blame it all on the fact of, you know, he hit lead off in spring training and that was going well. Hit lead off opening day, went deep, and then that was kind of like the last time we ever saw him there. Could that play a role slightly? But I can’t excuse Austin Wells struggling multiple stretches throughout the year, weeks at a time, just because, oh, he’s not batting lead off. So, I know people mention that like, oh, they should have kept that lead off and they took him out of there after he was hitting their well. Like, I don’t think that’s why you can say Wells had a down year offensively. Whatever it is though, there are times where even this past season, there’s a couple couple stretches where, yo, Wells has turned it on. Is this finally it? Finally, where he gets hot and he will get hot for a couple weeks and he’ll go cold again. Ultimately, the the years the numbers in the year, 21 homers, OPS over 700, 94 WRC plus. I mean, that’s not terrible. And like the war, he finishes above a three war, 3.1 war. That has him as right around like a top fringe top 10 catcher in baseball this past season. So he’s by no means a lost cause, but remember he was supposed to be an offensive first catcher and he’s like done a reversal. He’s figured out his defense and then some. He’s great behind the plate. He’s got to hit more though. With that said, if he does hit more, I mean, yo, he’s slated to bat in the ninth spot right now this year. You get more out of Austin Wells offensively. Put it like this. For the entire lineup, there are sure things. And the sure things for the most part we should feel pretty damn good about. Obviously, it’s and nothing is sure when it’s healthwithstanding, but and that’s a big thing discussed. We already mentioned that like injuries could happen. Knock on wood they don’t. But they will. Whatever though, that aside for now, for what I’m about to say, I think Gisham is going to hit. To me, he is offensively against right-handed pitching, he is a sure thing to for the most part replicate what he was this past year. I’ll put him off to the side of the judge. We know what he’s going to be. Ben Rice, I think his floor is what he put up numbers wise last year. I think he could end up being the second best hitter on the team this coming season. behind Aaron Judge. Stan, if he’s healthy, I don’t know if he’s going to put up the numbers he put up last year, which were just insane. Comes back in June, 76 games played, was playing for a good while. I mean, he had his Stanton slump, which is what he does. But there were points last year where we were saying, yo, if Stant was healthy the whole year, he’d be an MVP candidate. I don’t know if a 158 WRC plus is in the cards for him. But you can bank on production from Stanton as long as he’s healthy. When he’s healthy, there will be times where he’s out. When he’s healthy, Stanton for the most part will be St. I have no worries about that. Jazz overall, we just talked about him, but like the production, he is going to hit throughout the regular season. He is going to hit. Jason against righties. I think Jason will hit. So the sure things that I I consider to be sure things. And the one we might disagree on is Gishian, but I feel pretty pretty damn good about him against righties next year. You know, I want a platoon possibility. If they don’t bring back Bellinger, you got to get a righty outfielder in here for Jason’s sake alone. The Christian’s a part of that conversation, too. So, with that, and then also the possibility, the guys that have upside in McMahon, he’s only playing against righties. Look at him and Rosario as one person. Rosario against lefties, McMahon against righties. I mean, man’s defense majority of time at third base because you face righties more than left. He’s obviously there’s a lot of upside there and reason to look forward to the third base position this coming year. Bulb’s finally getting challenges short and what could Cabierro be over a full season? He has a he had a 134 WRC plus and just under 100 at bats as a Yankee and then Austin Wells he was always supposed to hit. What if this is the year that he hits? So, the lineup, if I could like take away the balance side of it, which obviously you can’t do, and that’s a big factor in terms of like individually looking at these guys and thinking about what we could do this coming season without Bellinger. Without Bellinger, it’s tough, but they’re going to do something. But I know the theme of this is to look at what we currently have that’s currently constructed. as long as things aren’t it doesn’t become a disaster and like judge doesn’t miss the year and another key player like god forbid say Ben Rice regress massively which I can never see happening but if that were to go down and the judgment year like there’s a bad floor here obviously but that you could