It's Showtime for the 2026 New York Yankees...

   

Aaron Judge (Photo Credit: Jeff Chiu/AP)

World Series or bust, otherwise known as the Road through Chavez Ravine…

The new MLB season is upon us.

Regardless of what the Yankees did or did not do in the offseason, I am excited about the 2026 New York Yankees.

The Yankees’ attention to upgrading the quality of minor league pitching in recent years is proving fruitful. Much like fine wine, it takes years to reach perfection. The Yankees had a plan, and they executed it. A plan not designed for immediate gratification, but one to strengthen the organization for years to come. I thought Cam Schlittler would be a decent major league pitcher after the years of glowing praise when he was in the minor league system (I thought a solid number three starter), but I did not imagine he would be an upper-rotation guy with the potential of being a team’s ace.  Schlittler makes up for GM Brian Cashman’s inability to acquire a strong starting pitcher in the offseason. If Will Warren takes the next step, it is just icing on the cake. For as much blame as he gets (from me included), Cashman deserves some credit for the elite focus on drafting and signing some of the game’s future pitching stars.

With Luis Gil heading to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start the season since the Yankees do not need a fifth starter during the early weeks of the season, here are your 2026 New York Yankees:

Starting Lineup:

Catcher: Austin Wells

First Base: Ben Rice

Second Base: Jazz Chisholm, Jr.

Shortstop: Jose Caballero

Third Base: Ryan McMahon

Left Field: Cody Bellinger

Center Field: Trent Grisham

Right Field: Aaron Judge

Designated Hitter: Giancarlo Stanton

Bench/Utility:

Outfield/Utility: Randal Grichuk, Amed Rosario

Catcher: J.C. Escarra

First Base: Paul Goldschmidt

Starting Rotation:

Max Fried, LHP

Cam Schlittler, RHP

Will Warren, RHP

Ryan Weathers, LHP

Bullpen:

Closer: David Bednar

Setup/Middle Relief: Camilo Doval, Fernando Cruz, Tim Hill, Paul Blackburn, Ryan Yarbrough, Jake Bird, Brent Headrick, Cade Winquest

Injured List:

Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Anthony Volpe

I am honestly relieved that Volpe is on the injured list. I do not wish injuries or surgeries upon anyone, but I love the opportunity for Jose Caballero to be the everyday shortstop. It is not going to last. Volpe will be back in May, but I hope Caballero makes it very hard for Manager Aaron Boone to choose between the two. The bloom is off Volpe. I do not feel that he should be the starting shortstop for the most storied franchise in Major League history. A replacement for Jazz Chisholm, Jr. at second base when the Yankees make the financial decision to let Jazz walk? That’s a better long-term plan if Volpe can improve his game. Caballero may not be the long-term answer for shortstop, but he is better than Volpe. 

Jose Cabellero

Another player I would replace is DH Giancarlo Stanton. I love Stanton when he is healthy, and nobody can crush a baseball with ease as he does, but he is getting older, and he WILL spend time on the injured list. Trying to believe this will be an injury-free year for him is foolish after the years he has proven wrong. Jasson Dominguez, and his major league-ready bat, are sitting in Triple-A. I would trade or, despite the financial cost, cut Stanton to make Dominguez the everyday DH.  Jasson’s fielding is not sufficient for Yankee Stadium standards, so he needs to be a bat-only type if he is going to play for the Yankees. His only roadblock is Stanton.

I thought Trent Grisham was great last year, but I am skeptical he can match it. It felt like his Brady Anderson year. One season of epic proportions followed by a return to mediocrity.  If Spencer Jones takes Grisham’s place in center field before the season’s end, I am okay with it. Grisham is not coming back next year unless he proves last year was not a fluke. Play the best player regardless of the size of the contract.

This is why I do not want the Yankees to trade either Dominguez or Jones. I feel both can play vital roles for the Yankees when and if they get their chances.

