After seeing their season end in the ALDS to the Tampa Bay Rays, the New York Yankees now head back to the drawing board this offseason to see where they can upgrade their lineup.
For the most part, we should see the same players at their usual spots in the lineup next season, except at two position -- second and third base. Those are two positions fans want to see improved this winter whether through trade, free agency, or internal.
In our first lineup projection of the offseason, we breakdown each position across the diamond, which includes a new face at the old spot Jazz Chisholm Jr. used to occupy.
Catcher
Current Starter: Austin Wells
Projected Starter: Austin Wells*
The Yankees have a lot of places they can look for more offense this offseason, including behind the plate, but making a big-time investment in a full-time replacement for Wells would be unwise.
A new article from The Athletic's Brendan Kuty dove into that maddening midseason fall-off, which directly surrounded his cervical headaches. It's widely believed he had Anthony Rizzo-type fog that hurt his timing, but he bounced back and finished the season strong. When you look at the full picture for his three seasons, Wells has been at least an average offensive catcher while perennially one of the best defenders.
Now, that doesn't mean the position can go unaddressed. A right-handed backup/platoon partner is needed, as Wells struggled to see same-handed pitching all season. That might mean signing someone like Gary Sanchez, Kyle Higashioka, Carson Kelly, or Jonah Heim, rather than the white whale Ryan Jeffers or a trade.
First base
Current Starter: Luis García Jr.
Projected Starter: Luis García Jr.
The only compelling question here, aside from rumors that García could be shopped in the right deal, is whether the team will give Ben Rice more reps here rather than slotting him in as a full-time DH this early in his career.
García, while not a Gold Glover by any means, is a perfectly average first baseman defensively. Rice was very bad at the position early in 2026, before the trade. That said, with García being a free agent after 2027, the team has more invested in Rice as their first baseman of the future, especially when considering they'll need more DH days for Aaron Judge.
There's also a slim possibility of moving Garica to second or third base, but for a team that wants to improve defensively, that doesn't seem like a good idea.
Second base
Current Starter: Anthony Volpe
Projected Starter: Xavier Edwards (trade)
Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s tenure in pinstripes is likely over after a walk year that generated more negative headlines than positive on-field production. He still posted 3.5 fWAR despite a massive regression at the plate, but the team would be wise to avoid giving him a qualifying offer even with that floor.
Volpe has a lot of internal support in the building. He wound up starting at second base down the stretch, but the Yankees can't afford to ignore the infield this offseason. That's not an option with the offensive struggles and how low the floor of this team is with another Judge injury.
Looking at external options, the pipe dream is CJ Abrams from the Nationals, but I wouldn't count on that. In free agency, there's powerful lefty slugger Brandon Lowe, slap-hitting star Luis Arraez, and old friend Gleyber Torres. All three would provide things the Yankees lack, but there are pitfalls,
For one, the team is already incredibly left-handed, which leaves them vulnerable against tough lefties. After last year's platoons didn't work, you want to minimize those. Both Lowe and Arraez, particularly, are on the wrong side of 30 and had fluky seasons defensively after being historically awful at the position. Arraez even had a rough time playing in a similar ballpark in Philadelphia, with its lack of outfield space to slap the ball.
With Torres, it seems the bridge is burned, even if his on-base abilities would be perfect for this team. As such, the most likely target might be the Marlins' Xavier Edwards.
A career .291 hitter, Edwards had a fantastic start to 2026, but regressed hard down the stretch. At his best, he's an on-base machine who approaches a .400 OBP. At his worst? He's an Arraez lite, heavily reliant on BABIP. However questionable his profile for sustainability, the 27-year-old fits a mantra to get more balanced offensively.
Third base
Current Starter: Ryan McMahon
Projected Starter: Anthony Volpe
The Yankees seem about done with Ryan McMahon, who still has one year left on his contract, but is in the range of being released like DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Hicks before him. What might save his job is the lack of good third basemen available on the market.
Teruaki Sato is by far the best offensive player on the market, with a history at third base, and has been confirmed to be posted on Monday. Sato is a tremendous hitter but a weak defender, and that could scare the Yankees off.
I think they'll be interested, but I'll believe a Japanese talent signing here when I see it. With how much support Volpe has in the building, I wouldn't be surprised if he got a chance to start here next season. They planted the seeds by giving him five total games of experience there between Triple-A and the majors. If not, José Caballero is an option.
Shortstop
Current Starter: George Lombard Jr.
Projected Starter: George Lombard Jr.
No intrigue here.
The Yankees promoted George Lombard Jr. as one of the youngest shortstops in franchise history last August to give him runway, and he showed enough progress down the stretch that you are more than confident in his ability to grow to be a decade-long starter at the position.
Left field
Current Starter: Cody Bellinger
Projected Starter: Cody Bellinger
The best defensive left fielder in baseball, who also happens to be a damn good hitter, is also a lock for the position. But he could get reps at center field depending on how the Yankees play this offseason.
They still have Heliot Ramos in tow and could utilize him and Jones (assuming full health for everyone) in a platoon, despite Jones' numbers against lefties last season. In that case, Bellinger would slide to center field.
I wouldn't discount the possibility that the Yankees take their big swing at the much deeper outfield class and move Bellinger to center field next season on a short-term basis. If you can get an All-Star- level bat in Randy Arozarena or Seiya Suzuki, you're willing to make that move.
Center field
Current Starter: Spencer Jones
Projected Starter: Spencer Jones*
Jones will most likely start in center field on Opening Day, but there are multiple possibilities that placate him one way or another.
One of those is the platoon system with Ramos. Another is signing a big outfield bat who pushes him to be a very good fourth outfielder. There is also one that's been discussed more in the last few days, surrounding Nationals center fielder Jacob Young.
Young is a mediocre hitter at best, but he's one of the best defenders in all of baseball. He's also a platoon candidate, as he was a pretty solid hitter against lefties last season (.776 OPS). The Yankees had worse center field defense than almost anyone in the sport last year, so I wouldn't be surprised if they went after him.
Right field
Current Starter: Aaron Judge
Projected Starter: Aaron Judge
No question here. Judge will be able to fully heal the calf and rib injuries that torpedoed his 2026 season and go into 2027 fresher than ever.
The problem is that he will be 35 years old in April. Whenever we get to baseball next year, Father Time will be creeping closer and closer. Regression is coming, but so could more injuries. Is the solution to tell Judge to take it easy in right field, or to prepare him for a DH role over the next few years?
Designated hitter
Current Starter: Ben Rice
Projected Starter: Ben Rice
Rice is one of baseball's best hitters, and no matter what, he should start 150+ games next season. The only question is whether it's at DH or first base.
The intrigue here is if the Yankees decide to part ways with Giancarlo Stanton after his nightmare 2026. He still has juice in that bat and can be a weapon as a pinch-hitter/occasional DH for the team depending on how the roster construction works out, but he cannot be relied on anymore.
His playing time would solely hinge on how much juice he has in his bat and how healthy the rest of the team is. If Judge has to DH, he's pinned to the bench. If García starts hitting lefties, he's pinned to the bench. If he comes out slow next year, he might get released.
That's one of many questions this team has going into a long offseason.
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