Yankees Offseason Plans
The New York Yankees need to have a solid offseason to set themselves up for a run in 2026 at the World Series. There have already been some moves made, but I want to give my thoughts on how I think the Yankees should spend the rest of the offseason.
The Yankees have pigeonholed themselves with Trent Grisham accepting the qualifying offer of $22 million. Brian Cashman keeps saying they were happy if Trent accepted, but I do not believe that they thought he would. Trent could have possibly gotten a 2 or 3 year deal worth $50-$60 million if he tested free agency because he was one of the top outfield targets for lots of teams looking for a centerfielder that can provide the defense and offense he showed in 2025. For whatever reason, Trent took the 1 year deal to return to the Yankees which significantly reduced the budget for the Yankees this offseason. Going into the offseason, the Yankees were working with around $55 million if they want to stay around the 4th tier of the luxury tax which is $304 million in payroll. Now that Grisham has taken $22 million of that, the Yankees have around $30-$40 million to work with.
The first target that I think is key for the Yankees to bring back is Cody Bellinger. Bellinger had a very productive season with the Yankees in 2025 and provided flexibility with his ability to play every outfield position as well as first base. He was arguably the second best hitter on the Yankees all year, so if the Yankees want to recreate the offensive success they had last season, it is key that they bring him back. The big issue is money. Bellinger will likely hold out until free agent star Kyle Tucker signs with his new team to set a baseline for what the contracts should look like. In 2025, Bellinger had a salary of $27.5 million, so I would expect his average annual value to be around that number. I believe Bellinger will be looking to cash in with the years of this contract, so I expect the total contract to look similar to 6 years, $140 million. If the Yankees can bring Bellinger back on this deal, they will be left with somewhere between $15-$20 million to work with.
The second target should be Tatsuya Imai, a pitcher coming over from the NPB in Japan. Imai is an intriguing prospect with the past success of Japanese pitchers in the MLB. Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have come over in recent years and had instant success in the MLB, but they cost a pretty penny. Now, Imai is already different from those examples because he has publicly stated that he wants to go to a team where he can beat those guys and the Dodgers. Imai has expressed his desire to come to the MLB, work his tail off, and win on his own by taking down his Japanese counterparts. This is why I think Imai would fit perfectly in the Yankees organization. The Yankees have needed someone with the drive and passion desperately, and Imai would fit into the rotation perfectly with Gerrit Cole returning from injury. Projections for his contract come in at around $150-$200 million over 6-8 years, so it would be pushing the budget for the Yankees, but they have plenty of money to go over the luxury tax, it is just if they are willing to do so.