No announcements. No movements. No nothings. This is the Yankees.

Three weeks from pitchers and catchers, six from the first tweaked gonads of spring, here is how everything shapes up for the 2026 Yankees.

1. No Carlos Rodon until May. 

2. No Anthony Volpe until June.

3. No Gerrit Cole until July.

4. No Devin Williams and Luke Weaver. Period.

5. No replacements for Devin Williams and Luke Weaver.

6. The ghost of Paul Goldschmidt is wandering Earth. 

7. Clarke Schmidt might return in September.

8. To round out the rotation, we have David Weathers' kid and a Rule 5 pitcher.

9. Everybody is a year older. (And 15 members of our 40-man roster are over 30.)

10. Greenland hates us.

11. Canada hates us.

12. Europe, Venezuela - hell - everybody hates us.

13. Except for Putin. He loves us. 

14. The Giants have a new head coach.

15. Aaron Boone likes what he sees.

OH MY GOD, AM I STILL A YANKEES FAN ? – I MUST BE IN H E L L ! H E L L L ! ! ! H E L L L L L L L ! ! ! !

 

Ten thoughts on the upcoming Yankee debacle

As we near spring training, a lightning round on the current state of the Yankees...

1. As always, everything - everything!- will hinge on Aaron Judge. When he hits, the offense comes alive. When he slumps or - God forbid - gets injured, we are dead. 

2. He's been healthy now for the last two years. Are we feeling lucky?

3. No player is more likely to feel the effects of being one year older more than Giancarlo Stanton. He is 36. He will surely miss playing time with injuries. The concern is that he'll produce less, when playing. (In last year's postseason, he went 5-for-26 - .192.)

4. Once upon a time, it was believed that Stanton would eventually finish his career at 1B. Not gonna happen. In fact, he will probably never play another inning in the outfield. 

5. The team still needs a RH-hitting 1B/OF, a bullpen lug nut, and a RH-hitting catcher.

6. Apparently, the Yankees will seek to fill those needs by dumpster diving. There is always a Franchy Cordero out there. 

7. Slowly but steadily, the Yankees have reverted to doing what Brian Cashman, in his early days as GM, vowed to never do: Trade the farm system to stay competitive. That's what led to the drought of the 1980s and early 1990s. He must be feeling the pressure. It's going on 17 years.

8. For the first time in this decade, the AL East looks stacked.  

9. The Yankees will heap a ton of pressure on Gerrit Cole to return before the all-star break and, at age 35, reinvent himself as a pitcher. 

10. The Yankees will enter 2026 as NY's "other" team. It's not clear how that will affect the franchise. But it will definitely have an impact.

The Yankees owe their fans an accounting of what happened in their international scouting program

Something just seems... well... pungent.

In December, the Yankees suddenly fired their longtime international scouting director, a guy named Danny Rowland, and his top assistant. These are the guys who signed 16-year-old Latino prospects such as Jasson Dominguez, Roderick Arias, Brando Mayea, Hans Montero and half the male population of Venezuela. Depending on how you view the Martian - (nobody bothers to ponder the others) - you could argue that the firings were long overdue and should have included goose down and hot tar. 

Over the years, the Yankees have spent a shit-wad on 8th grade, walking fountains of testosterone, and if you watched Dominguez last year defile LF, you'd wonder why? But lately, fallout from the dismissals is raising questions about WTF is going on?

In December, shortly after Rowland was canned, a top-rated SS named Wandy Asigen - #4 on scouting lists - jumped from his $3.9 million deal with the Yankees to sign with the Mets. The stated reason: Rowland's firing. A few weeks later, another highly ranked SS, Yeison Horton, leaped to the Angels. And now we hear that yet another top SS - Marion de la Rosa - is scuttling his $4.3 million deal - for the class of 2027 - to sign with Seattle. 

It's hard to figure these moves from the comfort of a snowdrift in upstate New York. But either way, as Ricky would say to Lucy, the Yankees have some 'splaining to do. Whatever is happening in their international scouting program, it's starting to give off an aroma. (And why hasn't Rowland been interviewed by the Gammonites? Could there be a looming court case or two?)

Is this how Hal Steinbrenner plans to build his bullpen? By cutting bonuses for the farm system? Are the Yankees systematically inept, or is it something worse?

