October 17th, 2025: Injuries, Qualifying Offer, Coaching Staff, Domínguez, Mailbag

Now that it has been over a week since the ALDS ended and we've had time to decompress, I'm not sure there's anything to take away from the series other than the Yankees got beat. Their two best starters gave up 13 runs in 5.1 innings and Aaron Judge's supporting cast did a bunch of nothing after being so good for 162 games. In the past, the Yankees have lost postseason series where their weaknesses were on full display and cost them their season (i.e. defense in 2024). This time they just got beat.

Collectively, everyone makes too much of 3-7 games in October, and that includes me. I'm 100% guilty of it. It's good team vs. good team, and a good team has to lose, and it is often not pretty when it happens. I don't think the ALDS told us much about the Yankees we didn't already know. They're a good team, but three times in four games, they weren't. I've had an easier time sitting with this postseason exit than the last few. Maybe I'm just getting soft with age. Anyway, let’s get to today’s post.

1. Offseason injury updates. The Yankees held their end-of-season press conferences Thursday, and if you’ve heard one of those things, you’ve heard them all. Here’s Aaron Boone and here’s Brian Cashman. The most (only?) important stuff every year is the injury updates and there were a lot of them Thursday. To recap:

• Aaron Judge (flexor) does not need surgery. He had an MRI and additional testing after the ALDS. The Yankees see him as their right fielder next year. No position change (i.e. first base) is coming.

• Carlos Rodón had loose bodies removed from his elbow and a bone spur shaved down earlier this week. He won’t throw for eight weeks. The build up from there likely delays his start to 2026.

• Anthony Volpe (shoulder) had arthroscopic surgery to repair his labrum Tuesday. He won’t hit for four months and can’t dive for six months. That will delay his start to next season.

• Gerrit Cole (elbow) will throw lightly off a mound next week-ish, then has a scheduled “deload” phase and a follow up visit with the surgeon.

• Clarke Schmidt (elbow) is scheduled to start his throwing program in mid-December.

• Giancarlo Stanton (elbows) won’t have surgery and will continue with treatment.

Good news on Judge, obviously. His throwing did improve as he got further away from the injury, but still, it’s a flexor. They’re tricky. As for Rodón, I thought the Yankees needed another starter before his surgery (does this explain the velocity slippage?), and now they definitely need one. Rodón’s delayed, Cole won’t return until midseason, and Spring Training is peak pitcher injury season. Reinforcing the rotation is an absolute must, and I don’t mean Carlos Carrasco/Ryan Yarbrough types.

As for Volpe, his injury occurred on a dive on May 3rd (video), after which he said he felt a “pop” in his shoulder. He sat one game, then started 28 straight games and 41 of the next 42 games. It wasn’t until September that the Yankees revealed Volpe had a tear in his labrum, and told us he received a cortisone shot during the All-Star break and again on Sept. 10th. The spikes coincide with the cortisone shots:

“I think for the overwhelming majority of the year, it was not affecting his play,” Boone said about Volpe’s injury. “In some ways the injury probably got a little bit worse towards the end of the year based on a couple of episodes that happened, but I don’t think it was impacting performance.”

Unless Boone is giving you hard news, his words are worthless. He refuses to speak about any player in anything other than the most positive light, and it has eroded his credibility. Cashman will at least give you some truth, and Cashman said yeah, he thinks the injury was a factor in Volpe’s performance, more than everyone realized. Why is that so hard for Boone to say that?

"I personally think it was affecting him because he had to have a surgery. None of that was on the table in the season,” Cashman said. “… As the year goes on and he’s diving all over the place, irritating it maybe at times, it starts to move up the tree of wasn’t a concern and isn’t a concern to maybe it is a concern.”

The injury is to Volpe’s left shoulder, his front shoulder when hitting. That’s the power shoulder. Of course the injury could have contributed to his poor season. Even the bad swing decisions. Even the defense. If he’s hurting and moving in ways to protect the shoulder (possibly without even realizing it), yes, a torn labrum could impact his performance. This is common friggin’ sense and it’s like pulling teeth to get the organization to admit it.

