Can the Yankees keep their power streak going?; Domínguez picked to have breakout year; Bellinger’s market remains cool as Yanks wait; coaching staff changes aim to fix Volpe, baserunning.
ESPN | David Schoenfield: It’s about that time of year where people start highlighting players and statistics to look out for on each team, and we’ve got a bit of both for you tonight. We’ll start with Schoenfield’s one stat for each AL team that could make or break their upcoming season, and he’s looking at the 274 home runs that New York led the league with last season. So far as Aaron Judge is leading the way for this team they’ll be in the mix to lead it again, but it’s fair to ask whether guys like Trent Grisham will provide 30+ homers in back-to-back seasons, or if Giancarlo Stanton will have the regular season run in him again to get above the 24 he put up last season should he miss a similar amount of games — a common occurrence at this point.
MLB.com: Switching over to players, the team at MLB asked each of their beat writers to pick a player who could break out in 2026, and Bryan Hoch has Jasson Domínguez as his pick. It’s easy to see why, as most of the team’s roster is proven veterans at this point and where they stand Domínguez is currently penciled in as the starting left fielder pending a Cody Bellinger or Kyle Tucker addition. Even if Bellinger were to re-sign, there should be playing time for him as the team looks to figure out what they’ve got in the former top prospect, and perhaps he could steal some of the spotlight that Grisham took from him back in 2026.
The Athletic | Chris Kirschner: Speaking of Bellinger, the Yankees have remained mostly inactive while waiting out his market, while their rivals have been highly mobile. The Blue Jays, Orioles, and Red Sox have all made solid external additions, and the Rays have moved some pieces around while remaining poised to strike with their usual turnover of established players for prospects. The clock is ticking for the Yankees to get on the board, but their staring contest with Bellinger may be induced by the relative lack of a breakout contract for a hitter — Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber both got deals in the range of five years and $150 million, and while Bellinger is a better fielder than those two, his bat mostly bloomed inside of Yankee Stadium, potentially causing skepticism from other suitors. It’s still Tucker’s market to set, but the hot stove hasn’t turned out for him yet either prompting all of this waiting around.
NY Daily News | Gary Phillips: Among the benefits that the Yankees hope their new coaching assistants will bring to the team in 2026 is a familiarity with their young homegrown talent. They mostly promoted from within, promoting Dan Fiorito and Jake Hirst from the farm system while getting Desi Druschel back after he spent a year on the Mets’ staff. Leading their charge of tasks is getting a rebound season out of Anthony Volpe, who thrived in the minor leagues, as well as turning around the Yankees’ poor baserunning results over the past few seasons.
Category: General Sports
