Yankees GM Brian Cashman pushes back against 'running it back' narrative after quiet offseason

The 2025 Yankees won 94 games in 2025 and advanced to the ALDS, but there they were eliminated by the eventual AL champion Blue Jays. This offseason, the Yankees have mostly tinkered at the margins of the roster while bringing back Trent Grisham (via the qualifying offer) and Cody Bellinger (on a five-year deal) while otherwise making seemingly minor additions like lefty starter Ryan Weathers. 

Wednesday, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman defended an offseason that many Yankees fans would call lackluster, especially in light of no World Series titles since 2009 while the Blue Jays, Dodgers and Mets, among plenty of others, have been more aggressive in outside-organization additions. 

"First, we have really good players, a collection of really talented players. It's not the same roster," Cashman said (via the New York Daily News). "I would differ there. We have some players, at some point, returning from the IL that are important players, Gerrit Cole being one of them. But we had some additions from the second half that got their feet wet with the Yankees, some with failures or success. But they'll now be in a position to join us with their feet on the ground and getting their sea legs under them – with a manager, too, learning how to utilize these guys, where they slot, and everything else."

"So I disagree it's the same team running it back," Cashman continued. "It's going to be some differences, and the competition is going to be different, too. In some cases, some teams got better. In other cases, some teams, you could argue, maybe got a little worse. Our division is the best in baseball. But long story short, one [playoff] series, make or break, is not going to define what we think our capabilities are."

It's certainly possible the Yankees as currently constructed end up a lot better in 2026 than 2025. Cashman mentioned Cole, and his ace is looking to return from Tommy John after missing all of last season. He won't open the season in the rotation, but he could be back before June and it's possible he's back in prime form by the end of the season. 

There was also the emergence of young starter Cam Schlittler last season and the Yankees traded for third baseman Ryan McMahon in front of the trade deadline. Closer David Bednar was also acquired at the deadline and could well firm up the ninth inning. There's always the hope that Giancarlo Stanton will play a lot more than 77 games, too. 

Of course, there are some things that will go wrong as well. 

Still, the Yankees look like a playoff team again. The matter for the locals will be how things unfold in October. If the Yankees fail to secure that now-elusive World Series title, perhaps some of these words will end up being used against Cashman in the court of public opinion. Because while he's right that there are reasons to be better, the Yankees are pretty much just "running it back."