DO THE YANKEES HAVE A CHANCE TO SNAG TARIK SKUBAL?

Everyone is watching, waiting and wondering what the Detroit Tigers are going to do this summer, especially me. The Tigers are at the bottom of the AL Central which means the Tigers might be ready to move Tarik Skubal soon.

This season feels like it is moving faster than normal. Summer is here which means in a couple of months the trade deadline will be here. Teams will be looking to bolster their rosters for a postseason run and the Tigers and Skubal could be parting ways soon and another team could get a VERY good, shiny new rotation piece. 

"It's trending that way. Talking with people around the game, that is their feeling," Rosenthal said when asking if a Skubal trade on Saturday’s MLB on FOX pregame show was realistic. "The outlook right now is rather bleak, and honestly, it's difficult to imagine them making up a 14-game under .500 deficit, getting back to .500, and then contending even in a weak American League. So the question becomes, 'Will Skubal be healthy enough?' It's what we don't know." Read more HERE.

That is a wild card, but if he is what an amazing instant upgrade. Before Skubal hit the Injured List he had a 2.70 ERA on a terrible Tigers team that doesn't score a lot of runs. It would be fun to watch what he could do on a team with a more potent offense. It would be even nicer to have Skubal plug into a rotation with Max Fried and Gerrit Cole. But is THAT realistic?

Probably not for more than one reason. I'm sure Brian Cashman will be listening like he always does but if Fried's elbow injury is just a contusion and he comes back healthy the Yankees have other strong pieces like Cam Schlittler, Carlos Rodon and progressing Will Warren. The Yankees have some strong pieces in the rotation, there wouldn't be a great need to trade top prospects to get a short rental for Skubal. So there's reason number one.

When you look at the Yankees trade chips, they have some pieces but not ones they are willing to part with to get the Tigers to send us Skubal. If we could dangle Spencer Jones and they would bite that would be one thing but Detroit is going to want a lot more than Jones and that likely starts with George Lombard Jr. or Carlos Lagrange.

 The Yankees don't want to part with Lombard Jr at all, let alone for a short term rental. There are other teams out there with a deeper pool of top prospects that will not only have more to offer the Tigers, but will also be willing to deal them and the first team that comes to mind should be no surprise....the damn Dodgers. They have more top ranked prospects than any team and are highly motivated to do what it takes to complete a dynasty run for another championship. It could happen, but I am not sleeping on the Cubs or the Padres either.

So, there it is. I sit here and drool thinking about Skubal but realistically have to tell myself he's an unrealistic move for the Yankees. A girl can dream, I guess.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

TONY CLARK IS OUT! NOW WHAT?

The upcoming Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) was already going to be dramatic....and now it's going to be extra dramatic. Everyone get ready to grab your popcorn, this one is going to be a doozy.

Players just reported to spring training in Arizona and Florida, so as focused as we are on a new season we are also questioning what is going to happen in nine months when the existing agreement expires? That's very much in the air now that Tony Clark the MLB Players Association Director is resigning, read more HERE. As Clark leaves, baseball is getting ready for it's most critical labor negotiation in years....and he won't be around to fight it.

This was going to be a very tough fight already, and now without Clark it gets harder. He's been instrumental to the players union. He's accomplished a lot over the last 13 years, including the steady increase in salaries to MLB players. He has been the most consistent and coherent voice for the players, and now the union will need to find a new voice.

The timing of this couldn't be worse. Without Clark, the union will fill this role soon. They will look to stabilize the union and get ready for what is to come over the winter. According to MLBtraderumors HERE, the next director could be Bruce Meyer who is currently the union's lead negotiator. He helped Tarik Skubal win his arbitration case against the Tigers and has been gaining support among the players to take over as the new director.

The last CBA negotiation was volatile enough that it resulted in a 99-day lockout led by commissioner Rob Manfred and the owners. This lockout will be even worse. Several owners are advocating for a salary cap, which has been a non-starter for Clark in the past. Now he isn't here to fight that battle, so right now owners have the upper hand. Meyer has also shared the same view as Clark, so if he does become the new director, it will be interesting to see if he is as successful in the role as Clark was.

The new CBA is going to have new player representation.....and it's going to be a very bumpy (and probably long) ride. I hope this lockout won't be as long as I think it will be, but I don't think we are talking about 99 days on this one. Stay tuned....

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

CASHMAN CAN'T WALK & CHEW GUM AT THE SAME TIME

It’s honestly astounding how aggressively unaggressive the Yankees’ front office has become. Once upon a time, this franchise hunted stars. Now, under the ever-comfortable watch of Brian Cashman and his circle of yes-men, they spent an entire offseason dumpster-diving for minor leaguers while dragging their feet on the one obvious move that mattered: getting Cody Bellinger back.

To be fair—credit where it’s due—they finally landed their big fish, and the news broke yesterday. Great. Applause. But here’s the problem: it never should have taken this long. The foot-dragging, the posturing, the “we’re totally fine as-is” routine—it all reeks of either penny-pinching or paralysis. Either the Yankees don’t want to spend money anymore, or Cashman has reached the stage of his career where multitasking is considered a hostile work environment. Neither option is comforting.

