The offseason weeks continue to blow by as we’re nearly done with January already, and spring training is officially around the corner. The Yankees’ retooling appears all but over barring a last-minute
deal falling into place, and while Brian Cashman has done his best to defend against the impression that they’re just running back last year’s team, there’s not a lot of evidence to the contrary. That’s not unreasonable — they were the best offense in baseball and their rotation simply didn’t perform outside of Cam Schlittler in October after being a solid unit all year! But the hope of pulling in a significant improvement to the roster wasn’t an unreasonable one, and it looks like it’ll go unanswered at least to start the year.
Relievers past and present are on the lineup today, beginning with Andrés looking at Jake Bird’s potential to bounceback in 2026 after one of the rockiest Yankees debuts we’ve seen in a while. Then, Nick wishes a happy birthday to onetime Yankee closer John Habyan, and Jeremy takes us back to the Yankees signing one of their iconic 2009 retooling stars in Mark Teixeira.
Questions/Prompts:
1. Do you think Angel Chivilli will thrive under Matt Blake’s tutelage, or is this one a stretch?
2. What are your thoughts on Cody Bellinger opting to not join Team USA for the WBC to instead focus on getting ready for the season?
