ORLANDO, Fla. — The Yankees came, they saw, they left.
And while the rest of the division may not have conquered quite yet, the Yankees’ competition is only getting better.
There is still time, of course — two months until pitchers and catchers report — for the Yankees to improve their roster heading into 2026, particularly with their top target, Cody Bellinger, still on the board.
But the Winter Meetings wrapped up on Wednesday without the Yankees having anything tangible to show for it, still early in an offseason in which their biggest foes in the AL East have each made impact moves.
A few hours before the Orioles and Pete Alonso agreed to a five-year, $155 million deal, general manager Brian Cashman had described the market as moving at a “glacial speed.”
“I haven’t accomplished anything,” Cashman said Wednesday morning. “We’re just staying engaged, trying to match up with some things, but it’s been tough so far. Don’t like the asks coming our way and I guess the opposing teams, what I’m trying to pull from them on the trade stuff, they’re not liking currently. But we do have some conversations that possibly could lead somewhere. But clearly if we had something, we would have done it.”
This marks the first time since 2018 — not including 2020 and 2021, when the event was canceled by COVID and a lockout — that the Yankees left the Winter Meetings empty-handed.
While the Yankees last month brought back Trent Grisham on the qualifying offer, Tim Hill on a club option and re-signed Ryan Yarbrough, the rest of the division has been aggressive in getting better this offseason.
Before making a big splash for Alonso, the Orioles had signed closer Ryan Helsley and acquired outfielder Taylor Ward, and still appear to be hunting a front-line starter.
The defending division champs, the Blue Jays, have added pitchers Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce and are players for Kyle Tucker or Bellinger, if not re-signing Bo Bichette.
The Red Sox have bolstered their rotation with Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo and are expected to add a big bat. Even the Rays have signed outfielder Cedric Mullins and lefty Steven Matz.
The Yankees’ priority is bringing back Bellinger, whose price may have gone up Wednesday with Alonso signing, not to mention the Mets possibly becoming even more of a desperate suitor for the outfielder/first baseman.
But the Yankees, who already have a projected payroll of roughly $283 million, are believed to have a limit on just how much they would spend to retain the left-handed hitter.
And outside of him, they may be more inclined to address some of their needs via the trade market.
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