From a distance, MLB's international scouting system, where teams and scouts traffic in 16-year-old boys - (actually, it starts at earlier ages) - has always looked a cabana boy version of Epstein Island. In this age, no industry should be allowed to peddle the futures of boys barely halfway through adolescence. It just smells. If Hal tomorrow announced that the Yankees would never sign another 16-year old, at least he'd show a spine of morality. But he won't, because the Yankees are still out there, measuring the pool boys and signing them up.

But something happened in the Yankees' international scouting program. 

The Yankees owe it to their fans to talk about it. And let's go, you professional Gammonites, if there are any of you left. Give us some answers! Do I have to call Danny Rowland myself? 

Yankee News and Notes

Despite everyone's complaints about the Yankees lack of activity it's actually been a busy couple of weeks...  

NOTE: All of these are real

Kaleb Ort Acquired and Released

At first I thought the Yankees were deluded and let Kaleb Ort cloud their thinking that their pitching was going to be fine but apparently that thought has dissipated.

In his place they signed Dodger discard Michael Siani an outfielder known for his defense and speed. 

So... can't hit? Got it. 

I guess the Dodgers signing the most sought after outfielder for tons of money even though they already won the last two World Series in a row made him disposable.  

Yankees Miss Out On The Venezuelan Juan Soto  

The Yankees fired their long time director of international scouting Donny Rowland, possibly because he sucked. 

Actually he wasn't fired per-se. His contract expired and wasn't renewed. He'd been in that position for fifteen years. Signed a lot of can't miss guys who somehow, missed. 

Or who knows... maybe because a person who doles out millions to impoverished teenagers might have other issues. I'm not saying that's true BTW. I'm just saying that's what occured to me.  

It could just be that he was bad at his job because, you know... he was.  

As a result, the team's agreement with their number one international signing, Mairon De La Rosa, fell apart and he went to the Mets no less. 

There were a bunch of others who cancelled their commitments as well. Because they have no one in charge, the Yankees missed out on a kid billed as the next Juan Soto. 

Thirteen year old Dylan Perez reached agreement with the Seattle Mariners to receive a 3.7 million dollar bonus in 2030 when he turns 16 and is eligible for the international draft. 

THIRTEEN YEARS OLD! 

When I was thirteen the only balls I was worried about dropping were my own. I was mostly interested in watching the Golddiggers (wink) and cadging  unaccompanied drinks off the adult's tables at bar-mitzvahs. 

3.7 million dollars!  On a thirteen year old. Seems risky. Wouldn't it make more sense to just give fifty bucks to every six year old kid in Venezuela who is dominating tee-ball?  One of them is bound to develop. 

The Yankees signed right-hander Adam Kloffenstein 

To be fair, I know this doesn't really matter. I  just liked his name. A deeper dive revealed in his most recent appearances  "Kloffenstein was tagged for 20 homers over 82 innings with Triple-A Buffalo while posting a 6.26 ERA and 11.7% walk rate"

I don't get it. Maybe Cashman liked his name too. 

Dear Hal, I realize that it's warm in Tampa, but your shivering fan base is starting to channel THE SUN ALSO RISES...

Dear Madam or Sir, (no judgements, either way.)

First, I realize that it's winter, and that snow is falling in places like Alabama and Mississippi, which otherwise do not have weather. It's goddam cold outside, and they say Tampa temps this week could plummet into the 50s. Stock up on soup!

But today, I'd like to ponder the Yankee pitching rotation, which is...

Max Fried
Cal Schlittler
Will Warren
Luis Gil
Ryan Weathers

One observation...

This will not win the AL East. Nope. Won't come close. Soon, spring training injuries will start piling up, like chain reaction accidents on the New York State Thruway. They always do. Soon, we'll be down to Ryan Yarbrough and the Rule 5 guy, Cade Winquest. Think about that. We'll be touting a Rule 5 pick in the rotation. In my memory, we have never done that before. And we're basically one or two tweaks away. 

I know what you're thinking: All we gotta do is kill time until June, when Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon return. Then we'll make our move. 

Well, as Jake says to Lady Brett, in Papa Hemmingway's finale: 

"Isn't it pretty to think so." 

The Yankees need at least one more starter - one more workhorse who can eat 100 innings and keep the team relevant through late May.  

