Yankees’ captain Aaron Judge takes BP ahead of Wild Card Series opener
At Yankee Stadium, Yankees’ captain Aaron Judge takes batting practice ahead of the team’s best-of-three 2025 Wild Card Series opener against the Boston Red Sox.
NEW YORK – Nearing the 16th anniversary of the Yankees’ last trip through the Canyon of Heroes, GM Brian Cashman called the 2025 club “a good team that fell short of our ultimate goal.’’
Cashman left it “for the masses’’ to debate the disappointment level of a team that had more going for it than their 2024 pennant-winning club but exited in the Division Series.
As the league championship series plays on, Cashman and the Yankees already face the challenge of retooling for 2026.
The Anthony Volpe Question
On Thursday, the Yankees revealed that Anthony Volpe’s surgery Tuesday to repair a left labrum tear will delay his entry to the 2026 season by at least a few weeks.
Upon his return, is he the Yankees’ regular shortstop?
“Yeah. I mean, he’s right in the mix to do that,’’ said manager Aaron Boone, while Cashman said: “I think so. I believe in the player.’’
Based on the worse-than-anticipated condition of Volpe’s labrum (as revealed via surgery), Cashman said “the injury probably contributed’’ to Volpe’s overall downturn in performance.
After his May 3 injury, Volpe posted a .632 OPS in 120 games (.768 before the injury), and he went through a lengthy defensive slump, two years removed from winning a Gold Glove award.
But Volpe’s low on-base, high strikeout has carried through each of his three big-league seasons, and someone else – possibly Jose Caballero or Oswaldo Cabrera – will be at shortstop for most of April.
That provides opportunity to secure the position, and both Cashman and Boone acknowledged Volpe’s downturn in 2025 and the need to improve in 2026.
Boosted at least twice by cortisone shots this season, Volpe ended 2025 in a 0-for-13 playoff slide with 11 strikeouts.
Yet, “he’s 24. I don’t think the New York stage is too big for him,’’ said Cashman, with Boone adding “I’m going to bet on’’ Volpe’s talent and commitment to turn it around.
Cody Bellinger as Yankees’ top priority
There’s mutual interest in having Cody Bellinger return, but Cashman wouldn’t yet rank the team’s winter roster priorities; their organizational meetings are upcoming.
Cashman said he’s yet to engage agent Scott Boras about Bellinger, expected to trigger a $5 million contract buyout (instead of a $25 million player option) to become a free agent.
“He was really impactful for us, one of the many reasons we were in a position to believe that we were capable of great things this year,’’ Cashman said of the lefty-hitting outfielder-first baseman, with above average defense, plus 29 homers, 98 RBI and .813 OPS in 152 games.
“I thank him for everything he’s done and certainly we’d love to have him with our team moving forward.’’
Jasson Dominguez’s immediate future
Opening Day left fielder Jasson Dominguez made just 29 starts after the All-Star Game and went virtually unused during the Yanks’ seven postseason games.
But the Yankees could lose Trent Grisham and/or Bellinger to free agency, and “I’d expect (Dominguez) to be right in that mix to be’’ a regular outfielder in 2026, Boone said.
The plan is for the switch-hitting Dominguez, 22, to play Winter League baseball, making up for lost at-bats and reps in left field, where the Yanks see his future defensively.
“This season showed us that we can still very much dream on the kind of high-end player we think he can be,’’ said Boone, but with an emphasis on improving his defense and his right-handed swing.
Spencer Jones’ spring training outlook
Promoted to Triple-A this summer, the slugging, lefty-hitting center field prospect is “in the conversation to be at least” considered for a big-league spot out of spring training, said Cashman.
“How it plays out depends how our winter plays out,” regarding outfield additions or subtractions, but Cashman said Jones was “in a position to be considered a potential every day major leaguer in 2026, but we’ll see.”
Yankees’ rotation configuration
In an unexpected revelation Thursday, veteran lefty Carlos Rodon underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left elbow this week, delaying his 2026 season by about a month.
Cashman was non-committal about acquiring another starter this winter, but the Yankees already had a need to bolster their rotation depth with a veteran arm or two before Rodon’s surgery.
Assuming health, the Yankees would need a fifth starter behind a rotation of Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil and Will Warren.
Rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, ace Gerrit Cole (around late May) is closer than Clarke Schmidt (around September), and the likes of prospects Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz and Ben Hess are closer to being big-league ready.
Who’s on first?
Lefty-hitting Ben Rice seems likely to inherit the regular first base spot, with the right-handed Paul Goldschmidt entering free agency.
Still, “we’ll see where the roster goes’’ this winter, said Boone, appreciating Rice’s capability as a catcher.
“He brings some flexibility with him,’’ said Boone, but “I expect he’ll be a key cog in the middle of our lineup day in and day out.’’
Cashman on Hal Steinbrenner’s take
Cashman characterized the Yankees’ owner as being “frustrated, disappointed” following last week’s postseason exit.
“He wants a championship here, another one, for him and his family,” said Cashman, adding “they believed, not just recently, but many times, that we had a chance to do something” in October.
“All you can count on is trying to put together a strong process,” said Cashman, personally “focused on the ones that got away” in past postseasons.
“A lot of them I feel like we should have won, could have won. But it is really difficult to do.”