THE YANKEES HAD A CHANCE TO TRADE VOLPE & THEY FAILED!

It certainly took a hot minute for this nugget to come out, but now that it has it is both fascinating and infuriating at the same time. Over the winter, the Yankees had the opportunity to trade Anthony Volpe and actually get a guy that could field and hit his weight for average....but they foolishly backed down.

You have to have a paid subscription to see this, but check it out HERE. It's certainly compelling. The Yankees and Red Sox were both talking to the Texas Rangers about Corey Seager. The Rangers were willing to make a move and are still in process of reworking their finances. They are still dealing with significant operating losses and are trying to reduce payroll and moving Seager would've helped. The Yankees need a shortstop upgrade, and the Rangers are looking to shed some payroll....on paper it looked like a match.

Internally, Marcus Semien and Seager were also not getting along with some clubhouse drama mentioned in reports. They helped the Rangers win the World Series but things behind the scenes had reached a breaking point. It ultimately led to the Rangers keeping Seager and trading to the Mets instead because the Yankees were not willing to meet the Rangers trade request. There a wide range of rumors out there about what and who the Rangers were looking for but it sounds like the Yankees were not willing to negotiate.

And so here we are.....still with awful Volpe. So now we know the Yankees are willing to acknowledge that Volpe is not the answer but they are hoping for a miracle and a deal to fall out of the sky that isn't going to happen. The are of the negotiation isn't there right now. So we'll be seeing Volpe soon.

And hoping that Volpe's conversation with Bucky Dent moves mountains and creates a divine miracle, read more HERE. It's year four of the Volpe experiment and instead of a capable shortstop like Seager we get VolpE the error machine. I'm really hoping that Jose Caballero plays so well that the Yankees just can't find room to play Volpe....here's hoping the baseball gods hear me.

Volpe just isn't the answer. He was "supposed to be" but it didn't work out. The Yankees are trying to fit a square peg into a round whole. The sooner they stop doing that and realize Volpe NOT playing is what is best for the team, the better chances we have at winning.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

VOLPE SPEAKS TO US FANS & IT DOESN'T CHANGE HOW I FEEL

 I’m just going to say it: I never bought into Anthony Volpe.

From day one, it felt like he was gift-wrapped, hyped to the moon, and presented to us as The Chosen One. And look, sometimes that works. Sometimes it’s Derek Jeter. Other times it’s a kid who mashed high school pitching and suddenly gets fast-tracked into the Bronx like the minor leagues are just a suggestion box.

The Yankees fell head over heels for Volpe's high school stat line. The spreadsheets purred. The projections sparkled. But reality? Reality is 95 mph with movement and a slider that disappears into another zip code. You can’t romance that with SAT scores and prep-school OPS.

Volpe looks like a talented young player who needed time — actual seasoning, not a crash course in front of 45,000 critics. Instead, we’ve been watching a development project unfold in real time at Yankee Stadium. Three years in, and we’re still talking about “growth.” In the Bronx. In a pennant race. That’s not how this usually works.

And now he’s addressing the boos.

“I know people really care. I want them to react,” Volpe told NJ.com’s Bob Klapisch. “Obviously, I want them to cheer for me, but for them not to do so say anything is not what I’d want, either. With the booing, I know I’d be doing the same thing if I was in their shoes. I want them to know I’m doing everything I can to be the best player possible.”

That’s fine. Professional. Measured. But effort is the minimum requirement, not the merit badge. Nobody doubts he’s trying. Fans just want production. This isn’t a science fair — it’s the American League East.

And here’s where it gets interesting.

While Volpe rehabs, the job goes to José Caballero. For the first time since Volpe arrived, shortstop isn’t penciled in with permanent ink. It’s open. Earn it.  If Caballero grabs that opportunity and hits another gear — plays with energy, makes the routine plays, chips in offensively — the Yankees have a real dilemma. You don’t yank a guy who’s producing just to honor a preseason brochure. Or do they?  

At Bleeding Yankee Blue, we’ve been banging the Caballero drum for months. He brings spark. He brings edge. He looks like he understands the assignment. With him out there, the Yankees resemble a team chasing down the AL East. With Volpe, too often it’s felt like they’re trudging through wet cement.

This isn’t personal. It’s performance. It's business.

For four years, shortstop production has been a question mark. If Caballero steps in and thrives, it won’t just be a feel-good story. It’ll be an indictment. It’ll suggest that Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone bet on projection instead of proof.

Volpe was supposed to be the answer.

Caballero is starting to look like the solution.  if Cab thrives and the Yankees still pull him out when Volpe is ready to return, there is definitely a political-favor game going on and my suspicions will be correct.

Play the guy who earns it, Cashman. Don't play favors.

DID JASSON DOMINGUEZ FALL VICTIM TO THE YANKEES OVERHYPE MACHINE?

The answer is yes, but please continue reading.

Why haven’t the New York Yankees won a World Series since 2009?

Because blaming the players alone is the laziest take in baseball—and also the wrong one.

