By Eddie Castro

The 2025 season for the New York Yankees has come to an end after another heartbreaking playoff loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. In a season with its ups and downs, with injuries and winning and losing droughts, the Yankees failed to accomplish their goal of bringing a 28th championship back to the Bronx.

Although the team had a top five offense in the league, the team’s home run-savvy approach was not enough to get by a second consecutive divisional rival opponent. The Yankees may not have as active a winter as they did last year in which they aimed to replace Juan Soto, it is inevitable that change is needed.

For starters, the Yankees need to revamp their bullpen situation and acquire more reliable arms. As I stated in last week’s podcast, relievers Luke Weaver and Devin Williams are free agents. It is unclear if the team is interested in bringing both players back for 2026.

The Yankees bullpen was a thorn on team’s side all year long so General Manager Brian Cashman will look to invest in the Bullpen this winter. As far as the offense goes, the Yankees should look to add more diversity to the lineup.

If you look at how the Blue Jays defeated the Yankees, it wasn’t just about hitting the ball out of the park, but more about putting the ball in play and finding various ways to drive in runs. A non-home run but versatile player like Kyle Tucker should be in the mix for the team. However, bringing back Cody Bellinger, who has proven he can have success in New York is more likely as the Yankees field options for more versatility to their lineup. Adding those types of players around Aaron Judge will be a key factor in the team’s success going into 2026.

As far as starting pitching goes, the Yankees, health permitting, have one of the best rotations in baseball with Max Fried, a 24-year-old, and Gerrit Cole, who will be returning from Tommy-John Surgery last year. The Yankees’ continued success in developing their pitching prospects could also contribute to the season.

With Cole and Clarke Schmidt going down with season-ending injuries and Luis Gil not as sharp as he was last year returning from his injury, the Yankees were able to bring up a young 24-year-old Cam Schlittler. Schlittler was a big surprise for the team and could be in play for a rotation spot in 2026. It is unlikely the team signs a big-time arm in free agency.

Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes has been linked to the Yankees but, unless the Yankees are willing to part ways with some of their top tier prospects, it is unlikely. The priority for the team is to monitor health as far as the starting rotation goes, get reliable arms for the bullpen and get more offensively versatile players around Judge. We’ll see how things play out in what will be a mysterious but interesting winter for the New York Yankees.

Sports Notes: (Football) After defeating the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jaxson Dart and the New York Giants head to Denver to battle Bo Nix and the Broncos. The Jets are coming off one of their worst historical games in recent memory. They are also the last team remaining in the NFL without a win.

Returning from London, the team heads back home to play the Carolina Panthers. (Basketball) We are one week away from the NBA regular season.