say it’s any team apply that logic to reasonably rationally thinking, is this an AL East winning one through nine right now? No. But is it a team? Is it a lineup that should be able to get you into the postseason? No doubt about it. And that’s as currently constructed. Remember, you said the best offense in the American League last year. And that is the truth. There’s parts of it that were frustrating to be able, you know, to look back and say, “Oh, best offense.” Well, for a couple weeks, they went missing. Come October, they went missing. It’s tough for me to really look at October and say they went missing. It was a five game sample size. In the Boston series, for the most part, they were pretty much fine. There were a couple games against Toronto where they were fine. I look at it more so as why we we lost to be the pitching, Max Freed taking a dump in game two, the bullpen taking a dump. Particularly, you know, Luke Weaver, who see you later, yo, and no disrespect towards him, but just being real. We talked with this even when we thought maybe we’d bring him back. Weaver was bad. The bullpin was bad. The pitching staff is as bad next year as it was this past year in the postseason. I don’t care what the lineup is, we’re not going to win. So, I don’t pay too much. And people talk about Cody Bellinger, I always bring this example up. Cody Bellinger is a guy that all those who say, “Oh, you can’t hit postseason pitching.” And that’s why you got to bring Bellinger back because his his style of offense plays in the postseason. Well, not necessarily. Bellinger didn’t hit either. And he’s a stereotypical player that you would think the Yanks need more of because, you know, they’re too reliant on the home run. They’re too striking heavy, which the strikeout thing is is real. But same with Bellinger. I apply the logic of, yo, he had a bad he had a bad postseason, but it was six games, seven games. way too small of a sample size to make any determinations. Especially when we’re talking about the postseason struggles that I’ve been hearing the same and well not wrong but ever since 20 my first year watching you guys know was 2011 all we’ve ever heard is Yankees can’t hit postseason pitching and a lot of this mindset that we apply even if it were to be true it’s flawed in the way we get there I feel like because it’s something that people will attribute forever and it’s like yo there’s no correlation between the 2011 2012 Yankees to the 2025 Yankees. Players just strike out more than they used to. I mean, like the Blue Jays, well, they do foul a [ __ ] ton of pitches off. They strike out, too. They try to hit home runs, too. They hit a [ __ ] ton of home runs in the postseason, as as did the Dodgers. So, I mean, I think some of these things get a little bit overblown. With that said though, you do want to reduce the strikeouts. So like there’s like a middle ground I think to all these things that we’ve discussed about the postseason. Yes. The the sample size to me is way too small to make any like great overreactions and be like, “Oh, this offense actually wasn’t good because they didn’t hit in the postseason.” Too small of a sample size. But could you think over a longer sample size in the postseason those flaws would remain like not putting the ball in play enough, striking out too much, lack of balance in the lineup, you know, lefty lefty matchups, whatever it may be. Like yes, there is reason to think that rationally and not say they don’t stand a chance in the postseason no matter what they do. or trying to imagine these players coming up from a little seed you plant in the ground that all is going to create the per perfect postseason hitter. Well, to a lot of people, the perfect postseason hitter on paper would be Cody Bellinger. Like Yankees Facebook loves Cody Bellinger. He was off on the postseason, too. Does that mean he’s, you know, a lock to be asked every October? No. No. Too small sample size. So, going back to what I was saying before, this offense with Bellinger was technically the best in the American League last year. It’s not going to all of a sudden revert to the worst or an offense that isn’t capable of getting you to the postseason. But, as I said to wrap this up, the one through nine as currently constructed, this is not an ALS division winning lineup, especially knowing that where the Blueies are at coming off the year they just had. And while they haven’t resigned Boba Shett yet and they haven’t signed Kyle Tucker just yet, which it’ll almost definitely be one of those two they get. Well, to be fair, I should look at it all as currently constructed. The Yankees hopefully are going to maybe bring Bellinger back or bring in some other piece. But I also obviously got to just think like while I’m looking at this right here and this is as currently constructed, you kind of