MLB | Jesse Borek: Three and a half years ago, the Yankees signed undrafted free agent Hueston Morrill. Morrill, who’d played both ways in college, prefered to be a hitter. But when the Yankees thought
he could transition to pitching full-time, he embraced it. After a non-descript 2024, Morrill exploded in 2025. Across the season at two levels (maxing out at Double-A), opponents hit .118 with a .398 OPS. Now, he’s toiling in the Arizona Fall League. The early returns are good. 3.2 scoreless innings, though he’s given up four hits and struck out none. Regardless, it’s valuable reps for a Yankees relief prospect whose name we’re likely to become increasingly familiar with.
NJ.com | Bob Klapisch: Perhaps the biggest house of horrors for the 2025 Yankees was the bullpen. Erratic and inconsistent, GM Brian Cashman pulled off a flurry of deadlines moves to fortify it. Some worked better than others. Given all that, the state of the ‘pen is an incredibly important story. Klapisch takes a look, nothing that some moves are no-brainers – leaving Bednar as the closer and picking up Tim Hill’s options. He notes that Devin Williams will almost certainly be too expensive after what was a very up and down season. Klapisch’s main question: what to do with Luke Weaver. Give it a read. For what it’s worth, I suspect we’ve seen the last of one of 2024’s Yankees heroes.
SNY : Phillip Martinez: Here’s an armchair General Manager’s dream. The state of the Yankee payroll: long story short, after you account for projected arbitration costs (assuming no non-tenders), the Yanks sit at a hefty $229.7 million in payroll for 2026. Discerning eyes will notice that Aaron Hicks’ contract is finally off the books, so that’s nice. But because The Pattern demands balance, DJLM’s $15 million in dead money will be sitting there. Take a look. See if you can guess the non-tenders, because there will almost certainly be some. All told, it’s exceedingly probable the Yanks exceed the top tax tier for the third season in a row.