Yes, players have to perform. If you wear a big-league uniform, excuses don’t come standard. But let’s stop pretending the Yankees’ long championship drought is just a matter of underachieving athletes. The common denominator here isn’t the clubhouse—it’s the front office. Specifically, the decision-makers who keep betting big on spreadsheets while ignoring the messy, inconvenient truth that baseball players are human beings.

We’ve seen this movie before. Bad casting, bad evaluations, and blind faith in numbers that look great in theory and crumble in reality. Joey Gallo wasn’t an accident. He was a front-office decision. And he wasn’t alone. These moves all trace back to the same source: Brian Cashman and the machine around him.

Back in 2007, Cashman famously said the Yankees had “three years” to rebuild the system and chase another title. Well, congratulations—the system got rebuilt. Multiple times. The championships? Still stuck in 2009, collecting dust next to the old DVDs.

What did thrive during that time was the hype machine.

Stephen Parello of Yanks Go Yard laid this out perfectly when he walked through the Yankees’ long history of prospect inflation. Remember when Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy were supposed to save the franchise? Or when Eric Duncan was untouchable? Then came Jesús Montero—anointed as the next superstar with mythical scouting grades and zero follow-through. Parello forgot to mention the killer B's in Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances and Andrew Brackman, but he didn't really need to, it's more of the same.

But then the Yankees did finally win in 2009—and notice how that happened: by opening the vault for CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and A.J. Burnett. Not hype. Not hope. Proven stars.

Fast-forward to now, and the pattern hasn’t changed—only the branding has. Today’s names are Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, and Jasson Domínguez. The jerseys sell. The slogans hit. The expectations explode.

Domínguez is the clearest example. A talented kid, no doubt—but the Yankees slapped “The Martian” on him and let the marketing department turn him into something he never asked to be. Even Joel Sherman called it out, noting that the nickname alone created absurd comparisons to Mickey Mantle—comparisons no other organization actually believed. That wasn’t scouting hype. That was New York hype.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth: hype is profitable in the Bronx and you are all being fooled. If 100 fans buy a jersey, the team wins financially before the player ever takes a swing. If the kid struggles? He’s the problem. If he succeeds? The front office pats itself on the back and pretends it was genius all along.

Volpe might be the most glaring dilemma yet. Three years in, tons of merchandise sold, and very little return on the field. Internally, the Yankees know it. Publicly, they’re crossing their fingers and hoping surgery magically turns projections into production. But spreadsheets don’t heal players. And humans don’t reboot like software.

This isn’t “self-hating fandom.” This is realism—the same realism Bleeding Yankee Blue has preached for years. The Yankees’ definition of success has shifted. Second place is acceptable. “Almost” is good enough. As long as the money flows, urgency doesn’t exist.

That’s the real rot. So yes, players deserve blame when they fail. But who puts them there? Who overhypes them? Who markets dreams instead of building winners?

The front office.

And until that changes—until the GM is gone, Boone is shown the door, and the organization remembers that banners matter more than branding—the Yankees will keep selling hope instead of championships.

Don’t fall for it. This isn’t a dynasty in waiting.

It’s a business model built on “close enough.”

INJURED OR NOT, THE YANKEES NEED TO MOVE AWAY FROM VOLPE

Let’s get honest, because the fairy tale has gone on long enough. Anthony Volpe didn’t earn his way to the Bronx — he was fast-tracked, rushed, and dropped into the majors because the New York Yankees had a gaping hole at shortstop and a marketing department itching for a savior. Local kid! Italian name! Future captain! It was a beautiful pitch. The results? Not so much. Injury or not, I'm done with this kid and you should be too.

Three seasons in, Volpe hasn’t moved the needle even a millimeter. He’s not exciting. He’s not dangerous. He’s not dependable. He’s the same flawed player he was on day one — except now we’ve wasted years pretending development happens by wishful thinking alone. He looks like a high school hitter trapped in a major league body, and that’s not his fault. That’s on the organization that shoved him into the spotlight and never gave him a safety net.

And let’s not gloss over this: Volpe has never been optioned to Triple-A. Not once. Now he’s coming off shoulder surgery and won’t be ready for Opening Day anyway. The optimistic take is that once he’s healthy, everything magically clicks. The realistic take? He’s posted a .660 OPS for three straight seasons. That’s not a slump — that’s who he is.

Yes, he’ll get a rehab assignment. He has to. But the Yankees should do more than that. They should finally admit the obvious.

Enter José Caballero, who is filling in at shortstop and quietly showing what competence looks like. Better range. Better instincts. Better baserunning. Better production. The Yankees, of course, keep calling him a “utility guy,” as if that label somehow disqualifies him from being the everyday shortstop. Newsflash: this team doesn’t need labels — it needs results.

I’ll even be generous and say Volpe’s shoulder likely impacted his defense. Fine. But his offensive issues predate the injury by years. His approach changes by the week: contact hitter today, launch-angle philosopher tomorrow. He spends weeks stepping in the bucket, wrecking his mechanics, and digging statistical holes he never fully climbs out of.

Caballero, meanwhile, has been the superior player by the numbers — elite defensive metrics, higher OBP, and real impact during the second half of 2025 while Volpe spiraled. And yet, we all know what’s coming: the moment Volpe is healthy, Caballero gets bumped, no matter how well he plays. That’s not competition. That’s favoritism disguised as “development.”

