NEW YORK — The Yankees have been waiting for their offseason to break open. On Wednesday, the dam finally burst. Just not for them.
A hard-throwing right-hander the Yankees had been eyeing for weeks is now someone else’s solution. And according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Yankees were “never close” to making a deal.
Those two words land with a thud in the Bronx. The Yankees engaged. They monitored. But when it came time to close, they stood on the sideline while Chicago pulled the trigger.
The Cubs moved fast while the Yankees watched
The Chicago Cubs sent outfield prospect Owen Caissie, shortstop Cristian Hernandez, and infielder Edgardo De Leon to Miami in exchange for Edward Cabrera. The 27-year-old pitched to a 3.53 ERA with 150 strikeouts in 137 2/3 innings in 2025. His fastball averaged 97 mph. He has three years of team control remaining.
The fit made sense for the Yankees on paper. Cabrera possesses the kind of upside they need while Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Clarke Schmidt remain on the shelf. But the price apparently never came close to matching what the front office was willing to pay.
This is not the first missed opportunity this winter. The Yankees were constantly linked to Japanese star Tatsuya Imai before he signed with the Astros. The best free agent relievers came off the board without New York landing a single one.
A quiet offseason grows even quieter
The Yankees entered the winter with rotation concerns that bordered on urgent. Cole underwent Tommy John surgery and will not return until May or June. Schmidt also had Tommy John and could miss the entire season. Rodon needed elbow surgery to remove bone spurs and loose bodies.
That leaves Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, Will Warren, and Ryan Yarbrough to carry the load in April and May. Fried, Schlittler, and Warren are all coming off career-high workloads. Gil has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career.
The bullpen is equally concerning. Devin Williams and Luke Weaver signed with the Mets. Mark Leiter Jr., Jonathan Loaisiga, Ian Hamilton, and Scott Effross also departed through free agency. That is six arms gone without replacement.
The Bellinger standoff drags on
The Yankees have made at least two formal offers to Cody Bellinger. Neither has been enough to close a deal. According to Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, the two sides are not close to an agreement.
Bellinger wants six or seven years. Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that the outfielder continues to seek a deal in the seven-year range. The Yankees prefer four or five years. That gap has not narrowed despite weeks of negotiations.
Columnist Bob Klapisch addressed the impasse in a recent roundtable with NJ Advance Media. “I’ve been saying all along that the chances were less than 50/50 on Bellinger coming back because the Yankees don’t want to get into a crazy bidding war,” Klapisch said. “I think the odds have improved slightly because the market that Boras envisioned for Bellinger has not materialized. Every day that goes by, the Yankees’ chances improve.”
The front office believes the team is good enough
The Yankees led the majors in runs scored and home runs last season. They tied the Blue Jays for the most wins in the American League at 94. Then Toronto swept them in the ALDS. Another October ended with the same familiar feeling.
Klapisch captured the sentiment of the fan base. “It’s been over a decade now since they won a World Series and it feels like it’s the same scenario every October,” he said. “They run into a team that’s more athletic, a team that is more fundamentally sound, a team that does all the little things that the Yankees don’t. That team, like the Blue Jays last fall, sends the Yankees home early.”
Yet the organization does not seem to share the urgency. “Hal Steinbrenner thinks that he’s got a pretty good team on his hands,” Klapisch noted. “With Cole coming back, they don’t need another major piece or two to be the same team that won 94 games last year. I don’t sense organizational panic. There’s more disappointment than panic, which is why they haven’t made any major moves.”
The remaining options continue to shrink
With Cabrera off the board, the Yankees must look elsewhere. The Brewers have been open to dealing Freddy Peralta. The right-hander posted a 2.70 ERA with 204 strikeouts in 176 2/3 innings last season. He is one year from free agency and will make just $8 million in 2026.
Nationals lefty MacKenzie Gore could also be available. The 26-year-old has two years of team control and pitched to a 4.17 ERA in 159 2/3 innings in 2025. But both pitchers will have plenty of suitors.
Yankees beat writer Randy Miller offered this assessment. “I doubt the Yankees get Cabrera or Peralta because their rotation already is loaded,” Miller said before the Cabrera trade was finalized. “I don’t think money is in the budget this winter to spend big on a starting pitcher.”
Fan frustration reaches a boiling point
The Blue Jays signed Dylan Cease to a seven-year, $210 million deal. They landed Kazuma Okamoto from Japan. They could still sign Kyle Tucker or bring back Bo Bichette. Toronto is acting like a team that wants to win the division.
The Yankees have re-signed Trent Grisham on a $22 million qualifying offer. They brought back Amed Rosario and Ryan Yarbrough on matching one-year, $2.5 million deals. They added Paul Blackburn on a minor league contract. That is the extent of the heavy lifting.
Spring training opens in about five weeks. The top free agents remain unsigned. The Yankees keep waiting for something to break. On Wednesday, something finally did. It just broke for the Cubs instead.
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