MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: After winning his third AL MVP, Aaron Judge reflected that he would trade in all his personal accolades for a World Series ring. With that in mind, Hoch went through the most likely moves the Yankees will make this winter to get their captain back to the Fall Classic. Hoch predicts that the Yankees will bring Cody Bellinger back on a long-term deal, reinforce a bullpen that lost Devin Williams and Luke Weaver to free agency, and bring in a stopgap arm for the rotation while
they await the returns of Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón — a box they may have already checked in re-signing swingman Ryan Yarbrough on a one year deal.
FanGraphs | Jay Jaffe: The BBWAA released their list for the Hall of Fame class of 2026 candidates and six former Yankees appear on the ballot — newcomer Edwin Encarnación joining Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltrán, Bobby Abreu, Andy Pettitte, and Andruw Jones. Jaffe goes over the biggest questions facing each of the candidates. How much will the voters value speed in the case of Beltrán and Abreu and home runs for Encarnación? How much will controversy factor into the decisions — PEDs for A-Rod and Pettitte and the sign stealing scandal for Beltrán?
MLB.com | Joe Trezza: With big changes coming to the Yankees outfield following the departures of Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham in free agency, it is fair to wonder whether there will be a role for top prospect Spencer Jones. There’s a vacancy in center and he is the only player in the organization Triple-A and above capable of plausibly playing in center. He’s coming off a year slashing .274/.362/.571 with 29 stolen bases and one home run shy of the MiLB home run lead (35) in 116 games between Double-A and Triple-A. The power is tantalizing, but he strikes out at a frightening rate and has alarmingly low contact rates on pitches in the zone.
MLB Trade Rumors | Nick Deeds: As we relayed yesterday, the Yankees were in agreement on a one-year, $2.5 million deal to bring back swingman Ryan Yarbrough. The soft-tossing lefty stepped up in a big way with the rotation ailing in late spring, logging a 3.83 ERA in eight starts. His reunion gives them an extra body to soak up starts at the start of the year with Cole, Rodón, and Clarke Schmidt all unavailable for Opening Day and aligns with Brian Cashman’s plan to prevent “taking on water” in the rotation at the start of the year perhaps in lieu of pursuing a frontline starter. You can read Andrew’s more in-depth analysis of Yarbrough re-signing here.
