Free agency has officially begun if you’re reading this article, which means the Yankees are free to begin making moves on the market to make the team better in 2026.
There’s a lot of uncertainty about what players they’ll have interest in, how aggressive they’ll be, and which teams could end up selling off pieces to help contenders.
However the market shapes out, I’d expect the Yankees to shop for upgrades on offense and the pitching staff, and we’re taking some swings at making bold claims for the upcoming offseason.
Some of it is rooted in sourcing, which I detail in the article, and other parts of it are based on educated guesses of how the Yankees usually build their rosters.
The goal is to get at least one right, but I won’t discount my odds of getting all three correct because that’s no fun.
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#1: Jasson Dominguez Is Not On the Yankees in 2026
While I do want Kyle Tucker on the Yankees, I don’t believe a shocking signing of the star outfielder would be the only scenario where Jasson Dominguez is moved on from.
Cody Bellinger’s return will also bring Dominguez’s future in the organization into question, especially when looking at his defensive numbers over the last two years.
He’s an elite defensive left fielder and an average defensive centerfielder, which is where the organization will be forced to have some difficult conversations.
We reported that the Yankees made Jasson Dominguez available for trade at the past deadline, but they also made him available for trade during the 2024-2025 offseason.
They feared his defense in left field would be rough, which goes against what they believe in, and its why I’m skeptical that they’ll let him play the position again in 2026.
I believe the Yankees will acquire two outfielders who can start for them in 2026, looking at Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, and Ben Rice as the low-cost position players who can offset the price of an expensive outfielder.
Sources tell Empire Sports Media that the Yankees are expected to show interest in Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox this winter, and I could see them adding him alongside Cody Bellinger.
#2: The Yankees Sign A Japanese Free Agent To a Six-Year Contract
The person who has linked the Yankees to Tatsuya Imai is Yankees Source, who is incredibly tapped into the Nippon Baseball League, and their interest is ‘legitimate ‘strong’ according to them.
What we’ve learned at Empire Sports Media is that the organization really wants to get back into the Japanese baseball market, and with the need for a starting pitcher, Imai could be a great fit.
It seems crazy for the Yankees to have four starting pitchers under contract for the next three seasons, but the Dodgers rolled into 2025 with Glasnow, Snell, Yamamoto, and Ohtani who are all on payroll through 2027.
Glasnow has a $21.5 million player option that I believe he’d pick up for 2028, so that means they could have four pitchers under contract through 2028.
Tatsuya Imai has a four-seamer around 95 MPH with a similar shape to Luis Castillo in both movement and release point, pairing it with a splitter, a weird slider, a curveball, and a ‘sinker’ that’s more of a changeup in speed and grip.
I think the Yankees could make improvements to his repertoire by giving him a true sinker and seeing if they can get him to throw a breaking ball with lateral movement.
A deep mix with good velocity and a funky release point should play well in the big leagues, and its why I think the Yankees will end up signing him.
#3: The Yankees Put a Lot of Trust In Bullpen Breakouts
I think the Yankees will add a reliever to clarify, Devin Williams and Luke Weaver are both hitting the free agent market and you’d expect them to do something to make up for that.
With that being said, I think the organization will look internally for some reliever options to fill the backend of their bullpen.
Jake Bird began throwing a cutter in Triple-A which was a good strike-throwing pitch for him, something he struggled with when he was traded to the Yankees.
It had a .188 xwOBA and 41.2% Whiff%, which should be looked at with an asterisk because it’s against Triple-A hitters, but the pitch serves a real purpose in his repertoire.
Brent Headrick struck out over 32% of batters faced in his limited action at the Major League level this year and Yerry De Los Santos was more effective than Hamilton or Leiter in 2025.
David Bednar, Fernando Cruz, and Camilo Doval are all high-leverage options, I’d expect the Yankees to pick up an impact arm for the bullpen and perhaps a lesser name who has upside.
That would give them a strong bullpen nucleus, and if Headrick/Bird are effective strikeout pitchers again in 2026, the Yankees should rank inside the top-five in reliever ERA/WAR in 2026.
FanGraphs currently projects the Yankees to be fifth in bullpen ERA and ninth in bullpen WAR, I would bet on their bullpen to be significantly more reliable than it was in 2026.