Earlier in the offseason, New York Yankees fans were panicking because of the team’s lack of activity, especially with the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and even the Baltimore Orioles all making significant moves.

But now that the dust has settled, the Yankees might actually be the best team in the American League East.

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New York re-signed Cody Bellinger and hasn’t really lost anyone of major significance. Yes, relievers Devin Williams and Luke Weaver departed, but relief pitchers are always replaceable, and it stands to reason that Weaver might be cooked.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays and Red Sox both committed two major blunders this winter, allowing Bo Bichette and Alex Bregman — respectively — to walk via free agency.

I get that Toronto landed Dylan Cease and bagged Japanese star Kazuma Okamoto. And yes; Boston added numerous pitchers (including Yankees legend Sonny Gray) as well as Willson Contreras. But losing Bichette and Bregman stints.

To be blunt, had the Jays and Sox kept their respective sluggers, New York might be a third-place team right now (some would even argue fourth because of the Orioles, but I can’t get past Baltimore’s starting rotation).

Alex Bregman. Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images.

Alex Bregman. Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images.

But thanks to the two AL East rivals failing to retain their stars, the Yankees may have leapfrogged both of them. Because guess what? New York was able to keep Bellinger.

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This isn’t to say that the Yanks are clear favorites or that they don’t have any other work to do. They definitely need to address their bullpen, and the bottom of their order — which features Anthony Volpe (when healthy), Ryan McMahon and Austin Wells — is still a rather pressing issue.

That being said, I could easily see the Blue Jays showing some regression in 2026, and while the Red Sox should still be good, man; losing Bregman is tough.

So after all of that worrying, the Yankees are actually in pretty good shape. Well, at least as far as their own division is concerned.

Is New York good enough to win a World Series as currently constructed? If Gerrit Cole comes back healthy, maybe, but there’s no doubt the Bronx Bombers are flawed.

But so is everyone else in the majors … except the Los Angeles Dodgers.