Plenty of fans are done with Volpe. I’m one of them.

To be fair, Joshua Diemert of SB Nation believes there’s still a version of Volpe who can be an above-average hitter — if he gets a real Triple-A run to fix his mechanics and his confidence. That’s a reasonable argument. But here’s the counter: why are the Yankees still operating on hope?

When players don’t perform, teams move on. They demote. They trade. They cut bait. For some reason, Volpe is untouchable — not because of production, but because of sunk cost and ego. The Yankees invested too much time selling this kid to admit they might be wrong.

Meanwhile, the facts are brutal: long stretches in 2025 with a .198 batting average and .255 OBP, declining defense, and zero payoff for the patience. Shoulder injury or not, the team still hasn’t won — and Volpe hasn’t justified the leash.

Since mid-2025, he’s been completely overmatched. Are we really supposed to believe everything fixes itself when he returns? Based on what? Blind faith?

For me, this experiment is over. We already have the upgrade standing right there.

His name is José Caballero.
Play him at shortstop.
And finally, mercifully — move on.

JUST WHO DOES BRIAN CASHMAN THINK HE IS KIDDING?

The Yankees have been dreaming of a rematch with the Dodgers at the World Series. Brian Cashman thinks running the same team back on the field this season is gonna get the job done. Now he is trying to gaslight all of us into thinking the Yankees are gonna be better than they were last season....

And no one sane believes that. Great, the band is back together once Gerrit Cole returns. The magic will be back and suddenly everything is supposed to change. Oh and having a full season of Cam Schlittler is a big upgrade IF he can stay healthy and productive but Cashman is all in on this team. He's as stupid and delusional as ever and wants us to join him in delusion land. "We all understand in the postseason, you've got to bring your best baseball every series and if you don't, you're going home. It doesn't mean we weren't capable of great things. We just didn't get the job done in that time frame against the Toronto Blue Jays," Cashman said HERE.

And naturally Aaron Boone is his parrot and feels the same way. "At the end of last year, in so many ways, it's as good as I felt about our team heading into the postseason in the years I've been here," Boone said. "Obviously, we got beat up in the division round. It didn't go our way. That doesn't mean it's not gonna go our way the next time. We think we’re really good. That doesn’t mean we’re gonna win 94 games again. It doesn't mean we're gonna win 88. But we think we have the pieces." 

Obviously both of these bozos believe we are so good we didn't need to make any improvements. We can just run the same team back out there and do it all again but win this time. Never mind that the rest of the division has made improvements and is stronger on paper. We can stay the same and maybe win 94 games again....or not. I'm leaning towards not because the left side of the infield is a disaster and Anthony Volpe is such a lost cause, but the Yankees will continue to foolishly stand behind him. The Yankees was us to believe he is the right piece? NOT EVEN CLOSE!

We are two weeks away from Spring training and Fangraphs have already made their predictions for this season and they disagree with the Yankees strategy, read more HERE. Not only do they think the Yankees are a LONGSHOT to win the division at 18.9%, but they only have a 41.1% chance at winning one of three wildcard spots. Hell, they even predict the Yankees to finish in FOURTH one game behind the Orioles. It hurts to read but I can't say I disagree.

I want to see this team get back to the World Series and win but we couldn't beat the Blue Jays last season. They owned us in the regular season so losing to them in the postseason wasn't a surprise to anyone with a brain....so of course that excludes Cashman and Baboonie. The Blue Jays have made improvements over the winter, so unless they regress A LOT and the Red Sox and Orioles massively underperform Yankee fans should be ready for a long and frustrating season.

These clowns need to stop gaslighting us. I'm sick of it!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

REPORT: THE YANKEES SIGNED A 13-YEAR-OLD

Who the hell is in charge of this ridiculous team?

If this story is actually true, then congratulations to the New York Yankees front office: you’ve officially chased me off the bandwagon. I’m done pretending this is a serious organization run by serious adults.

We just sat through an entire offseason where the Yankees refused to sign a proven Major League player — you know, someone with an actual résumé — because they were allegedly being “smart” and “responsible” with their money. No reckless deals. No foolish spending. Very noble. Very forward-thinking. Very “trust us.”

And then — when fans finally snapped because this team made zero meaningful moves to win in 2026 — the Yankees responded by signing a 13-year-old.

Yes. Thirteen.

Middle school. Book reports. Growth spurts. Algebra homework.

That’s the plan.

This franchise, worth billions, with championship expectations, has decided the solution is to gamble seven million dollars on a kid who won’t be legally old enough to rent a car until roughly the time they hope he might help them win. They’re not trying to win now. They’re not even pretending to. The Yankees are aiming for relevance eight to ten years from now based on a guess. A guess about a teenager.

For the love of God, you can’t even project how a 13-year-old will play next year, let alone in eight.

According to Wilbur Sanchez, an MLB analyst who covers international prospects, the Yankees have reached a pre-agreement with Albert Mejías, a Venezuelan prospect from the 2030 class, for a record-setting $7 million bonus. Sanchez calls him “the best player in the history of the international market” and claims he could play professional baseball right now.