And while the Yankees sit on their hands, pitchers continue to come off the board. The latest? Freddy Peralta—now a New York Met. Let me be clear: I wasn’t pounding the table for Peralta. If anything, it felt like a potential Devin Williams 2.0 situation. I was cautious. Skeptical. But you know what was appealing? The idea that the Yankees might actually try to improve their team. That illusion, of course, vanished right on schedule.

Peralta is gone. The Mets acted. The Yankees watched. Again.

So now we’re left staring at a projected Opening Day rotation of Max Fried, Will Warren, Luis Gil, Cam Schlittler, and newly acquired Ryan Weathers. Intimidating? Only if you’re afraid of mediocrity. There’s no question the absence of another frontline starter will eventually grind Fried down and overwhelm rookie Schlittler. Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón remain shelved, and pretending otherwise is organizational malpractice. A power arm early in the season isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. The fact that this seems invisible in Yankeeland is borderline deranged.

Even Yankees insiders see the problem. Over at Yankees on SI, Mitchell Cocoran laid out the dwindling options—many of which have already been discussed on Bleeding Yankee Blue. He’s right to bring them up though. As Cocoran wrote:

“Luckily for the Yankees, there are still options, but they are becoming few and far between.”

Cocoran suggests that one idea gaining traction is a trade for Nationals lefty MacKenzie Gore, coming off a 2025 All-Star campaign with a 3.0 WAR, 185 strikeouts, and a 4.17 ERA. Another name floating around? Tarik Skubal—though even there, the Dodgers are reportedly lurking, because of course they are. According to Buster Olney, L.A. remains firmly in the mix.

And that’s the most disturbing part of all: the Yankees can no longer outmuscle—or even outmaneuver—the monster franchises. The Dodgers act. The Mets act. The Yankees issue statements.

This is the new Yankees brand: cheap, complacent, and painfully disengaged. Cashman responds to every question with a word salad about timing, fit, and how “trades are complicated.” No kidding. That’s the job. And right now, the job is screaming for a starting pitcher.

They needed one at the start of the offseason. They still need one now. Without Cole and Rodón, the pressure on Fried, Schlittler, and the rest of this thin rotation is enormous. One more power arm could be the difference between a playoff run and another October disappointment—maybe even the difference between a title and another wasted season.

Without it? This team will fall behind early. And if this is truly the plan, I’ll say it plainly: the Yankees will not win in 2026.

Sometimes common sense has to enter the room. Right now, it hasn’t. Cashman looks slow, detached, and completely unwilling to adapt. And honestly? I can’t stand it anymore.

CASHMAN WON'T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING TO IMPROVE THE YANKEES...

Cheap, cheap, cheap. 

If Brian Cashman were a bird, he’d be a bargain-bin parrot squawking “familiarity!” every offseason. The man treats the free-agent market like it’s a clearance rack at a yard sale: “Who can help the Yankees win—but only if they’re dented, dusty, or someone we already know so I don’t have to, you know… scout?”

Let’s be real: there is no master plan in Cashman’s office. There’s barely a Post-it note. And with Hal Steinbrenner clutching his checkbook like the Yankees are one bad quarter away from holding a bake sale, fans are stuck listening to the same tired sermon: “We’ll be competitive.”
Competitive with who? The Toledo Mud Hens?

We’ve got a shortstop who plays like a malfunctioning Roomba, two top starters rehabbing like full-time hospital residents, and Max Fried stranded on an island staring at the ocean like he’s trying to Morse-code for help. Meanwhile, the Yankees are out here praying Cam Schlittler is the next secret weapon—as if that’s a strategic plan and not blind optimism dressed in pinstripes.

And poor Aaron Judge. The man is aging like fine wine—except the Yankees are storing him in a paper bag under the sink. No rings, no support, just an MVP dragging around a roster held together with discounted duct tape. It’s the biggest waste of generational talent since someone let Mike Trout live in permanent baseball purgatory.

The Yankees franchise isn’t serious. It’s complacent. It’s hesitant. It’s allergic to pulling the trigger on actual stars. And fans? We’re not annoyed anymore—we’re exhausted. The Yankees keep kicking the can down the road, and at this point the can has more dents than their infield.

And now the latest nonsense? Cashman isn’t chasing Sandy Alcantara or Tarik Skubal. No. He’s poking around the idea of bringing back “Old Yankee Face” Michael King because—of course—he’s familiar, and he requires zero imagination.

MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch even laid out the parade of mediocrity: Trent Grisham accepting his qualifying offer, Tim Hill back, Ryan Yarbrough returning… the whole “Cashman Special Value Menu.” Not one superstar. Not one bold move. Just three guys who sound like they’d be great at assembling office furniture.

Hill? Solid. Grisham? Fine. Yarbrough? A science experiment Cashman thinks will make him look like a mastermind. Not one of them moves the needle—unless the needle is pointing to “meh.”

Then there’s King, the latest rumor. Had a nice season in San Diego, sure—3.10 ERA, 277 strikeouts, missed time but still solid. But San Diego is not the Bronx. Coming back to New York and repeating that isn’t a guarantee—it’s a coin flip, and Cashman loves a gamble if it lets him skip paying real money.

