NEW YORK — The Yankees have re-signed Amed Rosario, Ryan Yarbrough, and Paul Blackburn. They added Paul DeJong on a minor league deal. And that is about it.
Fans keep waiting for the big move. It has not happened. And one theory about why is starting to make waves in Yankees circles.
Yankees play-by-play announcer Michael Kay offered his thoughts during a recent episode of The Show with Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman. He suggested that something beyond baseball might be influencing the front office.
“I think the upcoming labor unrest is looming. It really is,” Kay said. “I think it’s a factor. … Hal [Steinbrenner] knows exactly what they’re going to ask for and the likelihood of it going down as a lockout.”
The CBA expiration haunts the winter
The current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires next December. Hal Steinbrenner sits on MLB’s labor policy committee. He knows better than most fans what the owners will demand and what the players will reject.
The last round of negotiations produced a 99-day lockout in 2021-22. Talks of a salary cap have intensified. Some owners want spending restrictions. The players’ union views that as a non-starter. Neither side appears ready to budge.
If Kay’s theory holds, Steinbrenner may be reluctant to commit big money to long-term deals when the entire economic structure of the sport could change within a year. That logic might make sense in a boardroom. It makes far less sense in the Bronx.
Yankees’ quiet offseason speaks louder than words
The Yankees watched Edward Cabrera get traded to the Cubs on Wednesday. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Yankees were “never close” to acquiring the hard-throwing starter.
They have not added a single player to their 40-man roster who was not already in the organization. The only exception is Rule 5 draft pick Cade Winquest, a reliever. Their free agent spending sits at roughly $29 million, with $22 million of that going to Trent Grisham’s qualifying offer.
The remaining $7 million went to Rosario, Yarbrough, and Blackburn. All three were already on the roster in 2025. This is not the offseason behavior of a franchise trying to win now.
The window is closing on Judge and company
Aaron Judge turns 34 in April. Giancarlo Stanton is 36. Gerrit Cole is 35. Max Fried and Carlos Rodon are both in their 30s. The core of this roster is aging. The time to win is now.
Judge won his third AL MVP award in 2025. He hit .500 in the postseason with a 1.273 OPS. It still was not enough. The Blue Jays eliminated the Yankees in the ALDS, three games to one. Toronto went on to win the World Series.
The Yankees have not won a championship since 2009. Sixteen consecutive seasons have ended in disappointment. Judge has said he would trade every award he has ever won for a chance at a ring.
The payroll message contradicts the championship mission
Steinbrenner told reporters in November that lowering payroll would be “ideal” but not guaranteed. The Yankees finished 2025 with a $319 million payroll. He has eyed that $300 million threshold like a ceiling rather than a baseline.
“Would it be ideal if I went down [with the payroll]? Of course,” Steinbrenner said. “But does that mean that’s going to happen? Of course not. We want to field a team we know could win a championship.”
Those words ring hollow when the roster looks nearly identical to the one that got swept aside in October. Fans have noticed. Patience is running thin.
The division rivals are not standing still
The Blue Jays just won the World Series. They signed Dylan Cease to a $210 million deal. They added Kazuma Okamoto. Toronto is not resting on its championship.
The Orioles signed Pete Alonso to fortify their lineup. The Red Sox have emerged as contenders with young talent. The AL East remains the most competitive division in baseball.
The Yankees cannot afford to run it back with essentially the same team and expect different results. That is the definition of insanity, or at least a recipe for another early October exit.
The Bellinger pursuit drags into uncertainty
The Yankees remain focused on re-signing Cody Bellinger. That pursuit has dominated their offseason. But the two sides remain far apart on contract terms. Bellinger wants six or seven years. The Yankees have held firm at five.
If Bellinger is all the Yankees add, they will enter 2026 with the same roster that failed in 2025. Cole is recovering from Tommy John surgery and may not return until June. Clarke Schmidt had the same surgery and could miss the entire season. Rodon is coming off elbow surgery.
Spring training is roughly five weeks away. The clock is ticking. And if labor concerns are truly freezing Steinbrenner’s checkbook, Yankees fans may find themselves watching another wasted season unfold.
The fan base may revolt. And honestly, who could blame them?
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