Anyway, Cashman said “I think so” when asked if Volpe will be the starting shortstop when he returns, and Boone said “he’s right in the mix to do that.” Those are not yeses and about as close as the Yankees have gotten to acknowledging Volpe has not become the player they expected. My guess is, internally, they anticipate plugging Volpe in at short as soon as he completes his rehab, but they didn’t say that. After three years of “he’s our shortstop,” some seeds of doubt have been planted.

The surgery and extended rehab will give the Yankees a chance to keep Volpe in the minors for a bit and hopefully that functions as a reset. A demotion should have happened in August 2023, when it was clear the Yankees were out of the race and he was overmatched, but there’s no turning back the clock. Now the surgery allows them to send Volpe to Triple-A for a bit. They will be rehab and build-up games, not developmental games, but that’s better than force-feeding him more MLB playing time. Maybe it turns out to be a good thing for Volpe and the organization. Probably not, but maybe.

"For him to become that frontline shortstop, (his offense has) gotta improve,” Boone said. “He understands that. We understand that, and hopefully he has that opportunity to continue to do that.”

I get into this more further down in the mailbag, but it is a bad offseason to need a shortstop. I’m ready to turn the page on Volpe. I just don’t know how the Yankees can accomplish that this winter given who is and who will likely be available. The Yankees had their chance to land an impact shortstop, thumbed their nose at the market, and now they have to play the “maybe the career .222/.283/.379 (85 wRC+) hitter will be better after labrum surgery” game. It sucks, but it is what it is at this point.

“I believe in the player still. I think we believe in the player,” Cashman said. “It doesn’t mean that we don’t play with, on any level, all aspects of roster assessments. He’s 24 years old. I don’t think the New York stage is too big for him. He’s just still finding his way.”

2. Qualifying offer set at $22.025M. According to the Associated Press, the qualifying offer has been set at $22.025M this offseason. That’s a record, up from $21.05M last offseason. The qualifying offer is set at the average of the top 125 salaries in baseball. That’s salaries, not total compensation. Willy Adames, for example, had a $10M salary in 2025 with a $22M signing bonus. Only the salary counts toward QO.

Anyway, the Yankees have only two QO candidates, realistically: Trent Grisham and Devin Williams. Cody Bellinger will decline his $25M player option, but because he received the QO previously (from the Cubs two years ago), he’s not eligible to get it again. Luke Weaver’s good, but not “offer him $22.025M for one year” good. Paul Goldschmidt played on a $12M contract this year. He won’t get the QO either.

Josh Hader is the only reliever in the last five years to get the QO. (Edwin Díaz would have gotten it three years ago, but he re-signed with the Mets before the QO deadline.) The QO is reserved for the very best of the best relievers. Williams was in that class prior to 2025, but I think there were too many stumbles this year for the Yankees to make him the QO. As good as Hi Lev Dev was down the stretch, a clean break with no chance of rostering a $22.025M reliever in 2026 seems likely.

Grisham is the more serious QO candidate. He had a tremendous year, hitting .235/.348/.464 (129 wRC+) with 34 homers (!), though his defense slipped from Gold Glove caliber to below-average-ish. Do I expect Grisham to hit 34 homers again? No, I can’t say that I do, but he deserved his results.

Unless you count Jasson Domínguez, the Yankees do not have their 2026 center fielder, and Grisham on a one-year deal worth $22.025M isn’t the worst thing in the world. Pricey, for sure, but it’s short-term and much lower risk than, say, re-signing Bellinger for five or six or eight or however many years. Trent will turn 29 in two weeks. This isn’t an older player. He’s right smack in his prime.

Make Grisham the QO and he signs elsewhere, the Yankees would only get a draft pick after the fourth round as compensation because of their luxury tax status. That pick would be in the No. 135-ish overall range. That’s not nothing, but it is a lower value pick, and the Yankees have preferred the payroll flexibility (i.e. not having the player unexpectedly take the QO) to the compensation pick in recent years.