Right. Sure. And Anthony Volpe is “elite,” according to Aaron Boone — despite never playing college ball, being rushed through the minors, and routinely sucking the oxygen out of the lineup. Forgive me if I no longer treat Yankee scouting hype like gospel.

This isn’t confidence. It’s delusion.

History screams at us that this stuff goes wrong all the time. The Giants once gave Lucius Fox $6 million as a teenage shortstop. He played ten Major League games. Ten. Injuries wrecked him, and he became a career minor leaguer.

And Yankees fans should know this better than anyone. Remember Brien Taylor? Number one overall pick. Record bonus. High school phenom. Untouchable. Until one fight ruined his shoulder and his career evaporated. Gone. Just like that.

That’s the point: money doesn’t just “not matter.” It complicates everything. Injuries happen. Bodies change. Life happens. Kids grow up. Seven million dollars doesn’t come with a crystal ball.

I’m not saying this kid won’t work out. I’m saying anything can happen between 13 years old and the Major Leagues — and betting the franchise’s direction on that timeline while ignoring the present is organizational malpractice.

The deal is stupid. The logic is broken. The priorities are upside down.

The Yankees didn’t fail to improve because they couldn’t. They failed because they chose not to — and then had the audacity to sell this as some master plan. This team is making the wrong moves, over and over, with no urgency, no accountability, and apparently no one watching.

That’s what bothers me most.

Not the kid.
Not the money.
But the unmistakable feeling that the people running this franchise have completely lost the plot — and no one is being fired for it.

I'm over the Yankees front office. They are morons and not even Michael Kay, the Yankees apologist, can defend this.

EVEN THE DIAMONDBACKS ARE MAKING BIGGER MOVES THAN THE YANKEES!

I never thought I would live in a world where the Diamondbacks make splashier moves than the Yankees. Welcome to the new world I guess. It's like I stepped into the Twilight Zone.

If you didn't know....I no longer live in New York. Now I live in Arizona where the sports world is bleak. We no longer have a hockey team (they sucked anyways), the Suns choke every year, and the Cardinals are just unwatchable and Kyler Murray is a joke. Hell, ASU football has more of a following. The Diamondbacks are the pride and joy of this state....and historically speaking that is pretty sad.

But as of yesterday, Diamondback fans are celebrating like it is 2001 all over again. The Diamondbacks traded for Nolan Arenado in exchange for minor leaguer Jack Martinez and cash. The Cardinals are in the middle of a major rebuild but three years ago a salary dump moving Arenado was a fantasy wish for other teams. He was a National League MVP finalist with elite defense. His offense has slipped steadily since then and the Cardinals finally moved him. Arenado is due $42 million over two years but the Rockies are on the hook for $5MM of that sum. Arizona is on the hook for $5 million this season and $6 million next year making it "easier" for the Cardinals to eat the rest of the money owed.

With that, Diamondbacks fans are feeling good about themselves. I heard about it all day at work, the jabs just kept coming. 

"Hey where is your GM? It's Brian Cashman, right? He must be at school learning how to become a General Manager."

"Did you guys sell your team? It's like the Yankees don't exist anymore! It's all about the Blue Jays now."

"We have a bigger budget than the Yankees do. You guys go bankrupt or something?"

"Watch Cody Bellinger is gonna be a DODGER again and then you will be crying."

"Hey I bet we can teach Arenado to play a better shortstop than Anthony Volpe!"

The sad part is I think they COULD teach Arenado to be a better shortstop than Volpe. That bar isn't set very high. Arenado may not be what he once was but he's no worse than the Yankees dumpster dive specials they have acquired. Cashman is clipping coupons and playing chicken with Scott Boras and Cody. That's our winter, and soon to be a laughable season when the Yankees put a weak lineup on the field and the Blue Jays walk all over the Yankees again.

It's worth mentioning that Dbacks fans are also laughing about adding Jonathan Loaisiga. The former Yankee turned Dback on a minor league deal with an invite to Spring Training doesn't hurt my feelings but...whatever helps them sleep at night I guess. They can believe I am sad about that along with the rest of Yankeeland. Do we need relievers? Sure we do. Do we need Loaisiga? Not exactly.....but Dbacks fans don't (and can't) understand that.

It's a pretty dark day when the lowly Diamondbacks are making more moves then the Yankees. It's quite the fall from grace. The Yankee identity that once was....is no more unless the Yankees pull their heads out of their asses and prioritize building a REAL roster that can win again.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

AN UNSERIOUS FRANCHISE WITH A WHOLE LOT OF NOTHING

It’s honestly wild watching the Yankee sports-writer industrial complex finally arrive at a place some of us have been yelling about since October. Welcome. I saved you a seat.

See, I don’t just think about right now. I think about what now does to later. Every move — or non-move — has a ripple effect. Do something today, you shape tomorrow. Do nothing today, and tomorrow shows up angry, impatient, and holding receipts. Doing nothing and assuming it’ll all magically work out is basically rolling dice in a casino and calling it “strategy.” Baseball offseasons are not supposed to be games of chance. They’re supposed to be statements of intent.

And right now, the Yankees are making a statement — just not the one you want. This is no longer a serious franchise. It’s not a bold one. It’s barely a competitive one.

