“I find tinsel distracting.” Truer words were never spoken. There’s a lot of virtual tinsel on social media nowadays.
As the great Frank Costanza famously said on the Seinfeld episode, “The Strike”, “The traditional Festivus begins with the airing of grievances. I got a lot of problems with you people, now you’re gonna hear about it.”
Instead of focusing on familiar anxieties about positional holes or pitching deficiencies before the 2026 season, I’m taking a lighthearted approach. I’ll step onto my imaginary soapbox to air my grievances—personal, trivial, yet deeply felt frustrations—that built up this baseball year. These pet peeves relate to the daily experience of following the sport, not the luxury tax.
Despite a notably poor summer showing and various other difficulties, the Yankees still managed to secure a spot in the league playoffs (ALCS). The reasons behind Anthony Volpe’s struggles for most of the season, particularly the shoulder injury, are now largely public knowledge, which makes his middling performance not as surprising given his history as a Gold Glove recipient. In a mid-season surprise, the Yankees cut two players who had been underperforming: Marcus Stroman and DJ LeMahieu.
The front office’s lack of additions is apparent. With both Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón beginning the season on rehab, acquiring a starting pitcher is a clear necessity. Ideally, the front office should sign either Cody Bellinger or Kyle Tucker. Given Bellinger’s established success in the Bronx, he would be the preferable addition.
This annual drama is nothing new for us fans. We’ve weathered the uncertainty before, with the Juan Soto saga last year and the Aaron Judge situation the year prior. “Why wouldn’t he return to the Bronx?” is a common thought Yankees fans have had. Thankfully, we were spared a prolonged wait as both players put an end to the speculation early in their respective offseasons: Judge re-signed during the Winter Meetings on December 7, 2023 (remember ‘Arson Judge’?), and Soto followed suit around the same time in 2024 (December 8).
Yankees fans are irked by the team’s notable lack of action, lamenting that they are “running it back.” Compounding the issue are free-agent losses that necessitate filling gaps: relievers Luke Weaver and Devin Williams are gone to the crosstown rivals. Furthermore, the team lost Paul Goldschmidt to free agency and appears set to replace him with homegrown talent Ben Rice as the everyday first baseman, rather than signing an external replacement.
It’s important to remember that this isn’t the end of the world. The Yankees will be getting back starting pitcher Gerrit Cole and utility player Oswaldo Cabrera, both of whom missed nearly all of the 2025 season. Additionally, starter Clarke Schmidt, who also lost a significant portion of the season, will return. We could also see the dismissal of Volpe (likely via a trade package, if it were to happen), who has grown long in the tooth among fans and media alike, if the platoon of José Caballero and Oswaldo Cabrera at shortstop is successful while Volpe is out recovering from shoulder surgery.
It’s far too early to predict the Yankees’ 2026 fate—will they be champions or cellar-dwellers? Yet, the complaints from Yankees fans about their team’s woes seem misplaced. This is particularly true when you consider the state of the Mets, who have traded away many star players and let others walk in free agency. I would much rather be a Yankee fan than an Angels fan, that’s for sure.
Happy holidays on behalf of us at Yankees Savant.
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