The Yankees have made only four players the QO in the last 10 years: Aaron Judge, DJ LeMahieu, Juan Soto, and Anthony Rizzo. Judge and Soto were obviously going to decline it. So was LeMahieu given how good he was from 2019-20 (I miss that guy, don’t you?). Rizzo declined his $17M player option that offseason, so the Yankees could safely assume he would decline the $19.65M QO, which he did. 

Last offseason the Yankees passed on making Gleyber Torres the QO, which was a smart financial move in hindsight given the one-year contract he signed with the Tigers ($15M vs. $21.05M QO). They also declined to give it to Jameson Taillon three years ago when he was coming off a 3.91 ERA (3.94 FIP) in 177.1 innings. It was a $19.65M QO that offseason. Taillon then signed a four-year, $68M contract with the Cubs.

Did the Yankees make a miscalculation with Taillon? In hindsight, yeah, but we also have no idea how Taillon’s free agency would have played out with draft pick compensation attached. He could’ve been one of those guys whose free agency dragged into February or March, like Nick Pivetta last offseason or Jordan Montgomery the year before. Or LeMahieu too. He didn’t sign until late January the offseason he was QOed.

Grisham strikes me as the type whose market could be hurt by the QO. Teams hate giving up draft picks for elite free agents. For a mid-range guy like Grisham, it could severely depress his market, which could lead to him taking it. He gets $22.025M in 2025 and then gets to test the market without the QO attached next offseason. Then again, isn’t this offseason his chance to cash in big? He hit 34 homers! He’ll play the entire 2026 season at age 29 too. If Grisham can’t get a multi-year deal now, when can he?

The Yankees have been so conservative with the QO the last decade that I don’t think they’ll give it to Grisham. My sense is they will prioritize Bellinger over Grisham, and although we know there’s room in the outfield for both guys, there may not be room in the budget if Grisham takes the QO. It's about payroll flexibility with this team.

I would make Grisham the QO. I know that’s easy for me to say, but there aren’t any bad outcomes for the Yankees here. The compensation pick after the fourth round is low value but not no value, and if Grisham takes the QO, you’ve got your 2026 center fielder, and there’s still room to bring back Bellinger (or sign Kyle Tucker!). So you have to overpay Grisham for one year. Big deal. The Yankees can afford it. They’ll live.

The last 10 years tell us the smart bet is the Yankees will not extend the QO to a non-elite free agent, which is what Grisham is. If the Yankees make Grisham the QO, I’ll eat crow. I don’t expect it though. That $22.025M might be too big a piece of their offseason spending room. (The deadline to make the QO is the fifth day after the end of the World Series. Players then have until Tuesday, Nov. 18th, to accept or reject.) 

3. Coaching staff notes. Based on the fact Aaron Boone and Brian Cashman held the end-of-season press conferences Thursday and not, you know, their replacements, Boone and Cashman will return next year. Not surprising, but it’s official. Boone’s coaching staff is changing though. Here’s the latest from Greg Joyce, Andy Martino, and Boone and Cashman themselves.

• First base coach Travis Chapman and bullpen coach Mike Harkey are out.

• Hitting coach James Rowson was given permission to interview for the Twins’ managerial job.

• Pat Roessler won’t return as assistant hitting coach, but could stay in another role.

• Minor league hitting coordinator Jake Hirst is joining the MLB staff as assistant hitting coach.

• Third base coach Luis Rojas (a free agent) interviewed for the Orioles’ managerial job.

“I just have to make tough decisions,” Cashman said Thursday. “No one was per se terminated. These were expiring contracts. The question is, are we offering a new opportunity moving forward? And so I’ve made the decision to make some changes, and open up to evaluate opportunities in the marketplace to see if we find some fits as we move forward in 2026 that make us better.”

Harkey was the last uniformed personnel remaining from the 2009 World Series team, though only kinda. He did leave for two years to serve as the Diamondbacks’ pitching coach (2014-15). Otherwise he spent 16 years as the bullpen coach (2008-13 and 2016-25) and will always be remembered, at least by me, for his top tier Players Weekend jersey:

Rowson has ties to the Twins (hitting coach from 2017-19) and although he is very well liked in the organization (especially by Aaron Judge), teams rarely block coaches and front office people from pursuing promotions. He’s a hitting coach who’s up for a manager job. Roessler turns 66 in December. It sounds like he’s not being removed from his role for performance reasons. He might just be ready to take on a lighter workload.

