LAS VEGAS — As badly as the Yankees want to reengage in the Japanese market, signing posted 2026 Central League Triple Crown winner Teruaki Sato to upgrade from Ryan McMahon at third base isn’t first on Brian Cashman‘s offseason shopping list.
Neither is finding a second baseman to replace free agent Jazz Chisholm, such as three-time batting champion Luis Arraez.
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The Yankees will have a new hitting coach next season because they had so many underachievers in an inconsistent offense this past season, but adding one or two big bats doesn’t take precedence.
Not even close.
Nor is it simply keeping the back end of the bullpen together by re-signing closer David Bednar and setup man Paul Blackburn.
Well, the Yankees do want those arms back, but their No. 1 need is bigger than that because they have an entire bullpen to rebuild.
“What bullpen?” Cashman said Wednesday during a guest appearance with Jim Bowden and Jim Duquette on their SiriusXM MLB Network Radio show. “I don’t have one now. I’ve got to figure it out.”
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No kidding.
Left-hander Brent Headrick is returning after a breakout 2026 season, and that’s about it.
The Yankees have five free agent relievers, and Bednar will be a sixth if he doesn’t accept a $23.15 million qualifying offer by Nov. 17. This lengthy list includes right-handers John Schreiber, Michael Fulmer and Blackburn, and left-handers Tim Hill and Ryan Yarbrough.
Also, the Yankees don’t know if they get next season out of righty Fernandez Cruz, who missed the final month plus the postseason with a partially torn UCL.
With all those potential losses, it’s no wonder Cashman is focused on relievers, relievers, relievers.
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“It’s our main priority, to be quite honest, obviously, with the vacancies currently,” Cashman said in his SiriusXM interview. “Bednar is sitting on a qualifying offer, but he’s still a free agent, so he’s not ours. Blackburn, who did a fantastic job, obviously is out right now as a free agent. Two of the three pitchers going into our eighth and ninth inning are gone, Blackburn and Bednar.
“We’ve got our work to do, and because of that I am casting a wide net. But that’s not that wide because leverage relievers … there are not as many that materialize off of the free agent market or (you can) acquire too easily off the trade market. But we are asking around to find some stuff so we can feel good about it and sleep at night.”
The Yankees could build the best back-end bullpen in the majors if they re-sign Bednar and Blackburn and sign the best reliever who could be on the market. The Yankees would love to sign Padres free agent left-hander Adrian Morejon, whose four-seamers and sinkers average 99 mph and top out close to 102 mph, but he’s currently off limits due to a qualifying offer.
The Yankees also are interested in re-signing Hill, who is coming off a down year. The lefty is getting interest from a lot of clubs, including the Dodgers, who could end up his first choice for the obvious reason and one other. Besides the winning, Hill is a suburban Los Angeles native who lives in San Diego with his partner, Nicole, and their 22-month-old son, Xander.
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Cashman also prioritized adding bullpen arms Tuesday when he fielded questions for 75 minutes.
“That’s probably our biggest need because we have so many vacancies of certainly important people that did a great job for us,” he said. “Headrick’s still here, obviously, but with Timmy Hill and Bednar and Blackburn all free agents, those guys were a really nice bridge for us late in the game and they were consistent throughout the whole year.
“So we gotta rebuild that, repackage that. It doesn’t mean we don’t have answers from within that can handle it somehow, some way, but you’re always wondering. You don’t know. There’s no certainty until you play it out and let it play out.”
For now, the Yankees are penciling in left-hander Ryan Weathers as their fifth starter, so Will Warren could become a full-time reliever if the four aces stay healthy — newly crowned AL Cy Young winner Cam Schlittler, 2023 Cy winner Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and Carlos Rodon.
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What’s unknown is whether Cashman has enough money in his budget for Morejon if he retains Bednar and Blackburn.
MLB Trade Rumors projects Morejon will reject the qualifying offer and receive a five-year, $80-million contract on the open market. If he gets that from the Yankees, it would be the second richest ever for a Yankees reliever behind only Aroldis Chapman’s five-year, $86-million deal in 2016.
Bednar is projected to get $68 million for four seasons; Blackburn $15 million for two years.
Aside from Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera being an exception three times, Cashman hasn’t given out many big contracts to relievers.
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“I’ve done it before,” he said. “I’m not afraid to do it. It just comes down to allocation of resources and the opportunity, what’s in front of you and how realistic it is and do we like it enough to play those numbers and all that stuff. But I’m not opposed to putting numbers on players at whatever position.”
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