Yankees manager Aaron Boone held a press conference today and provided some notable updates about players on the roster. Outfielder Aaron Judge will not require offseason surgery on his right elbow. However, left-hander Carlos Rodón underwent a procedure to remove loose bodies from his left elbow. He will be no-throw for eight weeks and will likely miss the start of next season. Shortstop Anthony Volpe, who had shoulder surgery this week, won’t be able to hit for four months and won’t be able to dive for six months. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic was among those to relay the updates (tweet one, two and three). General manager Brian Cashman also confirmed, per Greg Joyce of The New York Post, that Volpe will indeed start the season on the injured list.
The news on Judge is obviously good. He was diagnosed with a flexor strain in July. Though his stint on the IL was minimal, he was limited to designated hitter duties in August. This was a bit awkward, as it forced Giancarlo Stanton into the field, surely more than the Yankees had planned on. Judge gradually played the outfield more throughout September and into October.
If Judge had required Tommy John surgery or some other significant elbow operation, that would have had lingering impacts into the 2026 season, though it seems Judge will be expected to be a full-time outfielder again next year. That should allow the Yankees to go into 2026 planning on having Judge in right and Stanton in the DH slot.
The outfield will still be a focus this offseason, however. Trent Grisham is an impending free agent. Cody Bellinger is going to opt out of his contract and hit the open market as well. That leaves Judge and Jasson Domínguez as the two outfield holdovers. A former top prospect, Domínguez has yet to fully break out. 2025 was his largest stretch of big league playing time. He produced roughly league average offense with poor defense.
Per Kirschner, Boone expects Domínguez to be a regular with the Yanks next year but the skipper added the caveat that it depends what moves happen this offseason. The Yanks could pursue reunions with Bellinger and/or Grisham while the free agent market also features names like Kyle Tucker, Harrison Bader and Cedric Mullins. The trade market should feature names like Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, Adolis García and others. Per Jack Curry of the YES Network, Cashman said he would love to have Bellinger back but the Yankees haven’t had any offseason discussions yet. Per Kirschner, Cashman says that prospect Spencer Jones has also put himself in the mix for a job next year, though that also depends on what happens in the offseason.
The Rodón news is obviously less pleasant. It doesn’t appear as though he’s slated for a huge absence, but the Yanks will go into the season with a few guys on the IL. Gerrit Cole had Tommy John surgery in March of last year. He should return at some point in 2026 but Boone confirmed today, per Kirschner, that Cole would not be ready by Opening Day. Clarke Schmidt had his own TJS in July and will be out well into the 2026 campaign.
Those arms could provide nice in-season boosts to the rotation but the Yanks will have to begin the campaign without them. As of right now, the Opening Day rotation projects as Max Fried, Luis Gil, Cam Schlittler and Will Warren. The Yankees will presumably look to bolster that before Opening Day. It’s possible they end up with a crowded group once Rodón and Cole get back on the mound but other injuries are fairly inevitable. The free agent market is headlined by guys like Framber Valdez, Tatsuya Imai, Dylan Cease and Ranger Suárez, while the trade market could feature MacKenzie Gore, Joe Ryan and plenty others.
As for Volpe, it seems Boone still views him as the shortstop once he’s healthy. “Yeah, he’s right in the mix to do that,” Boone said today, per Kirschner. Cashman also admitted today, per Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, that the shoulder issue was impacting Volpe during the season.
That’s backed up by the numbers. Volpe’s defensive metrics dropped significantly this year. He had six Defensive Runs Saved and 14 Outs Above Average in 2024 but 2 DRS and -7 OAA in 2025. His offense finished in a similar spot to previous seasons but he seemed to drop off a cliff once he suffered the injury. He had a .237/.328/.456 slash and 119 wRC+ through the end of April, just a few days before injuring his shoulder. He hit .205/.255/.374 for a 74 wRC+ from the start of May onwards.
Going into 2026, the Yankees could look to external options, though there aren’t surefire answers out there. The free agent market is headlined by Bo Bichette, who is an excellent hitter but a poor defender. Guys like Ha-Seong Kim and Trevor Story could be out there via opt-outs, though there are issues there as well. Kim is coming off a poor season after recovering from shoulder surgery. Story had a bounceback year after his own injury odyssey but he’s about to turn 33 and may not opt out anyway. CJ Abrams may be available in trade but he’s not a great defender either and the bat is inconsistent.