Hirst has been with the Yankees since 2018 and has worked with all their young hitters over the years. Jasson Domínguez, Spencer Jones, George Lombard Jr., Ben Rice, Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, etc. The Yankees wouldn’t promote Hirst to the big league staff if they didn’t hold him in high regard (duh), and Cashman confirmed another team offered him an MLB position. The Yankees promoted Hirst to keep him.

Chapman had been the first base and infield coach since 2022. No one really knows what a first base coach does, but there was the incident with Jazz Chisholm Jr. getting doubled off first base on a pop up to second base in Miami, after which Boone chewed out Chapman in the dugout. I can’t muster any more of a take about the Yankees letting their first base/infield coach go. Sorry.

Chapman, Harley, and Roessler are out and Hirst is in. That’s all we know right now and maybe all the Yankees know right now. The rest of the coaching staff will depend at least in part on what the Twins do with their managerial job. Coaches are (very) important. They’re also not as important as players. As I say every year, the Yankees need better players more than they need different coaches.

4. Winter ball season begins. The various winter leagues opened their seasons Thursday and MLB and the MLBPA recently agreed to a new deal that, long story short, allows more players to play. They tightened up the injury and what they call “extreme fatigue” criteria that teams used to block players. J.J. Cooper estimates that roughly 60 additional players per MLB organization are eligible to play winter ball now.

I was all set to write that I hope Jasson Domínguez will play winter ball, then Aaron Boone said Thursday that he is expected to do so, so that’s good. Domínguez needs as much left field time and as many at-bats against righties as he can get, plus those Dominican Winter League games are super competitive. It’s not like the Arizona Fall League where players go through the motions. LIDOM games are intense. Intense enough to help prepare a young player for pennant race and postseason baseball (Jasson was on the postseason roster this year and last, but barely played).

Domínguez played 124 games and had 430 plate appearances this season. Healthy totals for a young player, but only the third highest totals of his career behind 2022 (140 games and 610 PA) and 2023 (126 games and 577 PA). Jasson is still only 22. He’s young and strong, and he didn’t play a whole lot in September and October. A few weeks in winter ball to make up the playing time he ceded to Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham down the stretch is worthwhile.

Playing winter ball does not mean Domínguez will play the full 50-game LIDOM season. Lots of guys go for 20-25 games, something like that, then shut it down around the holidays to rest up before Spring Training. The winter ball stint boils down to El Marciano being a young player with obvious areas that must improve, and winter ball being an opportunity to get more work in. I’m glad the plan is to play.

5. Rapid fire thoughts. The Gold Glove finalists were announced this week. The Yankees have one: Max Fried is up against Jacob deGrom and old friend Luis Severino at pitcher. Ryan McMahon is a finalist at third base, but in the NL. He’s up against Ke’Bryan Hayes and Matt Shaw. Austin Wells didn’t make the cut at catcher and neither did Cody Bellinger at utility. Too bad. (Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Aaron Judge didn’t meet the eligibility criteria at their positions.) Gold Glove winners will be announced Sunday, Nov. 2nd … And finally, Daniel Santana reports the Dominican Republic is recruiting Austin Wells for the World Baseball Classic. He’s eligible because his mother is Dominican. Only five Dominican-born players caught even one game in 2025: Samuel Basallo, Yainer Diaz, Agustín Ramírez, Endy Rodríguez, and Gary Sánchez. Wells is still a relatively young catcher and I would prefer him to stay with the Yankees and work with whatever new pitchers they bring in, but the Yankees can’t block him from the WBC, if he wants to play. I am generally pro-WBC. Wells is one of the few cases where I’d rather him stay with the Yankees in Spring Training. It is what it is.

Mailbag Questions of the Week

Many asked: What happens with Anthony Volpe? What’s the plan at shortstop?

