The Blue Jays Continue To Have A Competitive Off Season

Where’s Brian Cashman?

The Blue Jays are out here acting like it’s an actual offseason. The Yankees, meanwhile, are sitting by the phone waiting for Cody Bellinger to “decide,” which is another way of saying they’ve chosen timidity over urgency. This is not an aggressive winter. This is a franchise crouched behind corporate talking points, already rehearsing the press release: “We just couldn’t find a fit, but don’t worry—we really like our team.”

And sure, maybe they do like their team. The problem is fans don’t. We want improvement.

The Yankees have not gone hard for impact bats. They haven’t meaningfully upgraded the defense. They haven’t addressed the rotation with any seriousness. And the bullpen? It didn’t just spring a leak—it flat-out evaporated. Whatever sense of stability fans are clinging to is built on vibes and optimism, not roster reality. This team is far shakier than it wants you to believe.

Contrast that with Toronto, who clearly understood the assignment. The Blue Jays swooped in and signed Japanese corner infielder Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year, $60 million deal with roughly 24 hours left in his posting window. No dithering. Just action. That move followed the additions of Dylan Cease and Tyler Rogers, and they’re still actively working to retain Bo Bichette. That’s three real swings taken by a team that decided being competitive wasn’t optional.

Now here’s the obvious thought the Yankees seem allergic to: Bo Bichette should be the target in my opinion.

If the goal is to win baseball games—and not just win press conferences—Bichette makes too much sense to ignore. He’s a superior offensive player, a proven performer under pressure, and a hitter who actually puts the ball in play. The Yankees’ lineup has been dragged for years over strikeouts and empty at-bats, and rightfully so. Bichette’s 14.5% strikeout rate in 2025 and elite contact profile (83rd percentile in whiff rate) would instantly lengthen the lineup and reduce the black holes that currently define it. This is everything Anthony Volpe is not at the plate, and pretending otherwise doesn’t make the math work.

And even if you fix shortstop, the rotation is also still waving red flags. Gerrit Cole missed all of 2025 after Tommy John surgery and isn’t expected back until May or June of 2026—at best. Carlos Rodón required an October procedure to remove loose bodies and a bone spur from his elbow and is likely to miss Opening Day, with a hopeful return sometime in late April or early May. That’s not a foundation. That’s crossed fingers.

Which is why Zac Gallen should be firmly on the Yankees’ radar. Yes, 2025 was a down year. But he’s a former Cy Young finalist with durability, innings, and upside—exactly the kind of buy-low, high-reward arm serious teams pursue. There were legitimate rumors linking him to the Cubs, and if the Yankees sit this one out too, it’ll be another self-inflicted wound. Passing on Gallen would be organizational malpractice disguised as prudence.

And that’s really the point of all this. The Yankees have done nothing to support this roster, nothing to elevate it, and nothing to make Spring Training feel like the start of something dangerous. It’s sad. Especially when you look north of the border and see a team that clearly understands how to compete.

The Blue Jays are proactive. They’re decisive. They’re acting like contention matters.

The Yankees? They’re waiting on Bellinger and calling it a strategy. Playing defense. Hoping nothing goes wrong. That’s not how serious franchises behave.

And right now, serious is the last word anyone should use to describe the New York Yankees.

My opinion of course.