know at some point the Blue Jays are going to improve what’s already good and go get possibly Kyle Tucker. Or if not, maybe they’ll just retain Bo Bashette. But if they retain Bo and we don’t retain Belly, I mean with them having Bo, us having Belly, there was already a gap there, one could say. So does this line up in the East? No, probably not. Probably not. Can it get you into the postseason? Absolutely. Absolutely. and especially with um the pitching, the eventual health of the starting rotation, which I want to get to that in a moment, but also uh really quick, that’s not what I wanted to do. Um this is the bench is currently constructed. Obviously, there’s no official backup outfielder here. And you know, again, there will be, even if it’s not major moves, like there’s going to be little things here and there that like Yor Vivas is not going to be on the opening day roster in almost like guaranteed likelihood. For right now, he’s what is projected to be the fourth man on the bench. Rosario as well, who is set to be entirely healthy. They say 100% by spring training. So, word up there. JC Scar right now is our backup catcher. I don’t think he’s going to be on the opening day roster. I wouldn’t be shocked if he gets traded. You don’t want to have two lefty catchers. And then not to mention, you have Ben Rice who still at the very least is probably going to catch a few games this year. That’s another lefty catcher. Hopefully, slash I think really will happen. Yankees probably get some sort of catcher in here to back up Wells. That’s a right-handed bat. So, the bench is a again, we’re doing this as currently constructed. This is as currently constructed. What you’re seeing on the screen, I think is this is going to change. This is going to change. But just to be clear right now, this is our current bench. Um, you know, we just did the lineup. So, now though, we’re going to go into the starting rotation. Excuse me. Okay. So, uh, the rotation and here’s where for right now, at least before anything else happens with the lineup, if it were to, my lane to cope is how good the rotation can be. Now, this obviously is the rotation as of right now come opening day because we know Cole recovering from Tommy John. He’s beginning the season on the IIL as is Carlos Rodon who’s recovering from the bone spur. We’ll talk that about them a little bit more later. Um, but Rodon probably he’s going to be pitching in spring training, but he won’t be ready till like end of April, maybe early May. Cole Cole personally has said he’s shooting for May. If you want to be realistic and rational, Yankees are shooting for like June, but before we know it, come the season that will be here. We’ll get to the full health rotation in just a moment. But for at least a month, as of right now, before another move, I know I keep saying that, but I got to I got to for my own sanity and also just to make sure everything I’m saying here comes off as correct. For right now, this is rotation for the month of April. Freed Heel, Cam, Will, Ryan Yarborough. You can get by this with with this for a month, but we’re also trying to, as of right now, get by with a lineup that is not perfect either. And god forbid, you have to do this for longer than a month. Say there’s a setback, knock on wood, with Cole or with Rodon. Or maybe there isn’t and those guys come back on time, but you never know. Somebody else could go down. Let’s hope Max Freed’s all good to go. Luis Heels had injury concerns. I’m not going to start naming specific guys because who knows what could happen. And maybe they all do stay healthy. That’s possible, too. But it’s not just Garrick Cole and Carlos Rodon you got to worry about. For right now, on paper, it is. I don’t remember the last time we’ve had a spring training where a starting pitcher didn’t get hurt truly and that goes for every organization really. So this is as of right now this is best case scenario as is pretty much the entire thing is this is on paper for the month of April to start the season. Max Freed, Luis Hill, Cam Stiller, Will Warren, and Ryan Yarro. Now I do want to mention I have the schedule pulled up. You won’t need a fifth starter right away. So, let me see here. So, real quick, that if you want to look at it as a whole, that’s our schedule for the 2026 season. But looking at the beginning, so opening day is March 25th against San Francisco. We have three off days in the first two weeks. We play San Francisco on the 25th, off on the 26th for the rain, and then that series concludes, side note, on a Saturday, which that’s going to be weird. We have off on that Sunday. is we’ve off on the 26th of March, the 29th of March, and then we play three in Seattle, off on the 2nd. So, just using Max Freed here. Freed can pitch obviously, let’s just say he’s pitching opening day, which he will. First