We now know Volpe will miss the start of next season following shoulder surgery. The Yankees could go into 2026 with José Caballero as the starting shortstop and Oswaldo Cabrera as the backup. I don’t love that plan, Caballero is ripe for overexposure with everyday at-bats – he’s a year removed from the Volpian .227/.283/.347 (83 wRC+) line – but it’s not the worst fallback option. I expect Caballero to be the guy on Opening Day. Maybe the Yankees bring in a different backup, but I bet Caballero is Plan A.

(The bigger question is, if Caballero is performing well next year, does he stay at short? Does Volpe have to win that job back, or is it just his? That’s a question for April, I suppose.)

This is the problem with replacing Volpe this offseason: Who’s out there? Who are you replacing him with? The only worthwhile free agent is Bo Bichette, who is one of the worst defensive shortstops in the league. I assume Ha-Seong Kim is staying in Atlanta, either by picking up his $16M player option or by signing an extension. The Braves badly need a shortstop and that September waiver claim was presumably made with 2026 in mind. The Angels aren’t gonna trade Zach Neto. They’re more likely to extend him.

Unexpected things happen in the offseason and maybe a shortstop shakes loose and the Yankees jump, but other than Bichette, who’s getting a long-term deal and is a year away from being a second baseman, I don’t see a clear-cut upgrade out there. After three years though, it’s time for something else at shortstop, and there’s just not much out there. Any money/trade capital figures to be spent on the outfield and pitching, not a new starting shortstop.

Brian asks: Tarik Skubal. What will the trade package need to be?

The Tigers lost in the ALDS and a) Skubal will be a free agent after 2026, b) he’s a Scott Boras client, and c) owner Chris Ilitch doesn’t seem eager to spend big (like most second generation owners). Because of all that, there’s been a lot of “the Tigers should trade Skubal this offseason” chatter, and man, I do not get it. It’s a very winnable division and he will be impossible to replace. I hate this culture of endless rebuilds. Can’t keep a guy long-term? Better trade him. The future is always more important than now.

Anyway, we have a pretty good recent benchmark for a Skubal trade: Corbin Burnes. Skubal now is better than Burnes was two years ago, but Burnes was still excellent. The Burnes trade was one year of an ace. A Skubal trade this offseason would be one year of an ace. Burnes is a Boras guy too, so you knew he was going to test free agency, like Skubal. The Burnes trade package was:

• LHP DL Hall: MLB-ready, global top 75 prospect

• IF Joey Ortiz: MLB-ready, global top 75 prospect

• Competitive Balance draft pick (No. 34 overall)

For one year of Burnes, the Brewers received two good but not great prospects they could (and did) plug into their MLB roster immediately, plus a lottery ticket in the form of a high draft pick. Any well-regarded lower minors prospect can substitute for the draft pick. The Yankees don’t have an equivalent to Hall and Ortiz though, not unless Detroit really loves Spencer Jones and Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz.

I’m inclined to think that, if the Tigers do make Skubal available, some team will step in and beat whatever the Yankees put on the table. This isn’t a Juan Soto situation where only a few teams could take on his salary (Skubal is projected for $17.8M) and even fewer could surrender the pitching the Padres wanted, both in quality and quantity. Things lined up perfectly for Soto. I’m not sure they do for Skubal.

That all said, Burnes was not traded until February because teams kept doing the “we’re not giving you our best prospects for one year of him” thing. Could that happen again? I would be surprised, but who knows with some of these front offices. The Tigers can afford to sign Skubal long-term. They should just keep him. If they don’t, the Yankees should be all over him, and put anyone and everyone in the farm system on the table.

Adam asks: If nothing else, I find it interesting that Cam Schlittler - pitcher that was barely on the radar at the beginning of the season - wound up starting arguably the 2 most important games of the season and was the most reliable member of the rotation in the playoffs. I do have 2 related questions. First, if he were still prospect eligible, where would you rank him in the top 10? Lastly, what do expect from him performance-wise next season?

Schlittler threw 73 innings this year, above the 50-inning rookie limit, so he’s no longer a prospect. If he were, he would be my No. 1 prospect going into 2026. George Lombard Jr., the clear No. 1 prospect in the system right now, is a good prospect in my eyes but not truly great. Schlittler has already shown he can be a difference-maker in the big leagues. Even once you bake the inherent injury risk into the ranking, I’d have Schlittler as the No. 1 prospect in the system. What a year for him.

