NEW YORK — Jazz Chisholm took a turn talking to the writers in front of cameras after the Yankees’ season-ending loss last Wednesday night.
The All-Star second baseman mentioned how disappointed he was because he really believed his club was “the team to beat.” He talked about his very costly error on a tailor-made double-play grounder that ended up costing the Yankees two runs when they should have been out of the seventh still down 2-1.
The Blue Jays went on to win 5-2 to close out the Yankees in four games in a best of five Division Series.
At one point, NJ Advance Media asked Chisholm if he’s concerned that the 2025 Yankees, who led the majors in runs and homers, could be broken up this winter with free agent losses. They could lose two outfielders who hit for power and played Gold Glove-caliber defense, Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham.
“I’m not really worried,” Chisholm said. “I feel like we’ve built a pretty good family in here. I feel like a lot of guys will want to come back just to keep on trying to push for that World Series.
“A lot of guys also have to get paid, as well. I don’t even know how that works.”
Of course, Chisham knows how it works. Both are going to get a lot of dough and security.
Early speculation has Bellinger, a .272 hitter with 29 homers and 98 RBI in 2025 landing a deal in the six years for $180-million range. That would be a more-than-double bump from the pact that he just finished, three for $80 million.
Playing on a one-year, $5-million deal last season, Grisham has spiked his market value to at least $12 million a year per Spotrak belting a career-high 34 homers and might land at least $48 million for four.
What’s unknown is how aggressive the Yankees will be to keep either.
Their 2025 payroll, according to FanGraphs, was about $296 million. If it stays the same next year, the Yankees have about $63 million to add for next season’s budget counting free agents, other contracts coming off the books (such as Marcus Stroman), guaranteed contracts for 10 veterans with multi-year pacts (including DJ LeMahieu) and expected raises for 14 salary arbitration-eligible players.
So if the Yankees really want Bellinger and Grisham back, they could re-sign both and still have money left over for pitching and something else, perhaps a right-handed hitting catcher and a reserve outfielder.
But here’s the dilemma that Yankees are in:
They think Jasson Dominguez is ready to take over left field full-time after he put up some solid offensive numbers starting 100 games and playing 123 this season, many while the injured list included Giancarlo Stanton (first 70 games) and Aaron Judge (10 games late July/early August).
The Yankees still are confident that Dominguez is going to live up his teen hype and become a star, but his 2025 season included below-average fielding and he’s a switch-hitter that is a much better left-handed hitter.
Also, the Yankees believe Spencer Jones, their No. 2 prospect in MLB Pipeline’s rankings, is ready to be a big-league center fielder, maybe by 2026 Opening Day. The 2022 first-round pick out of Vanderbilt has no experience in the majors, but the 6-foot-7 slugger is a young Judge clone who put up a lot of impressive numbers this season.
Playing 116 games, the first 49 in Double-A and then 67 in Triple-A, Jones hit .274 with 35 homers, 80 RBI, 29 steals in 35 attempts and a .932 OPS. And it’s not like his Double-A numbers were far superior: He hit .274 at both levels.
Also, Jones is no kid anymore. He’ll be 25 in May.
The big concern is that Jones always has struck out a ton and it continued last season with 179 in 506 plate appearances. That’s a 35.4 percent strikeout rate in the minors. Yankees third baseman Ryan McMahon’s 32.3 percent K rate was the highest in the majors.
Dominguez and Jones sharing an outfield with Judge someday is intriguing, but in 2026? Would the Yankees be a better team next year running that out there almost every day?
The Yankees need to improve their roster after falling short of the ALCS following a 2024 World Series run, not go to a youth movement with Judge running out of prime years. He turns 34 in April.
Dominguez and Jones are the future, if they’re not used as trade chips in the next year or so. That’s pretty certain. But if the Yankees want to go all-on again on winning in 2026, they might need to bring back Bellinger or sign the best outfielder on this year’s free agent market, Kyle Tucker.
The Yankees love Tucker, who followed standout seasons for the Astros with an injury-plagued 2025 campaign with the Cubs, but he’s going probably going to get $40 million a year for a bunch of seasons. That’s Judge money.
Would the Yankees go that high when they already have a few very pricy players?
Doubtful.
Beyond cost, Bellinger probably is better suited for the Yankees because he’s elite at all three outfield spots and first base. Tucker is a right fielder who played some left early in his career and very little center.
The Yankees probably will try on some level to keep Bellinger, but his price might end up soaring beyond their comfort area. With Scott Boras representing him, he’ll likely chase every last dollar, too.
Perhaps benefitting for the Yankees is Bellinger really loved his one season on the team, especially playing with Judge.
There will competition, probably several big-market clubs bidding high for Tucker and Bellinger … the Mets, Phillies, Giants and Tigers, among others.
Another expensive outfielder will be on the market, a slugger that the Yankees tried to acquire years ago. But Kyle Schwarber, who turns 33 in March, has a DH body and that’s been his only spot when he mashed 38 homers in 2024 and 54 this year leading off for the Phillies.
If don’t bring back Bellinger or add Tucker, re-upping with Grisham may be their next-best option. Cheap free agent outfielders that the Yankees could have some interest include Cedric Mullins, Starling Marte and Harrison Bader.
Judge made his wishes public after the Yankees’ elimination game:
“Grish and Bellinger, two guys that had incredible years … it was fun to watch them, fun to learn from them and hopefully we can run them back. We’ll see what happens.”
Yes, we’ll see what happens.
It’s very early into the Yankees’ offseason, but it’s to imagine Cashman not bringing in an outfielder that at the very least improves their on-paper chances to win the World Series next year. If that means Dominguez being in a rotation system again and/or Jones getting more time in the minors, so be it.
If that means Cashman trading one of them to improve at shortstop, third base or add pitching, you’d think the offseason game plan starts and ends with not taking any shortcuts on trying to win a title while they’re still getting MVP-caliber seasons from Judge.
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