“Focus is on bullpen over the rotation.”
That single sentence from MLB.com insider Brian Hoch should send a shiver down the spine of every fan in the Bronx expecting a splashy, headline-dominating winter for the rotation. While the rest of the league is hyperventilating over aces, the New York Yankees appear to be operating with a calm, almost frustrating level of patience.
General Manager Brian Cashman isn’t rushing to the podium to announce a new starter; instead, he is methodically prioritizing the relief corps while keeping a lukewarm iron in the fire for a familiar face in the outfield.
Brian Cashman Playing Chicken With Cody Bellinger
The Yankees are still very interested in bringing back Cody Bellinger, but the urgency simply isn’t there. It feels like a high-stakes game of poker where New York knows exactly what hand Bellinger is holding. After a season where he hit .272/.334/.480 and launched 29 home runs in pinstripes, the mutual interest makes sense, but the Yankees are seemingly waiting for the market to come to them.
They know exactly what they get with Bellinger: a versatile defender who posted a 125 wRC+ and kept his strikeout rate at a career-low 13.7%. However, the front office seems content to let his representatives shop around, banking on the fact that the comfort of Yankee Stadium, where his swing plays perfectly, will eventually bring him back at a number they like. It’s a risky strategy, but one that suggests Cashman believes he holds the leverage.
The Kyle Tucker Dream Is Still Alive
While the patience with Bellinger feels calculated, the flirtation with Kyle Tucker feels ambitious. The Yankees have officially checked in with Tucker’s representatives to gauge his price tag and desires, though nothing has materialized up to this point. Tucker represents the elite tier, a player who was 36% above average offensively even in a down year, offering the kind of lefty power that transforms a lineup.
Checking in is due diligence, but signing him requires a massive financial commitment that might conflict with their other priorities. If the Yankees are truly prioritizing the bullpen, as Hoch suggests, allocating $300 million to Tucker becomes a complex math problem. The interest is real, but until the Yankees pivot from “checking in” to “making an offer,” this feels like a contingency plan rather than Plan A.
Prioritizing the Yankees Bullpen Over the Rotation
The most revealing part of the current strategy is the explicit focus on the bullpen. With Luke Weaver and Devin Williams hitting free agency, the Yankees are staring at a massive void in the late innings that cannot be filled by prospects alone. They have David Bednar and Camilo Doval, but they need more. You simply cannot navigate the American League East without a lockdown backend, and the current roster construction is leaking oil.
Devin Williams is a perfect example of the volatility the Yankees are trying to assess. On the surface, his 4.79 ERA looks like a disaster, but the Yankees are likely enamored with his underlying metrics, specifically his 99th percentile whiff rate. Cashman loves buying distressed assets with elite traits, and rebuilding the bullpen with high-leverage arms like Williams seems to be the priority over adding another starter.
It’s a controversial stance given the questions in the rotation, but it aligns with the modern philosophy that you can survive with volatile starters if your bullpen is untouchable. The Yankees are betting that bolstering the bridge to the ninth inning is the most efficient way to secure wins, even if it leaves the rotation looks a bit shaky on paper.