I do not expect another sub-3.00 ERA from Schlittler next year, though I also think he can be better than his underlying numbers (3.74 FIP and 3.98 xERA), which were pretty strong. Even without a changeup or splitter (the No. 1 development priority this winter), he has enough weapons to miss bats and limit hard contact. Elite fastball, good cutter, good curveball, improving (new-ish) slider, size and deception. There’s a lot to like there. I’ll plant my flag and say Schlittler will be a 3.42 ERA guy in 2026.

Dan asks: Do you think the Yankees would be better served by moving Gil to the pen? I think the decreased velocity on his fastball could be attributed to him coming back from the lat injury (at least I hope so), but his command/walks continue to leave something to be desired.

I wouldn’t do it yet and that was true even before we found out about Carlos Rodón's surgery, which created a need for a starter . Let Luis Gil have a normal offseason and Spring Training, give him starts in the regular season to round into midseason form, and see what’s what. The command (or lack thereof) is what it is. He won’t ever be even an average strike-thrower. That’s survivable (even thrive-able) when he’s missing bats like he did in 2024. When he’s not (like 2025), it’s untenable. It’s easier to go from starter to reliever in-season. Bring Gil to camp as a starter and see what you have there if/when he’s healthy, then make a decision. I’d hate to pull the plug based on 59.2 innings after a major injury.

Jonas asks: Given Cleveland’s constant payroll limits, do you think it is realistic that the Yankees could obtain Kwan and take back Trevor Stephan’s contract? Maybe even expand to include Clase, assuming he is cleared to return? Not sure if they would want pitching (which seems to be what they have more to trade) so perhaps they could involve a pitching needing team to get the affordable hitting the Guardians would want.

I think there’s a good chance Steven Kwan gets traded this offseason. As I understand it, the Guardians were serious about moving him at the deadline, but they ran out of time. Emmanuel Clase’s a no-go. You can’t trade for him without first knowing the results of the gambling investigation. If he gets suspended or banned, Cleveland won’t have to pay him, and if he’s cleared and can play, they can trade him for value. As cheap as the Guardians are, I can’t imagine they’d use Kwan’s value to salary dump Clase.

Stephan’s an interesting one. The former Yankees’ prospect missed 2024 with Tommy John surgery and was very bad after returning in June. Very bad as in 25 runs and eight (!) homers in 23.2 minor league innings. Stephan cleared waivers in August and is no longer a 40-man roster player. They owe him $3.5M in 2026 and a $1.25M buyout of his $7.25M club option for 2027, so that’s $4.75M next year. A pittance, but $4.75M in real dollars, and we’re talking about a Guardians team that had a $99.6M payroll in 2025.

Because he’s not on the 40-man roster, Stephan no longer counts against the luxury tax. The Yankees could take on that $4.75M, bury him in Triple-A next year, and not have to pay any tax on it. And maybe he bounces back and you have a good, cheap reliever. I don’t think that $4.75M will lower the price for Kwan in a meaningful way though. It might save you the fourth player in a four-player package, not a top prospect who would otherwise headline trade.

(I think the perception of Kwan has begun to outweigh the reality. He’s a very good player, for sure, but he's a low power corner outfielder who’s had a 99 wRC+ twice in the last three years. Even with great defense, is two arbitration years of that guy worth a huge prospect package? There’s not much daylight between Kwan now and Brett Gardner at the same age. Good player who is best as the fourth or fifth best player on his team, not second best like he is in Cleveland.) 

Daniel asks: It’s annoying how perfectly Caleb Durbin would have fit on the roster from game 1 to 162 this year. No Jazz at third and no need for the McMahon trade. Do you think if the Yankees could go back in time they’d undo the Devin Williams trade? To say nothing of what else Nestor could have netted them in a different deal. 

