The Yankees’ season ended the way too many of their Octobers do: with the other team celebrating on their own turf. And with the Aaron Judge era now deep enough to demand real change, the winter ahead looks less like tinkering and more like a reset.
Judge missing most of the season forced New York to lean hard on the rest of the roster, but only Ben Rice really answered the call. A few of the names around him may not be back when the Yankees line up again next year.
Trent Grisham feels like the clearest case. After a breakout 2025, he backed up hard in 2026 and turned into a liability, including what amounted to a disastrous run as a leadoff hitter with a .680 OPS batting first.
The qualifying offer decision from last offseason did not age well, and his final impression may have sealed it. Aaron Boone hit him leadoff in Game 3 anyway, and Grisham went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts, finishing the night by making the final out with Rice on deck and the tying run in scoring position.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a more complicated call, but the signs still point toward a split. He was open about wanting to stay, saying, "I love it as a Yankee.
I grew up as a Yankee fan... Who doesn't want to stay with a team you've had such great times with?
To see it maybe end here sucks." But his 2026 season was a letdown after a 30-30 year in 2025, and he finished with a .711 OPS while striking out 29.5% of the time.
October was rough too. He never got going at the plate, and his throwing error in Game 2 was part of a four-error mess in the field.
There is still a path to keeping him, especially if he takes a qualifying offer or a short-term deal, but Anthony Volpe’s finish and his move to second base make Chisholm look increasingly expendable.
Paul Goldschmidt also sounds like a player who wants to keep going, even at 39, but the fit in the Bronx is murky. He hit .252/.313/.452 with a 111 wRC+ in 2026 and stayed useful against lefties, though his production dipped in the middle of the year as injuries pushed him into the lineup more than expected.
Now the Yankees have Luis Garcia Jr. and Rice for first base, both left-handed bats, which makes Goldschmidt more of a platoon question than a clear everyday answer. He may prefer a place where he can play more regularly.
Giancarlo Stanton’s situation is even messier. He is still under contract for 2027, but the Yankees have built themselves into a logjam at designated hitter.
Stanton missed most of the 2026 season, Garcia arrived at the trade deadline, and Rice settled in as the everyday DH and thrived. Judge could also end up spending more time at DH to stay healthy.
Stanton, meanwhile, is strictly a DH now because of his chronic leg injuries. The Yankees would welcome his power if he were healthy, but there may not be room for him in the lineup they are constructing.
They can also decline his $25 million option for 2028 with a $10 million buyout, which makes 2027 look like the likely end of the road anyway.
Ryan McMahon may be the easiest of all to read. He did not play in Wednesday’s game, and his Yankees tenure has offered little at the plate and shaky defense at third.
His first-inning error in Game 2 helped set the tone for New York’s ugly night in the field. The Yankees still owe him $16 million for 2027, but with his value at a low point, moving the contract in a trade would be difficult.
If anything, the more likely outcome may be that New York eats the money and designates him for assignment.
Third base remains a problem, and McMahon has not come close to fixing it.
In Other News...
MLB Just Weighed In On The Anthony Volpe Play Yankees Fans Hated
The season-ending loss at Yankee Stadium has taken another turn, this time with Major League Baseball stepping in on the controversial play that had Yankees fans fuming. In the middle of New Yorks defeat to the Rays, Anthony Volpe drove a fly ball that briefly looked like it might leave the yard before a fan reached over the fence and pulled it back into the field of play, turning a potential home run into a double after review.
MLB determined the fan interfered with the ball and the person was ejected from the ballpark, adding an ugly postscript to a frustrating night for the Yankees. The Rays still finished off the win and completed the best-of-five sweep, 3-0, leaving New York with one more reminder of how quickly a playoff game can swing on a single moment. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Just Got Hit With A Brutal Post-ALDS Question
The Yankees ALDS exit has already opened the door to the sort of uncomfortable postseason autopsy that follows this club when October ends early. David Ortiz weighed in on the loss to the Rays and pointed to something bigger than a bad series, saying the Yankees are missing the culture that used to help define their success. He framed it as a matter of clubhouse leadership and attention to detail, two things that once felt baked into the organization and now sound more like a standard the current group is trying to reclaim.
Alex Rodriguez added another layer to the discussion by highlighting the gap between New Yorks high payroll and Tampa Bays ability to keep winning with far less money. It is the kind of comparison that stings because it goes beyond one matchup and gets at the larger question hanging over the Yankees: if the resources are there, why does the on-field result still look so familiar in October? [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Volpe Gave Yankees A Spark Before A Play Fans Will Debate
Anthony Volpe got the Yankees moving in Game 3 after being inserted into the lineup, and he immediately made his presence felt by helping tie the game with a run scored on a double. For a club that needed a lift, his energy and aggressiveness were exactly the kind of spark Aaron Boone was looking for when he turned to him in a bigger spot.
Volpe then found himself at the center of the nights most talked-about play, driving a long fly ball that was impacted by fan interference and kept from becoming a potential home run. The umpires ruled that a run would score because of the interference, giving the Yankees an extra tally and leaving fans to sort through what they saw, what the call meant and how much it changed the game. [Read more 🡒]