game against San Francisco, off day, he could pitch game two in Seattle. So, they’ll only need a fourman rotation through at least they won’t need five starters until the third week of the season because Free can pitch the opener in San Fran. He can pitch game two in Seattle. And we have another off day, the 6th of April. So then he could pitch. Yeah. So we won’t need a fifth starter until probably the series against Tampa Bay at Tampa. At the very least, not until that third week of the season because you have so many off days you can just you won’t need to pitch Yarro. So Yarro probably can just pitch out of the bulp in the first two weeks, but eventually you will need the full fiveman staff. So come that third week of the season, this is what you’re looking at until Cole and Rodon come back healthy. Now, once they do, that’s where we get into the upside of this team. Like true upside if everybody’s healthy, which we mentioned that enough by now. But I mean, this is this is this is awesome. Freed Cole, Berdon, Heel, Cam Slitler, and I’d have Will Warren going to the bullpen in this case. Brian Yarro to the bullpen as well. Now, seniority wise and like truly on paper the fresh season like Cole starts number one, but I’m thinking like a playoff series here real quick. Side note, I’d want to split up Freed and Rodon like have a righty in between the two lefties for different looks. That’s why I put Cole in the two slot. Cole is our ace. Like he’s our true ace and free was great last year. Cole’s Cole’s our guy. Like try don’t pay too much stock into that. But anyways, that full head like this rotation before any acquisition, which still could happen. Yanks are looking to acquire a starter. This rotation, just looking at this right here on paper, at the very least, it’s one of the best in baseball. And if everything were to work out, not just talking health, but you know, if Cam ascends to what we think he could be or really just is what he was last year over the course of a full season, even just that. And then if you want to sprinkle in Luis Heilio returning to form, which you know, he had an ERA of 3-3 last year, but it was a weird year for him. VO was kind of all over the place. Command was, which usually always is all over the place, but he just was not as good last year and obviously coming back from the uh the lat injury that probably played a role. But if he bounces back too on top of what is already a great foundation in Freed and Rodon coming off great seasons last year. Rodon, by the way, end of the year literally could not straighten out his arm. He said that’s how bad it was. and he was he he pitched through it. So you you give him a little bit of you know slack on the bad start against Toronto which we won that game because judge but Rodon’s injury the bone spur that he got surgery on that’s why he missed the beginning of the year that was bad and he pitched through it he’ll be healthy and he’s coming off a really good year 18-9 record 309 RA was great so that foundation is already set in stone assuming they’re healthy you feel really good about Freed and Rodon the rotation should be come full health. I do want to discuss and kind of ask slashpose a question about Cole. He’s coming back from TJ. Yanks are taking their time with his return, but he’s now 35 years old. In 2024, when he came back, he was still really damn good. You see the stats? 341 RA. Yo, you just tell me that right there. We get a three, four year RA from Garrick Cole this year and probably, you know, right around like 17 to 20 starts, maybe 24, you know, with the time he comes back June on, whatever it may be. Could be around that like if you just give me this season right here and tell me this is what Cole’s going to do in 2026, the year he gave the Yanks in 2024. Word up. And then you look at the postseason, he was really good. Obviously, you know, you associate him a little bit with game five, not covering first, but Rizzo also always does. I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole again, but you guys used to, for those that used to watch me, Rizzo would drive me crazy because he would never uh take it himself at first base, and he did it in game five as well. Also, Judge dropped a fly ball in center. Um, but anyways, Cole was really good in the postseason. 