Eh, it’s annoying if you assume Durbin would be this player for the Yankees. They don’t have a great track record with young hitters, and Durbin’s an extreme pulled fly ball righty (20.4% vs. 16.7% league average) in one of the best ballparks for righties who pull the ball. To wit:

• Home: .277/.359/.441 (127 wRC+)

• Road: .237/.310/.336 (84 wRC+)

The third base defense isn’t amazing either. The numbers are good (+5 DRS and +2 OAA), but it’s a weak arm (29th percentile) and everything is just so strained. Durbin isn’t particularly graceful. Every play has to be made with high effort to get the out. Maybe I’m wrong and Durbin would be this guy had the Yankees not traded him. He’s in the perfect ballpark for him though, and with a team that tends to max out guys like him.

In hindsight, yes, you undo the Williams trade, but I’m not at all upset with trading Durbin. I’m more upset Williams didn’t really work out. My guess is, if the Yankees still had Durbin, he would’ve spent the season hitting ninth, and we’d be sitting here talking about offseason trade/free agent options at third base. I don’t love Ryan McMahon despite the defense because he’s another No. 9 hitter on a team with one or two other No. 9 hitters, but I’m not sure Durbin was moving the needle in 2025 (or 2026 and beyond, for that matter).

Mike asks: You mentioned today that Schmidt is a potential non-tender despite being under control through 2027. Would it make sense for both parties if the Yankees offered him a 2 or even 3 year deal with reasonable bonuses? This way they could lower his salary during a year in which he'll provide little to no value while giving him reasonable salaries in years 2 and 3 with the opportunity to make much more in performance bonuses. This gives Schmidt some security and if his performance is even just league average the Yankees will probably be happy with the payout.

It doesn’t make sense for the Yankees. Pitchers who miss a full season (or close to a full season) don’t get raises in arbitration. We can pencil Clarke Schmidt in for the same $4.9M in 2027 that he’s projected to get in 2026. Let’s say Schmidt agrees to a discount and takes two years and $8M. Rather than pay him $4M each year, the Yankees could do, say, $2M in 2026 and $6M in 2027, and lower the upfront cost, but that doesn’t change anything with the luxury tax. It’s a $4M a year tax hit regardless, and a two-year contract means you lose the ability to non-tender Schmidt after next season should he suffer a setback or things go poorly (this is his second UCL repair, remember). For Schmidt, yeah, it makes sense. Lock in that guaranteed money. It’s a harsh business and the Yankees are better off going year-to-year. Schmidt won’t get a raise in 2027 and the ability to walk away with no strings attached next offseason in the event of the worst case scenario has real value.

Nathan asks: This question is more of a question of viewing quality than a strategy question. There have been rumors of MLB wanting to create a rule incentivizing teams to have starters go 5 innings. This postseason it really seems to be a problem. It feels like it has just been a parade of relievers, outside a few exceptions and the Dodgers odd parade of starters. Watching the Skubal/Kirby elimination game was incredibly exciting, but watching the cubs and brewers start relievers just felt not nearly as enjoyable. Do you think they need to change how starting pitching is handled or will this just be how it will be going forward? Maybe it's just me who doesn't enjoy all of the openers. 

One constant throughout the entirety of baseball history is pitchers throwing less and less. The sport went from 450-inning guys to 330-inning guys to 240-inning guys to 180-inning guys. Now we get openers and bullpen games. I understand the strategy, but I don’t enjoy it, aesthetically. I know they can’t all be George Kirby/Tarik Skubal duels, but do we need five relievers a night six times a week? Speaking purely in terms of what I enjoy watching, I yearn for the starting pitcher’s return to prominence.

I’m not sure how this can be fixed without a rule change. I don’t like the Double Hook rule that has been floated, where you lose the DH once the starting pitcher is out of the game or if he fails to go five innings, something like that. Why are we taking at-bats away from Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber because the No. 4 starter could only go 4.1 innings? Just cut down on the number of pitchers teams are allowed to carry. Do it gradually from 13 pitchers max to 12 to 11 over a period of, say, five years, and see if that works before we start making more drastic changes. Fewer available pitchers will force the starter to eat more innings, at least in theory. In practice, maybe it doesn’t work out that way, but I’d try it.

(Send your questions for Friday's mailbag to RABmailbag at gmail dot com. The random Yankee series is on hiatus, but feel free to send in requests for when it returns.)