Yankees are boring in a good way at this year's training camp
Jazz Chisholm Jr and Aaron Judge are greeted in the dugout after Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run homer in the 1st inning against the Atlanta Braves at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa on Thursday. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
TAMPA, Fla. — A veteran American League scout, one assigned to the Yankees for roughly the last decade, spoke before a recent Grapefruit League game.
“Kind of boring,” the evaluator said with a shrug. “Not in a bad way. Roster is good, pretty deep. They’ll probably win their usual 90 to 95 games, do whatever they do at the deadline, take their shot in the postseason. Not a lot to it.”
Indeed, it has been Camp Quiet to this point for the Yankees.
That is not a bad thing and, naturally, it can change on a dime. It was just a year ago, after all, that within a period of weeks, the Yankees lost Gerrit Cole to Tommy John surgery, Luis Gil to a severe lat injury and Clarke Schmidt to shoulder soreness.
Generally speaking, no news at this time of year is good news.
What has stood out in camp?
“I like the arms,” general manager Brian Cashman said over the weekend. “The arms that we’re seeing, there’s a lot of quality. Hopefully it will stay that way, but guys are throwing well.”
As Opening Day roster decisions go, there are a few to make, but not many.
Barring injuries, obviously, Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger are the outfield starters and Ryan McMahon, Jose Caballero, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Ben Rice and Austin Wells comprise the infield.
Giancarlo Stanton, paid to swing a bat and not open potato chip bags, has been doing, without any setbacks, all of his prescribed work and is set to make his spring training debut Tuesday. He’ll be the DH.
Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario are locks to be reserves and, even though Rice is a catching option, indications are that J.C. Escarra will make it as the backup catcher (that is, however, still being debated behind the scenes).
Given that the Yankees spent the offseason trying to find a righthanded-hitting outfielder and tried to acquire Randal Grichuk before last season’s trade deadline, the just-signed Grichuk instantly became the front-runner to grab the final spot. (Because the club wants him to get “everyday” reps, Cashman has said repeatedly, Jasson Dominguez appears ticketed for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start the year.)
The rotation is set with Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Luis Gil and Ryan Weathers. (Cole, Carlos Rodon and Schmidt will start the season on the injured list but are expected back at various points during the season.) David Bednar, Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, Tim Hill, Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough are certainties for the bullpen.
Trade deadline pickup Jake Bird, who was sent down soon after being acquired, is throwing well and has a good shot of making it.
The Yankees liked what they saw last year, and have liked what they’ve seen this year, from lefthander Brent Headrick and righty Yerry De Los Santos. But both of those pitchers have minor-league options remaining, so the final spot may well go to righthander Cade Winquest.
Winquest, 25, did not pitch above Double-A last season in the Cardinals’ system. Though talent evaluators — both inside and outside of the organization — give him mixed reviews, the Yankees made him their first Rule 5 pick since 2011 during December’s winter meetings.
Winquest, drafted mostly at the behest of the Yankees’ analytics wing because of the potential the group saw in his ability to spin the ball, must remain on the club’s big-league roster all season if he breaks camp with the club or be offered back to St. Louis for half of his $100,000 selection price.
The Yankees overall are optimistic about the depth of arms they have in camp. They quietly like righty Osvaldo Bido and Angel Chivilli, both of whom are on the 40-man roster, and righty Dylan Coleman, a non-roster invitee with big-league experience who threw 100 mph during a showcase in Rhode Island (with the Yankees present) in the offseason.
“We feel good about the talent we have and about who’s going to kind of emerge from that group to grab a meaningful role,” Aaron Boone said as spring training began.
Said Cashman: “Hopefully we’ll have tough decisions by the end of camp. That means everybody stayed healthy and performed at a high level and it makes those decisions difficult.”
Difficult decisions in spring training are good. Drama, whether caused by injury or off-the-field stuff, is not.
So far so good in that regard for the Yankees and spring training 2026.
Not a lot to it.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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