The Yankees have a 60-70% chance to make the postseason going into 2026, their odds of winning the American League East won’t be that far off from their odds of missing October outright.
Without an addition in left field, the rotation, and the bullpen, this could be the kind of roster that gets a good flow of talent to form a squad that can beat you both on the mound and in the batter’s box.
Usually this time of year gives us some transactions to sink our teeth into, but instead we’ve found ourselves in a bit of weird spot where we’re still waiting on the team to make some additions.
Sticking with the theme of the times, what should Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner write down on their wishlists, hoping Santa Claus’ sack of toys includes these players to bolster the roster with.
With some realism (no Tucker, Skubal, etc.), here’s what I have concocted for the team’s wishlist as they head into the New Year.
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A Return of Cody Bellinger ‘On Their Own Terms’
The language used by Jack Curry on YES Hot Stove is the kind of language I’m hoping to hear with Cody Bellinger, a responsible pursuit for a player who’s market is a bit lukewarm right now.
Initial buzz of teams throwing themselves at the versatile left-handed hitter have aged poorly as big market spenders have instead chosen to dig in and wait for him to come down on his demands.
People inside the organization feel as if Bellinger wants to come back, and a four or five year contract seems to be where they’re drawing a line in the sand.
Ultimately, a five-year $140 million deal feels like both sides getting what they want in this contract, as the Yankees get a hitter who does well against lefties and plays elite-level defense in the outfield.
Do not misconstrue my unwillingness to throw an irresponsibly long contract at Cody Bellinger or my claims that they should get Kyle Tucker instead as me saying the former MVP is a bad player, the Yankees are better with him in 2026.
Using Roster Surpluses to Improve the Pitching Staff
If the Yankees can move one of their starters such as Will Warren and an outfielder in Jasson Dominguez in trade talks, they’ve suddenly got the ammo to land an impact starter on the trade market.
You might only need to move one of them in a deal depending on the player you acquire, I think someone like MacKenzie Gore is a nice balance of a cost-controlled arm and an upside play that they should be after.
Gore has a good fastball with a lower release height than the average left-handed pitcher, which could lead to better results if he dials back the usage of it and trusts his secondaries a bit more.
The organization has done incredible work with left-handers over the last two years as Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, and Nestor Cortes all made a massive pitch shape improvement in either 2024 or 2025.
I could definitely see the Yankees giving MacKenzie Gore, who is just 27 years old, a sinker or improved changeup that he can use to annihilate opposing lineups with.
The already-existing pitcher is a roughly league-average run preventor with good FIP and K-BB% numbers, a better arm than Luis Gil and Will Warren likely end up being in 2026.
I’d also look at the bullpen market for that missing piece in the eighth inning, with Garrett Cleavinger being a player of serious interest to me if I ran the team.
Among left-handed relievers, Garrett Cleavinger was seventh in ERA (2.35) and seventh in K% (33.7%) among qualified pitchers during the 2025 season.
He’s the exact kind of profile and price tag they should be after, he misses a ton of bats and is on the final two years of arbitration on his current contract, owed about $3 million for 2026.
I think for Gore, you can offer up Dominguez alongside some top 10 prospects like Ben Hess and Dillon Lewis, giving them a controllable MLB bat with good prospects to help load their farm system further.
With Cleavinger, this deal could be something where we see Brendan Jones and an arm like Allen Facundo who is young and throws 99 MPH would make a good amount of sense I’d imagine.
Adding A Right-Handed Bat To Round Out the Yankees’ Roster
The Yankees should add some insurance for the roster with a 10th position player who can serve as the Giancarlo Stanton replacement, and I’ve got a good low-cost idea for this.
Ryan Jeffers could be the team’s backup catcher, catch games against really good lefties, and get reps at DH when Stanton eventually gets hurt, all in one roster spot.
Jeffers is a rental and the Twins are bad, there’s a chance they keep him around but I think if you do a catcher-for-catcher swap while attaching a prospect, you can land him.
J.C. Escarra and Brock Selvidge feels like a fair deal here, the Twins are getting five years of a catcher who provides a steady glove to help their pitchers alongside a young Double-A starter for one year of Ryan Jeffers.
Over the last two seasons, Ryan Jeffers owns a 142 wRC+ and .385 OBP against left-handed pitching, and the Yankees would be able to really reinforce their lineup, and their catching room gets some good insurance too.
With these four players added to the roster, the Yankees would be a real-deal contender in the American League with roster depth and flexibility, but time will tell if they have this many presents under the tree.