The second that news broke late Friday afternoon that the Yankees could be optioning Jasson Domínguez to Triple-A, it appeared like a cinch that big-league veteran Randal Grichuk would make their Opening Day roster. Although he arrived to camp as a late-signing non-roster invitee and supervisor Aaron Boone tried to make it sound prefer it wasn’t a certain factor that be with them at first of 2026 (even saying so yesterday), Grichuk so clearly appeared to match what the Yankees claimed they had been on the lookout for all winter: a righty-hitting bench outfielder.
As such, it has to come to move: Grichuk can be on the 2026 Yankees, per Boone’s report on Saturday morning. Domínguez wasn’t the one participant who had to make room for Grichuk given the crowded roster state of affairs, and so got here the associated information that utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera would start the 12 months in Triple-A:
Cabrera had an option and is getting back from a fairly brutal ankle damage, solely making it into seven video games to date in spring coaching. So for as strong as a bench option as he’s at full well being, he’s not fairly there but, and he can preserve getting common reps at Scranton relatively than hardly ever enjoying within the majors. More probably than not, he’ll be wanted sooner relatively than later given the general age of the Yankees’ roster.
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As for Grichuk, he’s not terribly thrilling on the floor, however as Estevão famous earlier in March, there’s a purpose why he had the Yankees had been fascinated with him. Is it attainable that he was simply cooked in his 85 OPS+ age-33 season final 12 months? Sure. However, he has an .819 profession OPS towards lefties and that determine was .913 as not too long ago as 2024. So it’s definitely worth the flyer to see if he nonetheless has that in him, particularly when the roster flexibility is obtainable in the mean time with Cabrera and Domínguez’s choices (and wish for taking part in time).
Just to throw my hat within the ring on Opening Day roster projections, right here’s what I believe it might be as of now, acknowledging that Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, and Anthony Volpe will all start the 12 months on the IL:
Catchers (2)
Austin Wells
J.C. Escarra
Infielders (6)
Ben Rice
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
José Caballero
Ryan McMahon
Paul Goldschmidt
Amed Rosario
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Outfielders (4)
Cody Bellinger
Trent Grisham
Aaron Judge
Randal Grichuk
Designated Hitter (1)
Giancarlo Stanton
Starting Pitchers (5)
Max Fried
Cam Schlittler
Luis Gil
Ryan Weathers
Will Warren
Bullpen (8)
David Bednar
Camilo Doval
Fernando Cruz
Tim Hill
Ryan Yarbrough
Paul Blackburn
Cade Winquest
Jake Bird
That final spot within the bullpen may go to somebody like Brent Headrick relatively than Bird, however other than that, this all appears to be so as. What do you assume?