You can listen to what Michael Kay chirped last week — that the Yankees’ offseason is totally fine because the players who signed elsewhere “weren’t guys they wanted anyway.” That’s the line that makes my blood boil. Why weren’t they wanted? Why is upgrading the roster suddenly optional? Why is ambition treated like a luxury item? By the way Kay, the Yankees aren't better because of that decision.  Ridiculous. Your time is up.

The most baffling move of all was extending a qualifying offer to Trent Grisham — the same Trent Grisham the Yankees practically tried to smuggle off the roster the year before. Sure, last season worked out better than expected. Fine. Golf clap. But there are better players available. And while I admire taking a calculated risk once in a while, this entire offseason has been one long shrug.

Because let’s be clear about what this team actually needs: pitching. A long-term deal for Cody Bellinger. And — say it louder — a new shortstop who can field and hit. That’s not greedy. That’s basic roster construction.

Instead, the Yankees appear content marching into the season with Max Fried, Luis Gil, Will Warren, and Cam Schlittler, fingers crossed like it’s a middle school science fair. They’re assuming Cam will be stellar again. They’re assuming Gerrit Cole comes back and immediately turns into Cy Young Gerrit Cole. They’re assuming Carlos Rodón — fresh off injury — suddenly becomes reliable regularly.

And Rodón, especially, is the ultimate mystery box. Sometimes you get dominance. Sometimes you get five runs in the second inning and a thousand-yard stare. Now he’s coming off an injury, and I’m supposed to believe this is the moment everything clicks? Based on what — vibes?

That’s how we will end up in early June in 2026, sitting in third place, with the same cast as last year and a bullpen of minor leaguers Brian Cashman can shuffle in like spare parts. Do you see the pattern yet? Because I’ve been screaming about it for months, and now — finally — everyone else is catching up.

Even Empire Sports Media, whom I respect, spelled it out plainly:

“The harsh reality of medical science and aging curves suggests the Yankees might be setting themselves up for a significant disappointment. While Cole’s work ethic is legendary, physiology is undefeated, and expecting a 35-year-old pitcher to immediately recapture Cy Young form after reconstructive elbow surgery is not just optimistic—it is dangerous.”

Exactly. One thousand percent correct.

The Yankees treat players like machines. They hoard data, worship spreadsheets, and completely ignore the human element — the soreness, the recovery, the mental grind of coming back from injury. A spreadsheet doesn’t tell you how Gerrit Cole feels when he wakes up. It doesn’t tell you what his elbow says in April. And the truth is uncomfortable, but unavoidable: we don’t know if Cole ever returns to Cy Young form. Pretending otherwise is reckless.

AIBat put it bluntly too:

“The pressure is on the Yankees management to find solutions that strengthen the team… With the start of the season drawing closer, time is of the essence.”

Yes, it’s obvious. And yes, it still apparently needs to be said. The Yankees haven’t made a splash this offseason. They haven’t even made a puddle. It’s embarrassing.

Brian Cashman talked about being “aggressive.” That was a lie. Full stop. And while I genuinely like some of the players on this roster, nobody wants a rerun of 2025 — close enough to dream, far enough to fail. Sometimes teams need a shakeup. Sometimes complacency is the real enemy.

Running it back with the same guys invites stagnation. Volpe and Wells look overmatched. Judge is aging in real time. Can we please help this man win a championship before the window slams shut? And Max Fried? He’s stranded on an island, surrounded by question marks and medical reports.

So if this sounds like panic, it’s not. It’s disappointment. Yankee fans aren’t unreasonable — they’re exhausted. They want a team that actually tries to win, not one that hides behind models and probabilities and hopes the humans behave like robots.

This isn’t how you go into 2026.
The Yankees need to be better.
That’s it.

PAUL DEJONG IS THE YANKEES NEWEST BAND-AID SIGNING!

Okay, seriously what the HELL are we doing? The Blue Jays are out signing shiny new toys to their roster and we get the crappy insurance or depth piece scrubs that no one wants. This is what Brian Cashman can deliver with Hal Steinbrenner's penny budget.

Welcome to our new reality. While our division rivals get stronger, we just sit on our hands because Hal doesn't want to open his piggy bank. The latest proof is Paul DeJong as a freaking New York Yankee, yippee! You can read more HERE.

Again, Yippee! While we have dreamt of getting rid of Anthony Volpe, and would love to see it happen Cashman and company gives us another freaking scrub to the party. Hal said having a $300 million dollar payroll was "not sustainable" and that it would be ideal for payroll to go down, but that did NOT mean that was guaranteed to happen. The Yankees were still going to be in on big names....right.

We've all been gaslit. At this point, Tatsuya Imai signed with the cheating Houston ASSTROS, Cody Bellinger is still out there because the Yankees are playing hardball. We still need another starter and oh yeah....our bullpen is absolute crap! This season is going to be UGLY if the offseason continues like this.

Look, I know DeJong is just depth, especially while Volpe is out for the beginning of the season. DeJong is just a minor league signing with an invite to Spring Training that likely won't make the opening day roster but I am sick and tired of these lackluster depth pieces that are utter crap. I'm not saying depth isn't good....but the Yankees need to go out there and chase after the difference makers also and we aren't!

