Brian Cashman addressing Yankees 'running it back' is last thing fans want to hear

If there's been a common gripe among New York Yankees fans this offseason, it's that the club seems to be content with running it back in 2026. In the early going, the Yankees added odds and ends to their roster, yet the players they signed, like Ryan Yarbrough, Amed Rosario, and Paul Blackburn, were all here when the team came up short against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Since then, the focus had been on reuniting with Cody Bellinger, even at the cost of letting other options go off the board as New York was single-minded in its pursuit.

Bellinger's contract, which includes two opt-outs and a $20 million signing bonus, completely blows up the Yankees' payroll, and ensures that the budget Brian Cashman claimed certainly didn't exist has been met ... and then some.

That means the Yankees are done making significant additions, right? This is the same unit as last year, with a little bit more flair around the margins in the form of Cade Winquest, Ryan Weathers, and now Angel Chivilli (and his 7.06 ERA) in tow.

Yankees confirm they're running it back in 2026, and Brian Cashman's response isn't what anybody wants to hear

If you listen to the long-time Yankees general manager, this is nowhere near the same collection of players who proved not to be woefully overmatched in the ALDS against the Toronto Blue Jays. This is something else. The offseason has been transformative.

“It’s not the same roster. We have players returning from IL. We added weapons at the deadline. We have young pups that have earned the right to climb up the ladder. We have big arms that we acquired one from Colorado one from the Marlins," Cashman proclaimed.

That sounds eerily similar to the defense of the offseason that Michael Kay gave while debating with fans on Twitter/X a few weeks back,

Our rebuttal? The guys who were acquired at the trade deadline? They were here last year, so you don't get to count them as additions.

As for the "returning from the IL" squad, it's really just a one-man crew. That is Gerritt Cole. And while vintage Cole atop the rotation would be transformative, expecting that from a 35-year-old coming off major surgery who might not return to action until June is misguided at best and disingenuous at worst.

And who are these young pups he's talking about? Out of the club's top-five prospects, only Spencer Jones has received any kind of significant run at Triple-A, and he's the most blocked of the bunch, thanks in no small part to Bellinger. Maybe we see Carlos Lagrange or Elmer Rodriguez at some point this year, but they won't be making the Opening Day roster, while the Yankees' most impactful prospect, George Lombard Jr., still needs a lot more seasoning.

Finally, the "big arms" he acquired are Ryan Weathers, a starter who hasn't thrown more than 94 2/3 innings in a single season thanks to consistent injury woes, and owns a 4.93 ERA, as well as the aforementioned Angel Chivilli, whose career 1.99 HR/9 make him a meatball specialist.

A big arm would've been Freddy Peralta, MacKenzie Gore, or even Edward Cabrera. Not some young hurlers who have underperformed throughout their big league action.

It's fine if Cashman wants to believe that the group he assembled last year, plus a few odds and ends, is good enough to compete at the highest level in 2026. We don't have to agree, and we don't. At least it's not insulting our ability to see things for what they are.

But insisting that this is something other than getting the band back together is intentionally trying to pull the wool over fans' eyes. It's not true, and pretending that it is makes it hard to believe anything else that comes out of the GM's mouth.