217 over five starts. But with that said, like strikeouts were down for Cole. the velocity I believe if I remember correctly not like noticeably down like the VO I mean that pitch I just saw right there this from the LDS he threw 97 but I believe his average fast VO was down a little bit if you look at the numbers and I do remember some like the analytical guys saying there was a sign of like Cole’s stuff deteriorating in 2024 but he also his UCL well not technically snapped at that point it wasn’t it was on the verge of he was coming back from an injury which was a Tommy John scare. remember in that March of uh 2024 at that time thankfully they avoided it but it was I forget the exact exact injury was but remember he was they were scared he had Tommy John we were all [ __ ] and bricks turns out he didn’t but he still missed like the first half of the year came back from that he didn’t look like young Garrick Cole or like prime Garrick Cole but you see the numbers on the screen he was obviously he was still really good we can get this Garrick Cole in 2026 yo sign me up word. With that said though, like that’s kind of what I’m asking here is what should we expect from Cole returning from Tommy John, returning from Tommy John at 35 years old. And it doesn’t mean he can ever get back to being a great pitcher again, but also it’s like there’s one thing about just a pitcher post Tommy John, but a pitcher post Tommy John year one of that. I mean, the most recent example I can think of for us is I want to say Jameson Tyion, which 2022, Tyion was really damn good. And at points in 2021, Tyion was really good. Really the second half, but that’s the thing like at first it took a while for Tyone to find his own. Now granted, Tyion, I’m pretty sure like totally reinvented the way he threw the best case scenario. And by the way, guys come back from Tommy and John in year one and also pitch fine. Like there’s cases of both, good and bad. And Cole’s a genius. Cole already looks really good throwing off the mound. There’s that video a few weeks back of him throwing. Like I feel pretty good. I’m just like kind of thinking out loud with you guys. Best case scenario is 2022. Justin Verlander remember missed like pretty much all of 2021. Comes back in 2022 and was just he won a Sai Young. He was lights out. He was insane. And that was like literally just that was year one. Justin Berlander back from Tommy John. I’m pretty positive it was Tommy John. I know it was arm surgery, but yeah, I think it was I think it was TJ. Anyways, I throw this out there again kind of thinking out loud wondering like what what what is Garrick Cole going to be this year? I tell you, there’s nobody else. If this was like a thing where all right, you had to put these circumstances on one pitcher, who would you want it to be? Garrick Cole. No doubt about it. So, more so just not not saying anything definitive or even trying to like lower expectations. Maybe early on I guess we should, but just remind him like isn’t a guarantee he returns to prime Cole, but in fairness 2024 Cole I don’t consider to be prime Cole either. And I think we could get this this line out of him this coming season. And man, just from like a I can’t wait to get him back. Just being a fan here for a second. I can’t wait to get him back. I miss him so much. That’s our ace. One of my favorite things I would post last year on Yanks AV was uh every now and then, probably a couple times throughout the year, I posted just a picture of Cole. One of them he was wearing his like barn brace in and I would just tag him. Nothing he would ever see. I’d be like, “You’re still you’re still our ace by the way. Miss you so much. Like you’re our [ __ ] guy. I can’t wait to see you again.” And yo, come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come come this at the latest it sounds like knock on wood it’ll be June possibly even May according to Cole we’re getting this guy back we got to be patient with him but I’m excited I’m very excited. So anyways, back to the rotation overall after the strikeout. Uh the this at full health like this is this should be [ __ ] nuts. Even if say like this is so good where you can also on the opposite of what we’re doing with the lineup where it’s like all right if this works out or if this works out what we can go on the flip of that with the rotation be like all right well we can account for maybe if something doesn’t work out here. Say heel doesn’t bounce back. But to say Luis Hill, who I love, follow Jenstav, is ass in 2026. But one, in the postseason, you really only need four starters anyways. But two, not pictured here is Will Warren at full health come the return of Colon Rodon, somebody’s not in the rotation anymore. And especially if they were to acquire somebody via trade or whatever it may be though in that case I think if they do let’s just say they go out and get Freddy Peralta or one of these starters that they’re linked to lightly linked to whether it’s directly in the deal or another trade I think we incorporate somebody else in here to the rotation there’s a chance will Warren gets traded or Luis Seal gets traded so I don’t want to make assume if we get somebody all of a sudden we’ll have we’ll have seven starters but at the very least for right now on paper at full health come another turn of Colon Ordon not including Yarro but with Freed [ __ ] Heel Cam and Will Warren that’s six not just six starters six like ultimately really good starters really good starters so some you know whether the obvious and an injury or Luis Seal’s down I don’t say downfall but like downturn weirdness that he’s been having with the injury if that were to continue this coming year like all right we’ll slot Will back in and like maybe he’ll stuff translate better to the bullpen possibly. I don’t think that’s the case, but like or if he gets hurt, if anybody gets hurt like there’s going to be a point this year as long as we don’t hit disaster and like everybody gets hurt like and you know guys are just missing time or like setbacks at [ __ ] which like those things will happen just hopefully not all at once. I think there will be a point this year where we’re like looking at the rotation and it’s just every day you feel so good about who’s taking the ball that day for the Yanks. That’s the best when you have a full healthy rotation like 2022. I remember you guys will too and this kind of came out of nowhere because part of a big part of it was like the emergence of Nester like Tyion was shoving obviously you know Cole after the first couple weeks was doing his thing. Who else? Sevy was renaissance and like it was just every day like you turn the end game where we pull up and we’ll be at bat in the morning like see who’s pitching tonight. It was just like yo word we got we got a whoever the hell Nester pitching with a two and a half year. Oh then tomorrow Ty was pitching with a 26 RA Seino going the day after that with a 310 and Garrick Cole with like a 2022 he was running a 35 but you know he had a weird start. Um that whole vibe like the feeling of just every day yo our rotation is locked down. At some point we’ll get that this year. And this chat is where we can look at the 2026 squad and be like this is our bread and butter right here. And we need this to go well. Which is also in part why man for many reasons I want to get a starter in here which I didn’t always feel that like you had to. I don’t think you have to. You don’t. But if you did, it really emphasizes making what’s already good, great elite. And it’s it’s like going all in on yo, while our offense shouldn’t be bad by any means, and you still you want to bring Ballinger back, you want to have a good lineup and maybe still the best in baseball if everything goes well, who knows? Or the best in the American League at least. But getting another starting like say they went were to get Freddy Peralta. It’s like yo we’re go like that’s the theme of this year’s Yankee team is the starting rotation like is pitching and then you also can trade from the starting pitching depth whether it’s like the prospects or say if Will Warren then becomes expensible he has value um maybe that’s even more plausible then if they were to do that go out and get a starter and then you could trade Will Warren for a reliever something along those lines. Speaking of relievers though, chat, the bullpen. Um, where’s my freaking bullpen graphic? Uh, bear with me one second. We brought this up the other day, but this is how the Yankees bullpen currently stacks up. Got to add somebody, no doubt about it. Ideally, two, but I focus on adding one. Whether it is like a true blue chip or just like a name, somebody that we know like you gota you got to get somebody in there with the the crew of Bedar, Cruz, Dval, Tim Hill, like an upper echelon bullpen arm that for the most part, as much as you can about a reliever, feel they’re a sure thing because you really never like who who knows like relievers are so weird. But get a name in here. get somebody that’s good and that could be like a Will Warren trade or even a Spencer Jones trade. It may not even take all that much that the Yankees can work their magic. They can really work their magic. Otherwise, I trust their ability to, you know, cook it up with Yari de los Santos, Brent Hedrickk, I’m pumped about. Kadwin Quest, the rule five pick, their first since 2011. Or like Jake Bird, they acquired him for a reason. Those guys, like I think things are going to do it up with them, man. Like our bullpen is going to be better than a lot of people anticipate. But also kind of the same thing. We can’t just bank on all these things going well. You got to make sure you get somebody in here to fully like bolster the back end of the bullpen. Some sort of setup man next to Camilo Deval because while I feel good about him like he’s not a sure thing either. He finished the year really strong. He’s made some adjustments but there’s I’d say the most sure thing in this bullpen is you know Benar we all feel pretty good about. I I want to emphasize like as sure thing as a bullp as a reliever can be because you really never know. But like Benar I think we can put in that tier. Fernando Cruz, I think we can put in that tier. Tim Hill for what he is, put in that tier. Yeah. And you know, once Ryan Yarro’s not in the rotation, like he’ll be a lefty, funky lefty out of the bullpen. Um, long reliever, whatever. There’s a lot of upside in this bullpen. And there’s still like the names like Benar Cruz Deval Ward up, Tim H word, Jake Bird, I think is I said on the last stream, like there’s a world I could definitely see where Jake Bird’s pitching the eighth inning in the postseason next year for us. Like that’s how good he could be and just how interchangeable the bullpen in any team’s thing can be. Like it’s just just how it works. People compare I think it’s perfect. I’m not a big football guy, but like relievers are like running back shows. Like when you’re the great, you don’t know how long that’s going to continue though. Um got to get another name in here. But I just I don’t worry about the bullpen. I think they’re going to take care of that. and the pitching staff as a whole with the rotation as currently constructed. I feel good about it once it’s healthy. I still want to get another reliever in here because as you guys know, come opening day, this is what we got to deal with, which still isn’t bad, but what if something else happens? We got a lot of pitching depth and I’d rather trade a little bit from that pitching depth than go out and get a Freddy Peralta or whatever it takes to get that deal done or I I don’t want to mention specific names like Hunter Green, like Edward Cabrera from Miami, like whatever it may be. If we’re going to be a damn good pitching team this year, obviously, yeah, you got to shove up the bullpen. But I really want to go all in, like go make the rotation completely elite because the only thing right here is you look at this staff and it’s like, yeah, maybe heel is not going to be great. Like, who knows? That’s still going to be the worst case in the world because you have four really good starters and you know, Will Warren’s on the back end right now or in the bullpen rather. But like, yo, if if we require Freddy Peralta, let’s just say for argument’s sake. Now, that would take something to go like that would take a good return back to Milwaukee. They’re asking a lot. We’re not giving up Cam Schliter in that deal, though. So, assuming it could get done without giving up Cam, nothing else is affected here besides, yo, Luis Hill is going to the bullpen and you would just replace like slot in Freddy Peraltton instead of Luis Hill, then it’s like, yo, I mean that that would just be an insane rotation. So I like I kind of like yo if we’re going to do this with rotation and like make this kind of be the theme of the 2026 Yankees where they’re like that’s our that’s our [ __ ] like word let’s go all in then like make the rotation [ __ ] lethal dude is the way I see it. So um yeah man uh again projected war from fan graphs we’re as of right now and this goes for every other team as of right now too be the third best team in baseball and that’s how it is often every single year and that truly does come true. They’re not wrong. Like we technically always are like one of the best teams in baseball. Were we the like who had the best record in baseball last year? The Brewers. I mean, we were tech our record last year was better than the Dodgers. Does that mean [ __ ] No. I understand. But I’m just saying like we’re going to be a postseason team next year. I think as long as there’s so you know like if Judge goes down like yo that’s [ __ ] terrible. Like I’m just going to maybe we’ll make the playoffs. I don’t I don’t know because I’ll just kill myself and I won’t be able to find out. Uh no I’m just kidding. That aside, like, yo, we should be making the playoffs. I know it’s not the end goal. Trust me, I know. But at the very least, like the floor of the 2026 Yankees as a team, like I’m still going to be watching. Like, don’t be hopeless. Yo, don’t be hopeless. Cuz also too, you know, you’re going to be watching. And I don’t say like in a punk way. I’m saying that because if you’re like, this is way my logic works. If you think there’s no chance this team can win, no chance they can win the World Series, which some people be feeling that way even with moves that are good. Like people love the Juan Sto off seasonason, but then still after one bad game come the season, they’d be like, “Oh, this team isn’t winning.” Or a couple weeks of a bad baseball being played, this team’s never winning. If you say that, then there’s no reason for you ever to get excited about when they do win in terms of a regular season game or eventually get hot toward October and then maybe they get bounced out after that. But I’ve seen it happen time and time again where whether it’s during the off season, people say, “Oh, this team has no chance.” And then come the season, couple wins, they’ll be