Perhaps the Yankees will let José Caballero hold the job until Volpe is healthy. Caballero played well after being acquired at the deadline. Braden Shewmake is on the roster as depth and the Yanks could bring in some veteran utility types.
Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images
welp, no Volpe trade looks like
It was discussed in the other thread. He’s in arb1 so he’ll be cheap to keep. Worst case (or best depending on how you look at it) is they use him like Oswaldo Cabrera to ease him back in. He’s got very little trade value. Play Cabby to start the season. That means they’ll need to find a INF utility backup in case Volpe has setbacks.
For some NYY fans, Lombard Jr. isn’t ready yet and not an option.
Look at his numbers from AA this year and lmk if you think that will translate well to MLB.
The Yankees might as well use Volpe as a stopgap for Lombard and then move on from him or if he turns things around move him to 2nd.
Lombard could be ready by the all star break.
Replying to your own comment before anyone else does is weird. MLBTR isn’t your echo chamber.
The Yankees loose! Again.
Lombard won’t be ready until 2028 at the earliest. True Baseball Geniuses know this to be true
Can Oswaldo be the utl backup?
Oswaldo is doing groundball practice already so yes. They will still need another one for any S.T. injuries.
Disagree that Volpe has little trade value. Yes, he’s disappointed the optimistic expectations of NYY fans. But he put up 3.3 WAR, including a Gold Glove, his first two seasons, and 1.7 WAR in this injury plagued year. He’s a 20HR/20SB guy. He’s only 24 and has three years of team control left. A number of teams could use him and hope he develops further. Here’s a crazy idea: Volpe straight up for Corey Seager. It’s no comparison on value, but Texas supposedly wants to cut payroll. Seager is signed at $31.5 million for the next six years. The Rangers’ best prospect is shortstop Sebastian Walcott, who is only 19 and while he could probably move to outfield if Seager is still there, he would be more valuable if he can hold down a middle infield spot. At $4 million for next year, Volpe is an excellent gamble: if he develops they can trade him when Walcott is ready, and if he doesn’t they’ve still saved $190 million in Seager salaries..
Volpe wasn’t getting traded anyway. Stop holding out hope
And it’s a shame because his lack of hitting and fielding would have attracted many suitors.
@Mul
He was a good glove caliber SS in his two previous seasons and was known to be a great glove in the minors. Now, after one injury played season he’s trash? Yankee fans are so spoiled. He still had over 50 extra base hits and his glove is likely to return, if healthy. Give him another season.
I’ve been hearing about a “Volpe trade” the whole year…
Perhaps it was a reactionary measure…
Oof
Well glad no surgery for Judge…maybe Volpe can just chill out in Florida, and the Yankees can get a real SS to take over…one can dream…
Jose Caballero will be a serviceable replacement for Volpe, then see what he’s like when he’s fully recovered.
Let’s go Lombard the time is now. Trade Jazz and Volpe for 2B when healthy. Great news about the Captain.
What type of return do you think Jazz has MLB? One day, with that speed and bat he looks all world but the next, he makes a bonehead play that loses the game. Add in his over the top attitude and I just don’t think the value is there despite obvious favorable talents.
@dew
what “over the top” attitude are you referring to? examples please.
@KnicksFanCavsFan I’ve always took it to mean that some fans apparently can’t differentiate between Little League frustration and competitive spirit.
@mlb
Lombard is struggling in AA why does anyone think he going to be ready in 2026. And why would you get rid of Jazz who’s been a delight offensively as a 30/30 guy this year and plays good defense at 2b? Plus he brings positional flexibility to the equation.
Phils fan here – saw Volpe in the minors a few times and he looked like the real deal. I would be happy to trade you Bohm for Volpe and take a shot at him reaching more of his potential.
Yankees don’t need Bohm, but the Mets do. Packages him and Painter to Flushing for sweet swinging outfield prospect Carson Benge.
Not at all interested in packaging Painter into a deal. Not for anything but an almost sure thing youngster with tons of control, and Benge is hardly a sure thing right now. Nice prospect, but not as good as Painter alone.
Shame they won’t win a single WS with Judge.
I like your optimism with at least two.
