Death, taxes, and pressure are the only three certainties of a New York athlete, and the Yankees constantly have the spotlight on them.
While players like Aaron Judge get discussed for their greatness, others on the team draw attention for less-desirable reasons as their performance can shatter the trust a fanbase has in that player’s future output.
Today we’re going to look at three players who have to rebound from a poor 2026 season not only for the team’s sake, but for their individual future with the organization.
If these three guys step up and perform, the Yankees could have a very fun and successful season, but if they don’t 2026 could be the last we see of them in pinstripes and will keep Brian Cashman a busy man in July.
READ MORE: Did the Yankees actually get a Trent Grisham break out in 2024?
No. 3: Can the Yankees’ Deadline Addition Put Rough Debut Behind?
Among all the names on this list, I have the most confidence in Jake Bird who had a horrendous showing in three appearances with the Yankees.
Bird allowed six runs in just two innings, getting demoted to Triple-A Scranton and never returning to the big leagues during the 2025 season as he was working on various things to get right for 2026.
His 5.53 ERA was incredibly flukey; he had the 15th-lowest Left-On-Base% (65.2%) and the second-highest BABIP (.361) among relievers with at least 50 innings pitched.
The reason these metrics indicate poor luck is because a pitcher cannot control the quality of his defense or intentionally allow hits only when there’s nobody on.
My thesis that he was unfortunate is backed by his Expected FIP (3.58), which tries to dictate what a pitcher’s ERA should have been based on their strikeouts, walks, batted ball types, and other variables.
With three years of control left, Jake Bird is in his first year of arbitration eligibility which could put him on the chopping block next season if he doesn’t perform well in 2026.
There isn’t as long of a leash as you would think fro a pitcher with three years of control, he loses his MiLB option this season so the Yankees will need him to immediately step in and contribute to remain on the roster moving forward.
No. 2: Will the 2024 Rookie of the Year Reverse Troubling Trends?
Luis Gil had a shiny 3.32 ERA last season but I walked away discouraged regarding his future outlook, and given how the Yankees tend to value pitchers, I’m sure they have as well.
A 10% decrease in strikeout rate from his 2024 campaign alongside a 1.4% increase in walk rate is a massive red flag as it indicates that Gil’s command has gotten significantly worse when it was already a below-average tool.
There’s a lot of collapse risk with Gil who could end up not throwing enough strikes to last very long in a starting pitcher role, especially given the depth they should have when Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil come back.
Will Warren and Ryan Weathers pose a real threat to jump him in the depth chart by the time Carlos Rodon returns in May if we don’t see his K-BB% and overall fastball velocity return.
I am a bit worried about the fact that his velocity has looked this way since the dog days of August in 2024, and the hope here is that a full Spring Training and offseason gives his body the recovery it needs.
You could reasonably argue that in a bullpen role, this velocity would come back a bit and we’d see the hard-throwing overpowering stuff that misses bats consistently in a reliever capacity, but that’s not as cut-and-dry as you think.
Luis Gil has a Minor League option; the Yankees would in theory benefit from having him in Triple-A working on things and staying stretched out if he sn’t a complete lost-cause as a starter.
There’s immediate pressure in Carlos Rodon’s return, Gerrit Cole’s return, and prospect Elmer Rodriguez’s emergence which will make a hot start for Luis Gil a necessity in order to remain in the rotation or even in the Bronx.
No. 1: The Yankees’ Former Top Prospect Is at an Impasse
This is a confusing time for Anthony Volpe, who is going to be the starting shortstop whenever he returns from labrum surgery, but doesn’t have the same job security he had entering last year.
His defense collapsed during the 2025 season as he set a career-worst in DRS, OAA, and FRV at a position like shortstop where the Yankees value a player’s defensive output.
It’s why they showed zero interest in Bo Bichette as a legitimate shortstop option and why they defended Volpe so much during his three-year run, but that defense-oriented argument has faded with Jose Caballero on the roster.
Caballero is not a world-beater, but he is a quality defensive option at the position with a similar bat and much better baserunning, if Volpe does not return to his previous defensive form he could actually lose his job this time.
There’s a greater sense of urgency for Anthony Volpe to perform well out of the gate; the fanbase already has soured on the player and he will be the center-of-attention whenever the Yankees lose if he doesn’t put together a strong year.
I’m not looking for an above-average OPS, but if he’s around the 10% worse-than-league-average range with plus defense at shortstop and plus baserunning I would forsee a ~3 WAR player, which is useful.
It’s now or never for Anthony Volpe; will he rise to the occassion?