We aren't acting like the New York Yankees. This is not the picture of a hungry team trying to get back to a championship after 16 years! Now let's just add a bunch of crap depth pieces and make that bench even more crowded as we search for lightning in a bottle in hopes to complete with real powerhouse teams. It's STUPID! Two of the Yankees four bench spots are theoretically filled with Amed Rosario and J.C. Escarra so that leaves DeJong to compete with Oswaldo Cabrera, Jorbit Vivas, and Braden Shewmake for those last two spots. What a joke.

I'm beyond frustrated. I'm sick of the Yankees operating like the Athletics right now. If you want to win you have to make those big moves, also. I'm not saying make ALL of them, make strategic ones. The Yankees aren't making any and I am tired of biting my tongue!

This isn't a competitive team....this is bottom feeder all thanks to clowns Cashman and Hal!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

THE BLUE JAYS CONTINUE TO HAVE A COMPETITIVE OFF SEASON

Where's Brian Cashman?

The Blue Jays are out here acting like it’s an actual offseason. The Yankees, meanwhile, are sitting by the phone waiting for Cody Bellinger to “decide,” which is another way of saying they’ve chosen timidity over urgency. This is not an aggressive winter. This is a franchise crouched behind corporate talking points, already rehearsing the press release: “We just couldn’t find a fit, but don’t worry—we really like our team.”

And sure, maybe they do like their team. The problem is fans don't. We want improvement.

The Yankees have not gone hard for impact bats. They haven’t meaningfully upgraded the defense. They haven’t addressed the rotation with any seriousness. And the bullpen? It didn’t just spring a leak—it flat-out evaporated. Whatever sense of stability fans are clinging to is built on vibes and optimism, not roster reality. This team is far shakier than it wants you to believe.

Contrast that with Toronto, who clearly understood the assignment. The Blue Jays swooped in and signed Japanese corner infielder Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year, $60 million deal with roughly 24 hours left in his posting window. No dithering. Just action. That move followed the additions of Dylan Cease and Tyler Rogers, and they’re still actively working to retain Bo Bichette. That’s three real swings taken by a team that decided being competitive wasn’t optional.

Now here’s the obvious thought the Yankees seem allergic to: Bo Bichette should be the target in my opinion.

If the goal is to win baseball games—and not just win press conferences—Bichette makes too much sense to ignore. He’s a superior offensive player, a proven performer under pressure, and a hitter who actually puts the ball in play. The Yankees’ lineup has been dragged for years over strikeouts and empty at-bats, and rightfully so. Bichette’s 14.5% strikeout rate in 2025 and elite contact profile (83rd percentile in whiff rate) would instantly lengthen the lineup and reduce the black holes that currently define it. This is everything Anthony Volpe is not at the plate, and pretending otherwise doesn’t make the math work.

And even if you fix shortstop, the rotation is also still waving red flags. Gerrit Cole missed all of 2025 after Tommy John surgery and isn’t expected back until May or June of 2026—at best. Carlos Rodón required an October procedure to remove loose bodies and a bone spur from his elbow and is likely to miss Opening Day, with a hopeful return sometime in late April or early May. That’s not a foundation. That’s crossed fingers.

Which is why Zac Gallen should be firmly on the Yankees’ radar. Yes, 2025 was a down year. But he’s a former Cy Young finalist with durability, innings, and upside—exactly the kind of buy-low, high-reward arm serious teams pursue. There were legitimate rumors linking him to the Cubs, and if the Yankees sit this one out too, it’ll be another self-inflicted wound. Passing on Gallen would be organizational malpractice disguised as prudence.

And that’s really the point of all this. The Yankees have done nothing to support this roster, nothing to elevate it, and nothing to make Spring Training feel like the start of something dangerous. It’s sad. Especially when you look north of the border and see a team that clearly understands how to compete.

The Blue Jays are proactive. They’re decisive. They’re acting like contention matters.

The Yankees? They’re waiting on Bellinger and calling it a strategy. Playing defense. Hoping nothing goes wrong. That’s not how serious franchises behave.

And right now, serious is the last word anyone should use to describe the New York Yankees.

My opinion of course.

THE BOY CROWNED KING TOO EARLY

You can hear it every time the Yankees talk about Anthony Volpe. The optimism. The breathless faith. The rehearsed lines. The insistence that what you’re seeing with your own eyes is somehow wrong. Because if you really believed the numbers, the tape, and the results, you wouldn’t still be trying to sell Anthony Volpe as a franchise shortstop. Yet here we are.

Volpe talked last season “sleepless nights” and “work to be done.” Fair enough. Accountability is good. Unfortunately, it came paired with the usual organizational safety net: excuses, patience, and blind belief.  Then came the MRI. A torn left labrum requiring surgery. And just like that, for the first time in four seasons, Anthony Volpe will not be the Yankees’ Opening Day shortstop... which, I'm not gonna lie, I am thrilled about.  Why?

Let’s stop pretending this is complicated. Through 1,886 major league plate appearances, Volpe owns a .662 OPS.  Offense that has been 16 percent below league average. 19 errors in 2025 alone. That’s not a slump. That’s a résumé.