Two pitchers meet that criteria. Both are in the final throes of Hall of Fame careers. I'm referring to Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer. They are awaiting your call. 

They would 1) Elevate the Yankees over the Mets in the public eye. 2) Give the team a jolt of life. 3) Keep us in the race. 4) Accept incentive-laden contracts. 5) Sell tickets. 

Sir, the Yankees need one, maybe two, veteran arms for the early part of the season. You can wait until somebody's elbow barks in spring training, and then bid on them in desperation. Or you can call them now. Your choice. 

But the Yankee rotation will not hold. If the guys in the office say otherwise, they are bullshitting you. 

Stay warm.

Yanks must hold on until Rodon, Cole and Schmidt return. Why not go in style?

 Here are two free agents who could rally the team through April-May, and who I gotta believe would kill for a chance to pitch for the Yankees in October. 

All it takes is for Hal to want it... 

What would his dad do? (Of course, I'm kidding myself. Right?)

Three weeks until the Yankee chickens come home to roost

Won't be long... 

In about three weeks - a few catastrophic storms, celebrity breakups and ICE atrocities - pitchers and catchers will report to civilization, and the Big Yankee Wheel will begin to grind, anew. 

It would be wonderous to think that, over those three weeks, the Yankees would spend some leftover grist to improve - rather than recreate - last year's first-runner-up contestant. Why kid ourselves?  

The Yankees will decamp to Tampa with the same basic lineup that finished second last year and was blown out by Toronto every time they faced off. This team is weaker, due to the shredded bullpen. Instead of Luke Weaver and Devin Williams, the Yankees will trot out Caleb Ort and a Rule 5 pick named Cade Winquest. (You can't make this up.) Moreover, once they lose a pitcher or two in spring training - (Fun Fact: they always do) - the A.I. system that runs them will start shouting "DANGER WILL ROBINSON!   

The remaining question is not whether Cooperstown Cashman will remake this team, but what he'll do to it by chasing his "great white whale," the starting pitcher who could carry this team into October. Maybe he'll trade The Martian. Maybe Spencer Jones, or one of our four prospects recently named on Baseball America's Top 100: 

George Lombard Jr., (#46) shortstop who will make us forget Anthony Volpe.

Elmer Rodriguez (#59) fireballer who will make us forget Carlos Narvaez (Redsock catcher we traded for him.)

Dax Kilby (#61) last year's 1st round pick, who hit well at Single A, who will make us forget George Lombard Jr.

Carlos Lagrange (#93), who hits 100 mph on the jugs gun, and who will make us forget - um - can't remember.

The list of Cashman's pitching failures spans the eras of Kevin Brown and Javier Vasquez all the way to Sonny Gray and Nathan Eovaldi, with a few Michael Pinedas and Ian Kennedys to thicken the broth. It's an impressive list of failures, a chronicle of our misfortunes. 

He's got three weeks to trade young for old. The Yankee way. We've got three weeks to live in fear. Get low and stay away from windows. Won't be long. 

Bellinger is re-signed, and Yank fans are resigned.

     Last year                     This year 

cf Trent Grisham        cf Trent Grisham
rf Aaron Judge            rf Aaron Judge
lf Cody Bellinger        lf Cody Bellinger
dh Giancarlo Stanton  dh Giancarlo Stanton
1b Ben Rice                 1b Ben Rice
2b Jazz Chisholm        2b Jazz Chisholm
c Austin Wells               c Austin Wells
3b Oswaldo Cabrera   3b Ryan McMahon
ss Anthony Volpe        ss Jose Caballero 

Notes:

1. Stanton will play about 80 games.

2. If he hits a lick, Cabrera could displace McMahon.

3. In mid-May, Volpe will replace Caballero.

4. The Martian will be traded for bullpen help. 

5. The Yankees are done buying free agents.

6. Greenland is ours!

Tip yer cap

 

Maybe Tomorrow the Yanks Will Get Their SECOND 2026 Tabloid Cover!

 

He'll be 35 when the contract ends.  Stanton will be four years a memory.

No, Greenlandia: Aaron Boone is NOT a "generational talent." Pt. Done

 

Golly Gosh Darn It !

We should have hugged this man whilst we all had the chance.

Sure looks as though this could be Seedy's grumpiest season ever.