Two years, from being two years away
Volpe needs the time, so the decision as to whether he’s a long term piece is likely to be deferred at least until around the trading deadline if he can’t dive for 6 months. He’s not expensive and should be kept. Do we see Rodon before May (and where was that injury made public)? That’s probably as good an outcome on Judge as they could hope for.
As to trades/signings…..count on them to overpay
I wouldn’t exactly label Rodon’s bone chips as an injury as plenty of other pitchers continue to throw with them. This is an injury prevention maintenance procedure.
Trade the Martian before his trade value plummets.
Comments like this are so weird
Like, do you think you know more about Dominguez than opposing front offices? If you know (you don’t) that he’s going to lose trade value, don’t you think other teams know that too? Which means he’s already lost trade value.
I think the Yankees are partially responsible for Volpe’s issues. I don’t know why they are so determined to use the same hitting approach for all their hitters. What Volpe should be doing is focusing on hitting for higher average with less strikeouts and be ok with 20 or so homers a year. He’s not a power hitter that wasn’t his game in the minors. I swear if Derek Jeter was a rookie today the team would be determined to have him hit .240 with 30 homers and a 25% strikeout rate.
I’m all for tweaking Volpe’s swing. It’s too long and not working. You’re right with Jeter.
volpe has always had below average bat speed and exit velocity. not sure if it’s possible to teach/learn/improve pitch recognition at this point but cutting down his chase rate should be a priority. it seems like every at-bat he swings at one or more shoulder-high fastballs
OK, you got the Volpe problem solved for six months. What about the other two no hit wonders. The Yankees still have mega problems.
1. Wells can’t hit and Rice can only play one position at a time. Got to fill the C/1B slot.
2. Caballero can run but doesn’t hit enough to be an every day player. Also his base running is questionable (numerous pick offs at 2nd).
3. Stanton is going to get hurt. He hasn’t played a full season in 3 or 4 years.
4. McMahon definitely needs some hitting lessons. The glove is phenomenal but you can’t have 3 dead spots in your lineup.
Wells might not matter since he is a good catcher, AS long as everyone else can hit, you can live with him.
agree that wells isn’t the problem. on a properly constructed roster he would be a perfect 8 or 9 hitter
And then consider that the Yankees led MLB in runs scored. They can’t be all that bad right?
Hopefully the news on Judge is good and he’ll be ok going forward. The other two I’m not so sure of.
Not worthy not worthy,
Is this a case of maybe Judge has a clean up surgery now while he has time to recover or is this it isn’t that bad and then it hampers him or something happens at the start of next season.
Lately a lot of players seem to be avoiding the knife and getting bit the next season.
Do you think the Rangers would trade Seager?
volpe “won’t be able to hit for four months”
the writer misspelled “forever”
Imagine having Judge and manage to not win any championships with him in his prime…
Look at the manager and the GM, please.
The biggest news here is that Boone is still the manager. Because if there were any doubt, they wouldn’t have let him field an additional presser. I could be wrong, but that’s usually not standard operating procedure.
As for the actual news, first speedy recovery to the boys. My guess is they will get a stopgap SS to allow Cabbie to move around more. I can’t imagine a huge signing or trade there.
I’d assume a big deal of some sort for the rotation. Cole is back mid-season at best, and Schmidt might not be ready at all.
I remember the days of The Boss making it almost a team policy that if a Yankees manager goes more than 4 seasons without a WS championship, he was replaced with another manager who was willing to do it.
Let’s review: Rodent pitches a career high innings and needs surgery. Huh. Error in Judgement blows his arm out making a throw but doesn’t need surgery. Huh. Volpe has surgery and we’re told he can’t dive for 6 months. Huh.
This team has it all together.
Fried pitches a career high innings and gets lit up in the postseason. Huh. Schlittler throws 107 pitches against the Red Sox and then loses his next start. Huh. Bednar pitches in 5 of the 7 postseason games. Huh.
The future looks bright for Dr. Boonedoggle and his “practice”.
“Rodent”, “Error in Judgement”
Stay classy, Red Sox Nation.
If Judge never wins a World Series is he a better player than Jeter,Who won rings.
LOL
Yes. Of course
Judge at 1B limits the throwing strain, or trade and restock the farm with fresh goods for the next 10 years.