Yankees Postseason Options: Minor League Call-ups, Trade Options, and Rule 5

With the World Series over, free agency has officially begun and the Yankees, along with the other 29 teams, can begin “shopping” to fill gaps for the 2026 season. They will likely lose players, or decline to pay what they and their respective agents are requesting, such as 1B Paul Goldschmidt and possibly UTIL Cody Bellinger, resulting in those aforementioned gaps. The Yankees have a deep farm system, and may have options to choose from whether they want to call prospects up or potentially deal a prospect or two to another team to save a 40-man spot ahead of the December 10 Rule 5 draft.

For a refresher, please visit this article on those prospects that are Rule 5 eligible this December. In short, I would protect RHSP Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz, RHSP Harrison Cohen, and promote OF Spencer Jones. It should be fair to say that most fans have heard of at least the latter of the three prospects, Spencer Jones, if not Rodriguez-Cruz at some point. Harrison Cohen is the “sleeper” prospect of the three. Cohen was signed in 2022 as an undrafted free agent (UDFA) out of George Washington in Washington, D.C. He recorded a combined 1.76 ERA in 51 IP between AA Somerset and AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (22.1 in AA and 28.2 in AAA), with a 10.41 K/9 and a 5.29 BB/9. The walk rate is a little higher than preferred, but he has almost always had a strong K rate. With the Yankees declining to re-sign RHRP Luke Weaver and RHRP Jonathan Loáisiga, Cohen is a cheaper option to bolster the bullpen if they want to save some cash to chase a big name like Kyle Tucker or Pete Alonso.

If I was the GM of the Yankees, this is how I would build my team:

1B: Pete Alonso, Ben Rice

2B: Jazz Chisholm Jr., José Caballero, Oswaldo Cabrera

SS: José Caballero, Anthony Volpe, Oswaldo Cabrera

3B: Ryan McMahon, José Caballero, Oswaldo Cabrera

C: Austin Wells, JC Escarra

DH: Giancarlo Stanton, Oswaldo Cabrera

LF: Jasson Domínguez, Oswaldo Cabrera

CF: Spencer Jones, Aaron Judge

RF: Aaron Judge, Oswaldo Cabrera

SP: Gerrit Cole (IL, Apr.), Max Fried, Carlos Rodón (IL, Apr./May), Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, Will Warren; Gil or Warren will likely battle for the 5th spot.

RP: David Bednar, Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, Ian Hamilton, Tim Hill, Mark Leiter Jr., Clarke Schmidt (IL, Aug.)

This means they don’t chase Kyle Tucker, which is possible considering they’re still paying off D.J. LeMahieu’s contract and still have Stanton’s large contract on the books. Tucker will likely command a high asking price given his overall performance (he made $16.5M in 2025 on a one-year deal). Owner Hal Steinbrenner has said that he’s trying to lower the active payroll, which means going with cheaper options like prospects (Cabrera, Jones, Domínguez, etc.) while picking up Alonso from free agency as a power bat for first base. It’s possible they ultimately re-sign Cody Bellinger as a utility player, given his positive chemistry with the organization, as he’s publicly stated in the latter portions of the 2025 season.

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With Volpe starting the 2026 season on the injured list, it is entirely possible that the Yankees have a showcase of sorts to see if there is a better option than José Caballero. No, George Lombard Jr. is not yet ready to hit the ground running in the Majors, but is about a year or so away, assuming there is no lockout. Organizationally, there is no other good option at short, given the significant – and surprising – lack of depth in a position where they have been relatively deep for the past half decade plus. I’d be curious to see if the Yankees go shopping in the off-season for the role, and how much confidence they ultimately show in Volpe given how much he was touted while in the Minors. Boone has shown confidence in the homegrown shortstop, and Volpe did show some flashes of excellent defense despite injury in 2025, but the shoulder injury that was not disclosed until the end of the season likely inhibited his offensive and defensive performance significantly.

I think the Yankees end up promoting Spencer Jones to start the 2026 season, despite his elevated K rate (35.4% in 2025). Jones is speedy enough to defend the cavernous center field in the Bronx, and has definitely shown the kind of power he can provide the team over the years given his large frame. Despite the “lefty Judge” comparisons, the two batters have significantly different approaches at the plate. Regardless, Jones would be an asset in CF, and fans need to understand that he will experience some growing pains in the first few weeks and, possibly, months of the regular season.

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The Yankees also need to contend with the Rule 5 draft that is quickly approaching, needing to either protect certain players, like Spencer Jones, by adding them to the 40-man roster or by retaining some value by trading them to a team for either other prospects or a piece they can utilize, like in the bullpen, etc.

These are 5 prospects I would protect or trade:

• CF Spencer Jones (Protect)
• RHSP Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz (Protect)
• RHSP Chase Hampton (Trade; Tommy John surgery 2/25)
• RHRP Harrison Cohen (Protect)
• RHRP Eric Reyzelman (Trade)

Chase Hampton’s stock has fallen over the years considering how injury-prone he has been, most recently undergoing an UCL reconstruction (aka Tommy John) surgery in February 2025. Hampton missed much of 2024, only pitching in 18-⅔ innings between July and August. If a team is willing to take a chance on Hampton as a part of a package, it’s possible that the Yankees may be able to fetch a decent player or two in the coming weeks. It’s also possible that the Yankees do nothing and risk losing Hampton with no return in the Rule 5 draft.

RHRP Eric Reyzelman has gone most undiscussed by the New York media, but put up decent numbers in 2024 while regressing a little in 2025. Reyzelman posted a 1.14 ERA and 14.66 K/9 between High-A and AA in 2024, but had a little more trouble in AAA with a 4.29 ERA and 9.64 K/9 in 2025. Reyzelman was the 5th round pick in 2022 out of LSU and had struggled in the first year and change of his pro career (7.98 ERA in 14-⅔ IP). Something clicked between the 2023 and 2024 seasons, and he’s now ranked as the #26 prospect per MLB Pipeline.

Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz has had some coverage over the past year on this website, but as a refresher, he was received by the Yankees from the Red Sox as a part of the trade that sent former catching prospect Carlos Narváez to Boston. ERC, as he’s colloquially called, ended the 2025 season by pitching 5 innings with AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after throwing a 2.64 ERA in 61-⅓ innings of work in AA Somerset. He recorded a low walk rate of 2.93 per 9 IP, and a good K/9 of 10.86. It’s entirely possible to see ERC hit the Bronx before the end of the 2026 season, if he’s not a part of the September call-ups.

A former 2nd round pick, Brendan Beck has built his stock back up after missing 2024 to injury and is Rule 5 eligible, so I would expect that he may get dealt in a trade since he doesn’t necessarily have stats that may hold up in the Majors with the Yankees. His stats are solid, but he seemed to struggle a lot more in AAA (4.44 ERA in 77 IP) compared with AA (1.82 ERA in 54-⅓ IP) in 2025. It’s possible that he gets dealt with Hampton, for example, for a relief pitcher from another organization, like LHRP Garrett Cleavinger from the Rays. Cleavinger is expected to receive $4M in 2026 per Spotrac, avoiding arbitration, and would be another strong lefty arm to prevent overusing Tim Hill too much.

It should prove to be an exciting 5 weeks leading up to and through the Winter Meetings in Walt Disney World in Florida, and there are almost definitely moves that Brian Cashman and others are considering that we couldn’t even conceive of.