Batten down the Bubbles !

But wait . . . 

To be honest, I'd sorta be sore too if no one went shopping for my bench this off season.

Watch for Skip to add aspirin to his buffet of in-game munchies in 2026.

He's gunna toss 'em back and grind them down like Jack Torrance did in that Stephen King book  (whatever the heck it wuz called)

That's the only way he'll keep those migraines at bay.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday and thanks Hoss and JM for . . . 

My Inspiration .

My Inspiration . .

My Inspiration . . .

It is High

It is Far

It is . . .

BALLOON !

Whatever Soto is, I'd rather have a two-tone DeSoto with a push-button transmission

A thorough and well-presented defense of Soto, Hoss. One point of clarification: Are the numbers for Ohtani through his age 27 year? That's what I was considering, although his two years since have been noticeably better than those earlier seasons. In fact, further musing has led me to think that maybe thinking "generational" by age 27 is not that great an idea, either for or against. It can change, as it did with Judge and seems to be with Ohtani. So my main argument is, perhaps, moot. These things happen.

edge.

That said, I do not think Soto's defense is very good. The number of putouts and thrown outs are great. Unfortunately, neither Baseball Reference nor any other source doesn't keep stats on misplayed balls and tough plays made or not made. An outfielder seems to have to work to get an error called on him--perhaps I'm wrong, but that's how it seems to me. So watching one play day in and day out trumps the stats, in my humble opinion.

And while Ohtani doesn't play the field, Soto doesn't pitch. Ohtani's "generational" tag really rests largely on the fact that he is very good at the plate and on the mound, both. Pitching is like quarterbacking. It usually determines the course of the game. Playing a corner outfield slot, not so much. So I give the pitching a lot more weight than fielding, even if it's good.

Ohtani doesn't pitch deep into games, true. Nobody pitches deep into games. So I don't see that as a mark against him. Part of his g-g-g-generation.

We can quibble over Ichiro. I see your point there. And I will say that maybe, like Judge, Soto becomes a generational player as time goes on. At the moment, I don't think so. In a few years, it may be obvious, even to me.

For the Yankees, it's all about "affordability."

Alright, everybody, it's time to cut the carping.

It doesn't grow on trees.

Soon, maybe today, Cody Bellinger is going to choose his future team, and - Breaking News: It might not be the Yankees. If so, we must accept the reality that Amed Rosario and Paul DeJong - (not exactly Sabathia and Giambi) - are this winter's big Yankee free agents, and if you don't like it, "Tough-titty" said the kitty with the milk so warm.

Yeah, it woulda been nice to sign a few Kardashians. Michael King seemed like a perfect fit, Alex Bregman would have been a poke in the eye to Boston, and - yeah - we all figured Trent Grisham would leave, and we wouldn't be harpooned to his $22 million qualifying offer. We figured Cody was a generational shoe-in - good grief, his dad's greatest moments came with the Yankees. Worst case scenario: The great fruits of our farm - Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones - would save the team. It would be a great winter, and the Yankees would do whatever it took. Back in the day, they always did. 

Welp, we've been waiting 10 weeks, while Bellinger luxuriates, and all the major free agents are off the board, except for Framber Valdez, who we watched deliberately cross-up his catcher with a fastball to the chest last year, and who in Creation wants that asshole in a clubhouse? He's all yours, Boston. (Unless, of course, the Yankees smell a bargain? Once upon a time, they did with a publicly challenged Aroldis Chapman. How did that turn out?)

So, we wait. Yeah, we'd like the Yankees to be the Yankees. But they're not. That ship sailed. This winter, our byword is "affordability." The Steinbrenners cannot just spend like idiots. Obviously, they don't have the money. 

It's sad, seeing a great family face financial distress. Hopefully, we fans will support them with extra ticket sales and YES subscriptions. Have you purchased your Schlittler jersey? We need to get this family back on its feet. Can we subscribe to their YouTube channel? Wait... does Hal have a podcast? 

Write this down: Hal needs a podcast. He can sell ads to Simply Safe and that drug that combats bulging eyes. Nobody wants bulging eyes. They're scary. We need Hal back in the ring, tipping cabbies an extra two dollars, and taking the family to Applebees now and then. Less than a month a month to pitchers and catchers, people. We're on a shoestring, people. Send what you can!