It’s a crowded outfield, but Aaron Judge has made the Opening Day roster.
While that may have been an easy decision, filling out the pitching staff was not, as the team elected to start the year with a four-man rotation. Offdays tomorrow and Sunday mean the club optioned Luis Gil to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and roll with a nine-piece bullpen, including Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest. Last year’s Trade Deadline acquisition Jake Bird will start the year with the MLB team, a step forward after a near-immediate
optioning to the minors last season, and Brent Headrick rounds out the relief corps.
It’s also worth noting that a remarkably healthy spring training meant that there was just no room for Jasson Domínguez to get regular reps, so he’s down in Triple-A with Gil to begin 2026, while a more traditional fourth outfielder is on the roster instead in former Yankee killer Randal Grichuk. The RailRiders begin their season tomorrow in Buffalo, so the likes of Domínguez, Gil, Oswaldo Cabrera, Spencer Jones, Elmer Rodríguez, and Carlos Lagrange will be in action shortly.
Here’s the full roster rundown:
As the Yankees’ account notes, shortstop Anthony Volpe and pitchers Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, and Clarke Schmidt will begin the year on the injured list. Rodón is rehabbing from offseason surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow and could come back later in April. Volpe had shoulder surgery and should return in May, and there’s a chance that Cole could be back from Tommy John surgery late that month if his rehab goes well. Schmidt had his own Tommy John later in 2025 and won’t be able to pitch until the second at the absolute earliest.
The 26 active players can reasonably be broken down like this:
Defensive Lineup
Austin Wells, C
Ben Rice, 1B
Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B
Ryan McMahon, 3B
José Caballero, SS
Cody Bellinger, LF
Trent Grisham, CF
Aaron Judge, RF
Giancarlo Stanton, DH
Bench
J.C. Escarra, C
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B
Amed Rosario, UT
Randal Grichuk, OF
Rotation
Max Fried, LHP
Cam Schlittler, RHP
Will Warren, RHP
Ryan Weathers, LHP
Bullpen
David Bednar, RHP (closer)
Fernando Cruz, RHP
Camilo Doval, RHP
Tim Hill, LHP
Ryan Yarbrough, LHP
Jake Bird, RHP
Brent Headrick, LHP
Paul Blackburn, RHP
Cade Winquest, RHP
Someone from that pitching group will be dropped during next week’s series with the Mariners in order to form a proper five-man rotation, but for this opening three-game set with the Giants, manager Aaron Boone will have plenty of options in the back end of games.
