Yankees insider hinting at 3 top prospects making 2026 impact opens a lot of doors

The beauty of building up your farm system and developing players for a team like the New York Yankees is that it gives you options. Either you end up with a wave of youngsters who are ready to contribute in meaningful ways, or you wind up with the trade currency to buy whichever star tickles your fancy on the trade market.

That's the position the Yankees find themselves in now, as MLB.com's Bryan Hoch points out, with three Baby Bomber blue-chippers ready to bang down the door to the big league roster in 2026.

This development could be a driving force in shaping New York's offseason plan. The club isn't completely free of dead weight yet, but getting some salary relief in addition to some big contracts coming off the books gives Brian Cashman some serious spending power. How he wields it in light of the development of his top prospects provides two intriguing paths forward.

Yankees' trio of top prospects knocking on the door could become a focal point of the 2026 roster

The three prospects in question here are outfielder Spencer Jones and pitchers Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz and Carlos Lagrange. All three could conceivably fill big needs for the Yankees in 2026.

With both Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger hitting free agency, Jones could slot in and fill the center field void. Not only does the six-foot-seven giant replicate the athleticism that the Yankees would be losing if Bellinger were to bolt, but he also provides the light tower power that will keep opposing pitchers up at night. An absolutely torrid stretch that spanned Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre put him back in the elite prospect conversation, but even that wasn't enough to prevent him from being overshadowed by another Yankee youngster.

Yes, it was Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz who ended up taking home Yankees Minor Leaguer of the Year honors from Baseball America. With good reason, too. The spindly right-hander raced through the Yankees' system, beginning the year at High-A Hudson Valley and finishing off 2025 with a cameo at Scranton.

In the process, he recorded the second-most strikeouts in the minors, allowing just 3.42 BB/9 over all his appearances. When he did allow contact, Rodriguez-Cruz kept it on the ground with a stellar 54.5% ground ball rate across all three levels. The Yankees will need someone to fill in for Carlos Rodón, but Rodriguez-Cruz could prove to be a rotation mainstay in 2026.

Finally, Carlos Lagrange's future might be in the starting rotation, but the six-foot-seven fireballer could first help solve the Yankees' bullpen woes. While he struggles with command, the Dominican strikeout artist boasts a fastball that hits 102 on the gun. Injuries have plagued him earlier in his career, so, at least for now, a bullpen role makes sense. Hoch compared Lagrange to prime Dellin Betances. That should make you salivate.

If the Yankees hand over these roles to these three youngsters, they can make one or two targeted big splashes in free agency to supplement them. Balancing those philosophies, you could see the Yankees transform from an aging club to one that is well-positioned for both 2026 and the future.

Or these prospects could headline blockbuster trades to bring established superstars to the Yankees

The elephant in the room for the baseball world this offseason is the conundrum the Detroit Tigers face with otherworldly ace Tarik Skubal. The gulf between the two sides in contract extension talks is enormous, leading to rampant trade speculation.

In this scenario, the Yankees could leverage some of these chips to bring Skubal to the Bronx. While the best lefty in the game will cost a pretty penny, the trade package required to land him might be more affordable than you think.

That's because history has shown starters in their walk years don't net the greatest returns. Look at what the Baltimore Orioles paid for Corbin Burnes ahead of the 2024 season as an example. Additionally, uncertainty with the league's Collective Bargaining Agreement, which expires next December, will further depress the Scott Boras client's price.

As a result, it might only take two of the three to bring Skubal to the Big Apple, leaving another one of these top prospects available to headline another trade.

The Yankees could then flip the remaining assets for a star position player or perhaps a closer, thus going all in on their current window.

That's the beauty of having three highly-regarded youngsters knocking on the door. For a club like the Yankees that doesn't need its prospects to survive, it opens up all kinds of possibilities. Now it will be on Brian Cashman to make the right decision on how to maximize this value for 2026 and the future.