This isn’t a small sample. This isn’t “he’s figuring it out.” This is who he has been for three seasons. The “upside” Yankees fans keep being promised remains theoretical, while the production has been painfully real. The math simply isn’t mathing. The Yankees crowned his kid King way too early.

The organization keeps talking about him like he’s on the verge of becoming something special—as if one magical adjustment is going to turn a below-average bat into a cornerstone.  No one peddles this garbage harder than Aaron Boone.

Boone will tell you Volpe is “working through it.”
Boone will tell you he’s “almost there.”
Boone will tell you the final two months were “really good,” even when they objectively weren’t.

At one point, during the height of Volpe’s struggles last year, Boone was asked about him in a press conference and literally mouthed the words “he’s f’in elite” to Meredith Marakovits.

Elite.

 
That moment should’ve stunned everyone—and not because it was bold, but because it was detached from reality. The eye test alone screamed otherwise. Boone wasn’t managing; he was campaigning.

This is what Boone does. He doesn’t evaluate players—he protects narratives handed down by the front office. If Brian Cashman says Volpe is the guy, Boone will repeat it until the words lose all meaning. He’s not managing results. He’s managing optics. And let's be honest, high school stardom doesn't cash MLB checks.  Volpe’s legend has always leaned heavily on his past. The local kid. The shortstop dreams. The high school dominance. The “perfect Yankee.”

But high school numbers don’t win games in the Bronx.  New York fans, don’t care what you were at 17. We care what you are right now. And right now, Volpe looks overwhelmed by the pressure, the expectations, and the reality that the major leagues separate potential from performance. but don't worry, the Yankees will blame it on the bum shoulder.  An injury that popped up in the late of the season and was suggested it started in May. IN MAY? What are the Yankees hiding. We lost a lot of winnable games because this kid was hurt.  We are clearly not a serious franchise.

For Volpe, pressure showed up everywhere: the errors, the tentative at-bats, the inability to adjust when pitchers stopped challenging him. The stage got bigger. He didn’t. And instead of letting him sink or swim honestly, the Yankees wrapped him in bubble wrap made of excuses down the stretch.

But don't worry, Brian Cashman insists he still believes “everything they felt before the surgery.” He points to Trent Grisham as proof that development paths are unpredictable. That’s fine—once. But let's also not forget that the Yankees hid Grisham in 2024 and only played him in 2025 because they needed him... and he happened to work out.

Look, how many times can you say that Volpe is the answer before it becomes organizational denial? At some point, belief without evidence isn’t confidence—it’s stubbornness. And worse, it’s costing the team games. The irony is thick. Cashman himself said it best when he noted that “the game separates the men from the boys.”

It already has.

José Caballero is faster.
José Caballero is more athletic.
José Caballero gets on base.
José Caballero scores runs.

Caballero looks like a major leaguer who understands the moment. Volpe still looks like a player being protected from it. The Yankees don’t need another promise. They need production. They don’t need another press conference quote. They need accountability. And they don’t need to keep forcing Anthony Volpe into a role he hasn’t earned just to justify a scouting decision they refuse to admit might’ve been wrong. This isn’t personal. It’s baseball. Fans don't want Volpe as the starting shortstop... it's pretty simple.

When you’re bad, it’s better to know it than to pretend it isn’t happening. That’s how you improve. That’s how you grow. That’s how you stop embarrassing yourself nightly with empty optimism.

I want to be wrong about Volpe. Every fan does. But the tighter the Yankees cling to him, the stranger this whole thing feels. Development doesn’t look like this. Confidence doesn’t sound like this. And superstardom? It sure as hell doesn’t need this many excuses.

The math isn’t mathing. The tape isn’t lying. And the game and fans have already made their choice as far as I'm concerned.

The Yankees just refuse to listen... and that's on them.

ALEX RODRIGUEZ JUST CALLED OUT THE YANKEES...

And the example he gave? Anthony Volpe.

Yup, here we go again, because you already know how much I can’t stand Anthony Volpe being cemented at shortstop.

First of all, he never should’ve been there to begin with. And yeah, I’m going to say what everyone dances around: it feels like someone in the Yankees’ scouting department knew his dad, made a few friendly phone calls, and suddenly this kid was pushed to the front of the line. Let me be crystal clear before anyone loses their mind — this is just my opinion. I have no proof. No sources. Zero evidence. Just a gut feeling.

Because otherwise, none of this makes sense. How does a guy who didn’t exactly dominate the minor leagues become the Yankees’ unquestioned shortstop? Not compete for it — own it. Like, it was handed to him. He wasn’t some can’t-miss MiLB monster. Yet here we are pretending this was inevitable.

And now? Now Alex Rodriguez is saying it out loud — and for once, he’s dead right.

In a WFAN Sports Radio interview, A-Rod called out Anthony Volpe as a symptom of the Yankees’ completely broken hitting philosophy. And he didn’t sugarcoat it.

“The organization has fallen in love with him, but at some point the numbers don’t lie, right?” Rodriguez said.

Then came the part the Yankees hate most — the receipts.

