Yankees insider speculates on potential non-tender candidates after 2025 season

The New York Yankees have a lot of work to do this winter, and one of the least glamorous but very necessary parts of the offseason will be upon us soon. The non-tender deadline is November 21, and the date looms large for a variety of reasons.

40-man roster spots are gold, and the Yankees will need to maximize them in order to have an efficient offseason. The Rule V Draft looms, and top prospects like Spencer Jones and Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz will need to be added to the 40-man in order to be protected.

The deadline is also an opportunity to cut some dead weight and free up a chunk of change from arbitration-eligible pieces who have no clear role on the team. In this regard, there's a decent amount of fat that can be trimmed.

Who could be on the chopping block? Well, MLB.com's Bryan Hoch came up with a short list.

5 Yankees non-tender candidates shine a light on the club's failings

Five players stand out to Hoch as players at risk of being non-tendered, and there's a common theme among them. They're all right-handed relievers: Jake Bird, Jake Cousins, Scott Effross, Ian Hamilton, and Mark Leiter Jr.

All five are middle-relief arms who have mostly struggled in pinstripes, with the exception of Cousins, who pitched 38 innings to the tune of a 2.37 ERA, but has been ravaged by injuries and will not be available next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in June.

Three were acquired in trade: Effross, Bird, and Mark Leiter Jr., highlighting one of Brian Cashman's biggest flaws — overvaluing team control.

The biggest travesty would be giving Bird the boot. Three ghastly appearances that produced just two innings of work and an ERA of 27.00 led to his demotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre following his acquisition at the trade deadline.

The soon-to-be 30-year-old cost the club two top-30 prospects, including the Yankees' 11th-best farmhand, Roc Riggio. The 23-year-old second baseman combined for a promising .262/.363/.517 line with 20 homers in 88 games split between New York and Colorado's minor league systems. That's the price you pay for a reliever who doesn't hit free agency until 2029. Truly just a terrible use of resources.

Should Hoch's prediction come to fruition, it will only further underscore the severity of the bullpen issues the club experienced in 2025, further highlighting how much work must be done around the margins.

What's done is done, and moving on from these pieces is necessary in order to build a better, more well-rounded 2026 club and protect the young assets who have bright futures. We can only hope the Yankees look at these decisions thoughtfully and see the bigger picture — making better calls on fringy arms while not being blinded by years of control.