back on like, “Oh, let’s go.” Blah, blah, blah. And they, okay, fine. Like maybe you’re saying, “Oh, this team has the magic and I just didn’t see that coming.” But then they’ll start [ __ ] the bed again or they’ll lose a game and people say, “This team’s never winning. This team sucks. This team’s ass.” If that’s how you feel, what is the point of getting excited over wins throughout the year, which you know you do get that way, or a game one win of the ALDS while you still apparently think this team isn’t going anywhere and like, “Oh, I told you so. all this and that. What’s the point of watching then if you’ve never had hope in the first place? Or is it just you’re a very pessimistic person and you’re just trying to like save yourself from getting hurt? Which, you know, I hate that logic. The whole thing of don’t get your hopes up so you don’t get disappointed. Like we’re all we’re all adults, yo. Like, you know, like I want these to go out against certain guys. I’m going to hope they get certain guys. I’m going to hope Yankees win the World Series this year. And if they don’t, I’ll just deal with it and I’ll see you again next year. You know what I’m saying? Like I’m not going to act a certain way just to keep my expectations lowered so I don’t get like hurt and disappointed like am I five years old? No, I’m all in. Every single game I’ll be there. All this offseason stories, good or bad, which right now like again I don’t think he’s getting touch. He’s somebody I really wanted. What do I say now though? Like Yanks aren’t going nowhere? No, because I don’t know that. I don’t know that. and I’m gonna see it through and find out whether that’s this off seasonason every game one through 162 the postseason to quote our boy it ain’t over till it’s over I have one time a year where I say it’s over and that is when I post my annual another failure YouTube video which is just the end of the stream when the Yankees get bounced in the postseason. Anyways chat I’m going to uh dude I wish I could freaking pull you guys up right now. Maybe I could, but dude, my laptop is somehow busted and I don’t know what the heck happened, but like my laptop screen totally like [ __ ] itself. So, in order to use it now, I kind of have to be connected to this monitor, which I am, but it’s for my stream. So, um I did see one message on there. Chat give Dennis Roses for winning Blitz Ball battle. Yeah, Wugga up. Yo, Wuga up. I am going to get out of here. We’ve been going over for an hour now and unless I’m pulling up you guys on my phone, I don’t want to be scrolling blah blah blah. So, got to get my computer fixed. Appreciate you guys so much. I don’t think this will be the last time I see you before Christmas. We’ll probably be live on Monday. We’ll see if there’s news anytime soon. But if for some reason I don’t see it yet, have a merry Christmas. You know, you guys know I love you all to death. Before we know it, it’ll be baseball season. And I can’t wait for that. It really was. Ever since I was a kid, man, I remember 2011 Christmas after my first year watching for Christmas, I got a big uh the big Yankeeography box set and it’s always kind of just like instilled in my biological clock net. Like once Christmas is done, particularly like once New Year’s is done, like it’s just like Yankees documentary watching time or like baseball. Like that’s why I watch Ken Burns baseball every single year on this time. Like it’s just like come January yo like bring on 2026 because before we know it, it’ll be here. And once you get through the holidays and it’s officially like, yo, there’s nothing else in terms of milestones throughout the year besides like, you know, President’s Day and MLK day and whatever the heck. Not whatever the heck, but you know what I’m saying? Like after the holidays, it’s baseball. So before we know, we’ll be there. But I think I’ll see you guys on Monday most likely. But if not, merry Christmas, happy holidays, all that. Love you guys to death. And I’ll see you next time. Yo, let’s go Yanks. [music] >> [music]

Yankees Avenue offseason live stream for Saturday, December 20th, 2025.

Shop Jomboy Yankees apparel that I wear on the stream: https://shop.jomboymedia.com/collections/nyy

00:00 INTRO
01:13 Stream begins
02:48 I don’t think Tatsuya Imai is coming
05:34 Looking ahead to the 2026 season for the Yankees
12:36 The lineup as currently constructed
39:59 The Yankees bench right now
41:17 The starting rotation (Opening Day and at full health)
47:50 What will Gerrit Cole be coming off of Tommy John?
53:12 Rotation conversation continued
57:30 The bullpen
59:53 The theme of the 2026 Yankees: An elite pitching staff?
1:01:25 Overall thoughts and wrap up
1:06:26 OUTRO

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Email – DanRourkeMLB@gmail.com

Aaron Judge is the best player to ever live