KAY HOLDS THE YANKEES WATER WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR MISERABLE OFF-SEASON

Michael Kay has officially volunteered for the offseason hydration station. While Yankee fans are pacing the room, Kay is out here holding the team’s water bottle, explaining why actually this winter has been totally fine, thank you very much.

His defense of the Yankees’ inactivity is… something. According to Kay, the Yankees didn’t miss out on anyone this offseason because they simply didn’t want any of the players who signed elsewhere. Which is a fascinating argument if your goal is to lower expectations into the Earth’s mantle. The logic goes like this: if you pretend you never wanted to improve, then you technically didn’t fail to improve. Galaxy brain stuff.

But here’s the giant hole in Kay’s reasoning, and it’s the size of the 2026 roster: the Yankees have done absolutely nothing meaningful to make the team better. That’s the frustration. Not “oh no, we didn’t get that guy,” but rather, why does this organization seemingly not want to upgrade at all? Why did half the league improve while the Yankees stockpiled minor leaguers like canned goods for a long winter? Those are the questions we want answered.

And that leads to the bigger, far more uncomfortable question Kay conveniently sidesteps: why didn’t the Yankees want any of these players? Are we supposed to believe that every impact free agent was suddenly beneath the Yankees’ interest? That the front office collectively decided, “No thanks, we’re good with vibes and non-roster invites”?

What makes it worse is the complete lack of transparency. Where are the press conferences? Where is the vision? All we ever get is an October soundbite from Brian Cashman promising an “aggressive” offseason, followed by January rolling around with… a flurry of minor league signings and some hopeful shrugging. And of course, the most recent Boone sound bite where he says he wants to win a championship. Well, no shit.  Go do it, we've been waiting.  

And let’s not dance around the obvious: Michael Kay is employed by YES. Of course he’s not going to torch the organization. He can’t. That check comes with invisible handcuffs. It’s a shame, too, because everyone knows Kay is smart enough—and passionate enough—to tell the truth if he were free to do so. I actually love the guy, but I don't love that he's defending a terrible off season. 

The bottom line? The Yankees haven’t won a damn thing under Aaron Boone. They haven’t won anything at all since 2009. Yes, they got to the World Series in 2024. Great. Hang the banner that says “Almost.” This is the New York Yankees, not a participation trophy factory.

And that’s exactly why Bleeding Yankee Blue exists. We’re not here to sugarcoat, spin, or hydrate the front office. When we’re mad, we say it. We’re not shackled. We’re not on the payroll. And we’re not pretending that a quiet offseason full of minor league deals is some master plan.

If that makes us loud, so be it. Someone has to say what everyone else is thinking.