An optimistic view of Yankees' 2026 season before the deep dark thoughts set in

The New York Yankees' season begins on Wednesday as they open 2026 on Netflix against the San Francisco Giants. It's already here. The "run it back" Yankees are officially ready to avenge their ALDS loss to the division-rival Toronto Blue Jays.

Just kidding! Enough with the "run it back" criticism. We are excited about the dawn of a new baseball season. And guess what? There are a number of changes year over year that are worth discussing as we dive into everything about this roster.

We won't deny there are reservations about the Yankees at the moment. They didn't necessarily get a whole lot better in the offseaeson. While their trade deadline moves were some version of transformative, they still resulted in an early playoff exit. On top of that, the team is starting the year hobbled, with Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Anthony Volpe are beginning the year on the IL. Clarke Schmidt is probably out for the entire season. Cam Schlittler will be limited in the first month or so. Cody Bellinger has some lingering back issues? Giancarlo Stanton's elbows. There will be more.

But for this exercise? We're going with what we got. And this is an extremely talented team. Let all the trolls talk about their defensive, strikeout and clutch woes. The truth is, most teams experience those exact same problems (or some variation of them). Think about it. Up until 2024, the Dodgers were a laughingstock. Fans made fun of them for their 2020 Mickey Mouse World Series. They had countless, unimaginable playoff/World Series chokes over a 12-year span.

All the Yankees need is one title. Aaron Judge needs one moment hoisting the Commissioner's Trophy, and the Jared Carrabis and Johnny Giuntas of the world will go back into their holes. Right now, Judge is the Peyton Manning of baseball. He has every imaginable regular season accolade and needs a few bounces to go his way in October. Well, that and he's gotten loosen up a bit in October. We'll get there ... hopefully.

And that's bright spot No. 1. The Yankees have Judge, who is the best hitter in the game. Shohei Ohtani is the best player in the game, simply because he might be able to give you 12 starts a year, but Judge is the better offensive player, and that debate should be wrapped up after what we've seen since Ohtani debuted in 2018. We will not be taking further questions on the matter.

Judge is the reigning AL MVP. He transforms this lineup and elevates everybody around him. That's why the Yankees had the No. 1 offensive in the game the last two years. And they could very well do it again in 2026. We just hope, in the end, the stats don't seem as hollow as they sometimes do.

Yankees' 2026 roster is the deepest its been since ... maybe 2019?

With the three-time MVP leading the way, the Yankees will be a playoff team. And then you have Stanton, who is still among the most prolific power hitters in the game. Whether you're getting him for 130 games or 80 games, he will slug, and if he's around for the postseason, he will likely be an x-factor.

Ben Rice already broke out, and he's primed for an All-Star season if he sees growth in the necessary areas. It's not out of the question, given his ascension in the organization. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is a 30-30 player and provides above-average defense — he might be the best second baseman in the league. Jose Caballero might not be the ideal starting shortstop, but he will at least start a conversation around Anthony Volpe if he manages to perform during the former top prospect's absence. Ryan McMahon's bat might need work, sure, but he's one of the best defensive third basemen in the league.

Judge will handle outfield duties with Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger, which might make the best outfield trio in the league. Lament all you want about the $22 million for Grisham and the (ridiculous) luxury tax hits for Bellinger the next two seasons, but that's good value for Grish and a necessary evil to keep Belli in the fold. The Yankees unlocked something in Grisham they think they can get for another year, and Bellinger is an elite versatile option who brings a different hitting profile to a redundant lineup. He is a true baseball player.

The bench might not be overly impressive, but JC Escarra remains an incredible story, Amed Rosario is a lightning rod, and Paul Goldschmidt/Randal Grichuk will hopefully destroy lefties and assist Judge with veteran leadership. Their presence will allow Jasson Domínguez and Oswaldo Cabrera to find a rhythm at Triple-A before they eventually come back to the Bronx.

And then there's the pitching staff. Max Fried will be the Opening Day starter and will have the luxury of pressure being taken off him with Gerrit Cole returns (hopefully within the next two months). By the way, Cole's rehab has seemingly gone tremendously and he could provide 20 ace-level starts in 2026. Schlittler might be on a pitch count early in the season, but there's never been more hype surrounding a Yankees pitching prospect since maybe Joba Chamberlain? It's not out of the question he joins Rice in the All-Star conversation. Will Warren just turned in arguably the most impressive spring training for a starting pitcher and just needs to figure out a way to neutralize half of the top offenses he faces. Ryan Weathers has electric stuff ... so hopefully he stays healthy and can put it all together to validate the offseason trade. Luis Gil is working on getting back to his 2024 form, and he's been afforded the ability to stay back and work out the kinks until April 11 due to the off days on the schedule.

The bullpen? We might not like it, but if you view it as the Yankees operating with two different groups in the first half and second half, then you might be able to stomach it. We could end up with Weathers/Gil back there when Cole/Rodón return. David Bednar is one of the best closers in the league. Almost everybody loved Fernando Cruz when he was right last year. Camilo Doval is another All-Star-caliber pitcher when he's right. Tim Hill isn't unlikeable — just not possible. Jake Bird's (hopefully) on a revenge tour after his horrific post-trade deadline performance, and he's looked a lot better this spring. Brent Headrick could be one of those diamond-in-the-rough Clay Holmes types if Matt Blake presses the right buttons. Cade Winquest might've had a bad spring, but his arsenal slowly looked a bit better, and this was somebody the Yankees wanted to draft the same year they selected Schlittler. Ryan Yarbrough is a top-notch swing man and Paul Blackburn should be able to chew up innings when the pitching staff needs a breather. Both are incredibly valuable roles.

It's not perfect. No roster is. And everybody's acknowledged at some point or another that the Yankees could've probably been a bit more aggressive/proactive the last few offseasons in order to address some of these deficiencies. But once the trade deadline arrives, they should have a ton of ammo to wheel and deal from with an improved farm system. Not to mention, some big names like Carlos Lagrange, Elmer Rodriguez, George Lombard Jr. and Spencer Jones might be ready for big-league action.

The fact of the matter is this: the Yankees are better than the Blue Jays — a team they have historically dispatched with ease with the exception of 2025. Let the Toronto fans have that, it's all they've got. Last year was a flash in the pan for them based on how they've performed over the last 30 years. And if that's our toughest competition in the American League? Then game on. The Red Sox are admittedly very good, but they didn't necessarily improve this offseason, and the Yankees eliminated them from the playoffs last year. As far as we're concerned, the Orioles don't have it until we see it. And no disrespect to the Rays, but lord help us if they affect the Yankees' playoff standing.

The rest of the AL is solid, but not great. The NL is a much greater threat to the Bombers, but that won't matter until the World Series ... so just get there. By then, it'll be anybody's game. And if the Yankees can stop the Dodgers' three-peat and erase the 2024 embarrassment, that would be quite the campaign to remember.