Yankees finalize 2026 Opening Day bench as Oswaldo Cabrera is squeezed off roster

On Friday evening, the New York Yankees optioned Jasson Dominguez to Triple-A after the young slugger logged an impressive spring training. It's been a hot topic among Yankees fans, especially after months of chatter.

On Saturday, the Yankees optioned another one of their former promising youngsters in Oswaldo Cabrera. With that, right-handed hitting outfielder Randal Grichuk has officially made the Opening Day roster.

Cabrera missed most of 2025 after suffering a gruesome ankle injury in May against the Seattle Mariners and was slow to get into game action this spring. Even though Cabrera was labeled a "full go" when the team arrived to Tampa, he was held back and only appeared in seven games and logged 14 at-bats.

The fact of the matter is that the Yankees made their intentions clear very early on this spring. Jon Heyman reported Dominguez would likely be starting the year at Triple-A, and many other beat writers questioned Cabrera's likelihood of traveling north with the team once camp broke.

After the Yankees signed Grichuk it became painfully obvious, but that doesn't mean fans are feeling any better about it. Cabrera is the team's vibes guy, which is very necessary on a roster filled with Easter Island statues.

Yankees finalize 2026 Opening Day bench with Oswaldo Cabrera demotion

This means Grichuk, catcher JC Escarra, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and utility man Amed Rosario will make up the team's bench beginning on March 25 against the San Francisco Giants.

While this is much different from the Dominguez decision, it's still hard to understand how we got here. The Yankees have two lefty-hitting catchers, a 34-year-old outfielder (Grichuk) who just logged -0.8 WAR in 2025, and a 38-year-old first baseman in Goldschmidt who might be on the decline (outside of his success against lefties). It's not the worst group in the world, but shouldn't it be better or feature some younger talent? Feels like it's gotta be one or the other.

Cabrera might need more time to ensure he returns to full strength on that ankle, that much is true. Keeping Grichuk makes sense because it gives them a bit more flexibility in the short term (and they don't outright lose him to an opt out). And we guess if Grichuk performs in the early going and Cabrera gets comfortable/can improve his hitting on the right side of the plate, this could be a really solid plan.

That said, Cabrera is far more valuable than Grichuk given his defensive versatility and overall energy. The Yankees have invested far too much in ancillary pieces who can hit left-handed pitching after having made it their own problem by acquiring too many lefty hitters. That, one could argue, unfairly squeezed both Cabrera and Dominguez off the roster.

Those two will certainly be back in 2026. And if Grichuk stumbles out of the gate or the Yankees suffer an injury, it won't be long. But it's hard seeing both Cabrera and Dominguez — who have gotten a lot of big league time with the Yankees — logging reps against inferior talent to begin 2026.