While I am glad Cade Winquest made the Opening Day Roster, he has much to prove to deserve a roster spot for the entirety of the season. The first test will come when the Yankees need a fifth starter and call up Luis Gil. As an extra reliever, Winquest holds the weakest position on the roster.  He may be back in the St Louis Cardinals organization before the end of April. I hope he improves and can secure his roster spot to continue his Yankees career. I am just not optimistic that it can happen.

I try to avoid the articles about Paul Skenes and the Yankees’ attempts to acquire him at last year’s trade deadline. When Paul Skenes reaches free agency, the odds he will be a Los Angeles Dodger or a New York Met are far greater than his chances of pulling on the pinstripes. It is what it is. Love the guy, and I think he would be a great Yankee, but it seems incredibly unlikely to me, given the vast financial resources of the Dodgers and the Mets, and Hal Steinbrenner’s financial conservatism. I feel we are going to go through years of speculation for Skenes to the Yankees, only to see him go to one of the MLB’s wealthiest teams. There was a time when the Yankees were the wealthiest, but times changed. This is why I wish the Steinbrenner Family would cash in their chips and let a big financial boy (or gal) take over. Teams create cash flow, and the Yankees are among the best, but the intangibles are the owner's wealth and income streams beyond baseball. Hal Steinbrenner is dependent on the Yankees, so he does not add anything in terms of financial might beyond what the Yankees generate. As such, the Dodgers and Mets ownership groups will be able to run circles around the Yankees in the fight for the game’s best players.  Will the Mets make the right decisions? That’s debatable, but the Yankees are at a disadvantage with the current ownership regime. 

As an out-of-market Yankees fan, I am excited to attend a game at Yankee Stadium this season. I will be there in July when the Yankees host the World Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers. Looking forward to Shohei Ohtani versus Aaron Judge. I no longer live in the Los Angeles area, having moved to New Mexico nearly a year ago. Baseball in Albuquerque is limited to the Triple-A club for a bottom-feed MLB team (the Colorado Rockies). I am looking forward to some legit baseball in July. On a side note, the Triple-A facility in Albuquerque for the Isotopes is a good venue, but it is not Major League Baseball. So far, I have only attended when the Dodgers’ Oklahoma City squad has paid a visit.

After years of no concerts, I decided that 2026 would be different. So far this year, I have seen KC & the Sunshine Band perform at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, and John Waite, accompanied by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, at Buffalo Thunder Casino in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Harry Wayne Casey, better known as KC, is a master entertainer, even at 75. He was all over the stage despite his age and weight gain, and the audience was literally on their feet for most of the concert. He still delivers his songs as strongly as he did in the seventies. John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band are best known as the voices for Michael Pare and his band in his lead role in the movie Eddie and the Cruisers, but they were terrific. They sang a new song called "Day in the Sun," which was fantastic. Cafferty said the State of New Mexico was interested in the song for their marketing campaign (we have something like 320 sunny days per year)…not unlike Denver, but the sun is prevalent in New Mexico. I hope the state makes the deal with Cafferty. I was thinking John Waite, former lead singer of the Babys and Modern English, would have a tough job to top Cafferty, but he did. Waite’s Missing You has always been one of my favorite songs. He threw multiple guitar picks that were snatched by those around me. I was a bit disappointed until he threw a second batch, and I nabbed a pick before the guy next to me could get one. It now hangs on my wall. Waite, at 73 years old, delivered his songs as strongly as he did in his younger days.

John Waite

Later this year, I have concerts to see Midland (for the fifth time), Loverboy, Lionel Richie, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Barry Manilow. Outside of Midland, a current country group, every performance is a trip down memory lane. I hope the upcoming concerts can match the intensity of the first two.

Despite the concerts, the Yankees in July remain the marquee attraction for me. I had an opportunity to see a game in 2009, but it rained out. Four hours in Yankee Stadium with no game. I went to the old Yankee Stadium multiple times, but life has kept me away from New York since the new stadium opened. I am excited but obviously hope for good weather. Another rainout would suck. I am envious of those who get to experience Yankee Stadium as often as they would like. When you do not live in the greater New York metropolitan area, it is not as easy. It does not mean that we love the Yankees any less.

As always, Go Yankees!