“You have 167 strikeouts [in 2023], 156 [in 2024] and 150 [in 2025], and here’s a young man that the biggest way he can impact winning is with his number one tool: his legs.”

Exactly. Speed is supposed to be the selling point. Pressure. Chaos. Movement.

Instead?

“Here’s a young man who has over 50 stolen bases in the minor leagues, he stole 18 last year, and it’s hard to impact winning when you’re striking out 150 times and you’re hitting .212.”

That’s not hate — that’s math. And math doesn’t care about prospect rankings or feel-good stories.

Rodriguez didn’t stop there. He widened the lens and dropped the real indictment.

“So I think if you zoom out, it’s an organization hitting philosophy that is absolutely broken, and until they fix it, I don’t think they win big.”

That’s the whole thing, right there. This isn’t just about Volpe. It’s about an organization that falls in love with its own narratives and refuses to adjust when reality punches back.

But here’s where I’ll go even further than A-Rod: they’re not just using Volpe wrong — New York is wrong for Volpe. This city doesn’t have patience for on-the-job development, and the Yankees keep trying to turn shortstop into a training seminar. Boone coddles him nightly, mistakes get explained away, and the standard keeps sliding.

It’s sad. It’s embarrassing. And it’s wasting time.

Want a real fix? Trade him. Miami needs bats. The Yankees need stability. Give me Sandy Alcantara and take the experiment with you. We don’t need or want Anthony Volpe. What we need are players who already know how to play the game — not guys learning it under the brightest lights in sports.

And don’t worry, Brian Cashman will emerge in a few days to explain how Alex Rodriguez “doesn’t understand the inner workings of the Yankees’ front office.” He’ll be wrong. Again.

This is no longer a serious franchise. If you don’t believe me, look at what they’ve collected over the past few weeks. Not one immediate impact player. Not one difference-maker. Just more bodies for a roster that desperately needs solutions.

We don’t need a better minor league system.
We need a competitive major league team.

And whether people like it or not, Anthony Volpe has become the perfect example of everything the Yankees are getting wrong.

That's it.  Call me a hater, and you tell me where I am really wrong here. I'm not. Sorry.

MAYBE CASHMAN SHOULD HAVE SIGNED SEAGER FOUR YEARS AGO

Always dragging his feet.

The sudden offseason “buzz” about Corey Seager possibly landing in the Bronx this winter would be funny if it weren’t so painfully on brand. Because here’s the part everyone conveniently forgets: the Yankees had a clean, wide-open runway to get Seager four years ago. No smoke. No mirrors. No trade gymnastics. Just money, intent, and a front office willing to act. Instead, Brian Cashman did what Brian Cashman always does — absolutely nothing.

That inaction handed us Anthony Volpe as the long-term answer at shortstop, a decision that has aged like unrefrigerated milk. In fact, it now belongs in the Yankees Hall of Infamy right next to trading Jay Buhner for spare parts. Different era, same regret, same front office DNA. Stupid.

Now we’re supposed to believe the Yankees are calling the Rangers to see if Corey Seager might be available? Calling. Not acquiring. Not prying loose. Calling. Is Cashman dumb? Because those appear to be the two remaining options. This is what desperation looks like when it’s four years late and wearing a suit.

Sure, an upgrade over Volpe in 2026 would be a lovely gift. A miracle, even. But Seager isn’t that gift. He’s a locked door the Yankees don’t have the keys to — and never bothered to copy when the locksmith was standing right in front of them.

Yanks Go Yard summed it up perfectly, noting:

“Even if Brian Cashman and Co. were going all-in on Seager right now, it sounds like the Yankees would be running into a rock-solid barrier in the form of Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young. ‘We are not shopping Corey Seager, I want to make that very clear,’ Young said.”

Alrighty then. Message received. Translation: You had your chance. You blew it. Stop calling.

So let’s recap what we know. The Rangers aren’t moving Seager. Cashman is suddenly desperate to upgrade shortstop. He should have signed Seager four years ago. And the Yankees continue to operate with the least aggressive front office imaginable in a sport where aggression is mandatory if you want to win. They never jump when elite players are available — only after those players turn into franchise cornerstones somewhere else. Then comes the regret tour.

But hey, don’t panic — we got Miguel Palma, right?

Here’s the one sliver of actual good news, though, if you’re counting down the days until the Volpe era mercifully ends. According to Randy Miller of NJ.com:

“(Volpe) may only have one more season to keep his job long-term because George Lombard Jr., the organization’s No. 1 prospect, is a shortstop who figures to reach Triple-A at some point next season after playing for High-A Hudson Valley and Double-A Somerset in 2025.”

Thank God. Because let’s stop pretending this season was about a sore shoulder. I don’t buy that for a second. What we saw was the collapse of hype meeting reality. Volpe wasn’t injured in my opinion — he was exposed. And now the Yankees are doing what they always do after a catastrophic decision: rewriting the narrative to avoid admitting they screwed it up.

Brian Cashman isn’t unlucky. He’s stale. He’s complacent. And in a league where the Yankees need to be ruthless, fearless, and aggressive to matter again, he’s still operating like it’s 2009 and patience is a strategy. It isn’t. It’s just another excuse — four years too late.