The New York Yankees have watched the AL East turn into an arms race without buying much ammunition of their own, and CBS Sports thinks that’s less about indifference and more about timing. In a piece published Wednesday, Mike Axisa laid out five explanations for why New York’s offseason has felt strangely quiet while the Blue Jays, Orioles, Rays, and Red Sox stack additions like it’s a Black Friday doorbuster.
From the outside, it looks like the Yankees are asleep at the wheel. They’ve added just one external player to the 40-man roster so far, a Rule 5 pick, while their division rivals have made splashier moves that actually change the shape of rosters. That contrast has made the Yankees’ winter feel louder than it is, because fans aren’t comparing New York to the rest of baseball — they’re comparing them to the teams they’ll have to beat 19 times each.
Axisa’s point is that the Yankees aren’t sitting still because they forgot how to shop. They’re sitting still because this market is still playing chicken.
CBS Sports’ Five-Point Case For Why New York Hasn’t Moved Fast
First, the offseason has been slow for most teams, not just the Yankees. Axisa argues this is simply what modern free agency looks like: clubs wait for prices to drop, agents try to hold the line, and the action drags deeper into the calendar. If the Yankees are hesitant right now, CBS frames it as a “current prices” problem more than a “Yankees don’t care” problem.
Second, New York has been busy re-signing its own. It’s not headline-grabbing, but it matters. Bringing back Trent Grisham on the qualifying offer gives the Yankees stability in a thin center-field market, and keeping Tim Hill, Amed Rosario, and Ryan Yarbrough addresses the sort of depth that can quietly decide two or three extra wins over six months.
Third, CBS notes that the Yankees did a chunk of their “winter shopping” at the trade deadline by acquiring controllable players who plug obvious holes. David Bednar stabilized the ninth inning after the Devin Williams experience. José Caballero gives them a shortstop option while Anthony Volpe rehabs. Ryan McMahon ended the revolving door at third base. When you check those boxes in July, your December list gets shorter.
Fourth, they haven’t truly “missed out” on their targets yet. Axisa points out that many of the names tied to the Yankees—Cody Bellinger, Kyle Tucker, Tatsuya Imai, Michael King—are still in play. That matters because panic usually comes from losing Plan A, not from waiting on Plan A to make a decision.
Fifth, the Yankees have a track record of January moves. CBS basically says: this is on brand. Cashman tends to let the board develop, then strike when leverage improves.
What The Slow Play Means For What Comes Next
None of this guarantees the Yankees’ patience is smart. The division is getting better in real time, and the Yankees don’t get bonus points for winning the “value” portion of the offseason if the roster ends up a piece short in October. But CBS’s framing suggests the quiet isn’t the same thing as inactivity: it’s an intentional attempt to let the market blink first.
The pressure point is obvious. The Yankees still need answers in left field and still need rotation reinforcements with multiple veteran starters expected to open 2026 on the injured list. If their “glacial market” daydream turns into January without impact additions, the explanation will stop sounding like strategy and start sounding like excuse-making.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post CBS Sports Explains Why the Yankees’ Offseason Has Been Slow appeared first on Heavy Sports.