Yankees latest YES Network hire could signal a changing of their ways

YES Network's streamlined coverage in 2026 will feature several key losses, from Dave Valle on the pre- and postgame shows to John Flaherty and Jeff Nelson in the booth, who always shot straight across the bough. Thankfully, YES responded to consternation with a home run addition just before the spring training buzzer.

Willie Randolph belongs in baseball, period. While we'd prefer his return to pinstripes involved a seat in the dugout (and the man himself would agree), at least the Yankees have made the right move and invited him back into the fold in an official capacity for 2026 (and ideally beyond). Randolph will be slipping on the jacket as a studio analyst next year, ostensibly replacing Valle.

The network's offseason decisions have been communicated as an effort to bring more consistency in the nightly booth, with Michael Kay, David Cone and Paul O'Neill teaming up for as many games as possible (echoing Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, and Ron Darling down the road).

Randolph's addition to the studio show also provides a similar sense of familiarity with the Yankees' successful past. Who knows? Maybe he'll even get to appear on a few episodes of "Hot Stove," raising his voice in indignation as Jack Curry describes the Yankees' new and more experimental methods of running it back.

Yankees bringing Willie Randolph back for YES Network coverage after notable losses

Tack on David Cone giving YES a bit of exclusivity this year and saying goodbye to ESPN's baseball coverage by aligning himself with more weekday Yankees games, and the network deserves an overall neutral grade for its personnel shifts this offseason (though we'll miss the even-keeled Flaherty tremendously).

Randolph spoke to Yanks Go Yard at Bernie Williams' Carnegie Hall concert in mid-January and indicated that although he hasn't been in an official Yankees coaching role since 2004, he's been an unofficial mentor to Anthony Volpe and Co. in recent seasons. As a young ballplayer, he felt he had Dave Parker in his corner with the Pittsburgh Pirates as he got used to the speed of Major League Baseball, and he knows he has more to give in that capacity as well.

The former Yankees captain hasn't been in a big-league dugout since a 2011 coaching stint with the Orioles, and hasn't managed since the Mets made a complete mess of his dismissal in the middle of the night in 2008.

You could see him getting more comfortable with the Yankees organization in recent years, tossing out playoff first pitches in 2024 and 2025. Now, he's officially in the fold after nearly 50 years as family. Maybe the next step involves a clean pressed uniform.