Yankees Still Have Plenty of Options to Upgrade Roster

For a team that didn’t make it past the ALDS a year after making it to the World Series, the New York Yankees have been way too quiet this offseason. They’ve yet to add a bat from outside of the organization, while watching reliever Devin Williams and Luke Weaver move across town to the New York Mets.

The good news is that all hope isn’t lost for the Yankees just yet. Brian Cashman and the front office still have plenty of options on the free agent market to make meaningful roster improvement ahead of the 2026 season.

Let’s start with this, though: these upgrades should start after the Yankees re-sign Cody Bellinger, who should be the front office’s top priority this winter. After that, they can turn to adding even more talent. 

The Yankees shouldn’t be worried about payroll; the only thing they should be worried about is winning a World Series with Aaron Judge still in his prime. With that, New York should still be in play to sign one of the top free agents.

Kyle Tucker is still on the market and would be a great fit in right field. Bo Bichette could finally solve New York’s lackluster production at shortstop. Even though Rhys Hoskin isn’t a top-tier free agent, he would still give the team even more pop in the lineup and some depth at first base.

Any of those signings would be an improvement from where New York’s lineup ended the season, on top of hopefully bringing back Bellinger.

There are also some concerns with the depth of New York’s rotation, and some very solid arms still left on the open market, such as Framber Valdez, Chris Bassitt, Zac Gallen, or even Shota Imanaga. 

The Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and Toronto Blue Jays have all made meaningful additions to their 2026 rosters; the division won’t get any easier. The Yankees must be willing to possibly go out of their comfort zone to add more talent for next year. 

The point of all of this is that, even though the Yankees have been way too quiet for their standards, there’s nothing holding the team back from looking much different, and much better, at the start of the 2026 season.