Meanwhile poor Max Fried is probably in his living room staring at the ceiling thinking, “How do I escape this roster of bubble gum, thumbtacks, and budget decisions?”

So here we are, careening toward the Winter Meetings, praying that Cashman finally makes a real splash. But we all know how this shakes out: some broken-down bargain pieces, a shrug at the podium, and the annual sermon: “The market was tough… we tried… but we really like our group.”

Yeah. We’ve heard it. We’ve lived it. We’re tired of it.

Cheap. Familiar. Not competitive.
Your 2025 New York Yankees, ladies and gentlemen.

Pathetic.

THE YANKEES NEED TO SNAG TARIK SKUBAL FROM THE TIGERS

There’s one pitcher out there who could wipe away the Yankees’ rotation headaches faster than a bottle of Advil: Tarik Skubal. And when someone like Jeff Passan raises an eyebrow and whispers, “Hey, this is actually doable if the Yankees feel like acting alive,” (I'm paraphrasing), you can only pray Brian Cashman isn’t off somewhere reorganizing his binder collection.

Passan even went so far as to say the Yankees have the juice to pull it off, noting that “New York’s got the upper-level pitching depth Detroit wishes it had.”

In other words: the Yankees can make this happen. The universe is teeing it up. Now we wait to see if Cashman actually swings.

If the Yankees believe they can lock up Skubal for the long haul, then yes—go ahead and throw open the farm-system vault. That’s the whole point of having prospects: eventually you trade some of them for someone who can actually help you win baseball games before the sun burns out. Passan even notes that Detroit isn’t clueless—they’re going to take the temperature of the market, because at some point they will have to move him.

As he puts it, “Teams aren’t about to cough up the moon if they can land a pitcher who’s three-quarters of Skubal at half the cost.” Translation: no one’s overpaying unless the alternatives dry up. Until then, the Tigers will sit back, sip their lemonade, and watch every GM squirm.

So who would the Yankees actually part with? That’s the million-dollar, sleep-depriving question. Jones and Lombard Jr.? Don’t even bother asking. Those guys are more off-limits than the good snacks in Aaron Judge’s locker. But everyone else? Well… if you want a Cy Young–stacking, high-octane, unhittable lefty who’s still young and under control, then yes—everyone else is basically wearing a price tag.

Skubal is the kind of pitcher who instantly transforms a rotation from “Yeah, maybe they can hang” to “We will dominate.” He throws hard, he misses bats, he has the metrics that make front offices swoon, and he owns hardware to prove he’s not a one-year magic trick. Add in Fried, Cole, Rodon, Cam? I mean, we just won the 2026 World Series on paper!

Sure, the trade cost will make your eyes water—but guess what? The Yankees actually have the pieces. And more importantly, they need to remember what it feels like to be hungry. Hungry to win. Hungry to dominate. Hungry to stop watching October baseball from the comfort of their couches.

If you listen to Passan—and honestly, the man knows things—this is the guy.

YANKEES HAVE A CHANGE OF HEART ABOUT SPENCER JONES - BUT IS IT TOO LATE?

This is going to be a trade deadline unlike any other in recent history. It's not going to be easy for any team to upgrade their roster. Why? It all comes down to supply and demand and the Yankees may not have enough chips to play the game this time.

Realistically, there are only five teams that have zero playoff contention right now. Only the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland A's, Chicago White Sox, Colorado White Sox and the Miami Marlins are out of the hunt, so that means lots of demand to improve rosters before July 30th but very little supply. That's not a good scenario for 25 other teams.

This is NOT a good scenario for teams looking to upgrade their rosters. The Yankees know they haven't been in this scenario for a while, so to be competitive they are changing their mind about Spencer Jones, read more HERE. He's been virtually untouchable until now as it should be. I've been saying the Yankees need to be ready to move Jones for the right pieces since before the season started, but I was more committed to this idea last week when we wrote IF THE YANKEES WANT TO "WIN NOW", THEN TRADE JONES AT THE RIGHT PRICE! Reality is, any trade with the Yankees starts with Jones.

So IF the Yankees are going to get a meaningful piece that improves this team the Yankees not only need to give away Jones, but others.....and that could be the hard part. The Yankees already gave up a lot over the winter just to get Juan Soto so the Yankees are in a disadvantage when it comes to other desirable pieces when you compare them to other teams, even division rivals.

I'm not gonna lie, I have been watching Tarik Skubal a lot, and could see him in pinstripes but so do many other teams. I'd be surprised if the Tigers decided to move him. They've said they would have to be completely overwhelmed to do it and it makes sense. Rumor has it, the Baltimore Orioles are very interested and are prepared to open their prospect pool to get him. Their prospect pool is definitely a lot deeper than the Yankees and they proved they weren't afraid to tap into it when they traded for Corbin Burnes. 

This trade deadline is going to look different. I think the Yankees waited too long to come to the realization that Jones isn't untouchable. The more he struggles in Double-A, the less he will bring back in a trade.

 There's not a lot out there to buy....and what is for sale is going to come at a premium. Trades will be very expensive this year folks.....buckle up.

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj