Yankees roster projections for Opening Day 2026
Jose Caballero is greeted by Yankees teammates during a spring training game in Tampa on Feb. 21, 2026. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
TAMPA, Fla. – Luis Gil was hit hard – real hard – in a spring training start on Sunday. The 2024 AL Rookie of the Year gave up seven runs and nine hits in three innings in a 12-1 loss to Detroit.
Now, the “it’s only spring training crowd” is right. The game didn’t count and manager Aaron Boone said afterwards that Gil isn’t pitching for his rotation spot.
Gil is “one of the five guys,” Boone said.
But here comes some math: The Yankees may not need five guys (five starting pitchers, not the burger chain) until mid-April because of off days.
More math: With the Yankees beginning the season on March 25, they have time left to figure out what their Opening Day 26-man roster will look like when they take the field in San Francisco.
Gil’s 6.28 spring training ERA adds a wrinkle: The Yankees could send him to Triple-A to start the season. They have given no indication that is their plan, but why would they say that now?
With all that in mind, here is a projected roster for the opener, starting with the starters:
Rotation (5): Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Ryan Weathers, Gil.
Yes, Gil is on the team until further notice as part of a 13-man staff. But the Yankees could farm him and add another bullpen arm or even an extra bench player to give them a true backup shortstop (more on that later).
Bullpen (8): David Bednar, Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, Paul Blackburn, Tim Hill and Ryan Yarbrough are locks. Jake Bird and Brent Headrick seem set for the final two spots. Rule V draft choice Cade Winquist hasn’t had a great spring, but veteran righthander Kevin Castro has (0.00 ERA in six outings). You know how the Yankees love to find reclamation projects and turn them into solid bullpen arms. They are good at it.
Starting position players (9): C Austin Wells, 1B Ben Rice, 2B Jazz Chisholm Jr., SS Jose Caballero, 3B Ryan McMahon, LF Cody Bellinger, CF Trent Grisham, RF Aaron Judge, DH Giancarlo Stanton.
This is as stable a group as it comes, if they all stay healthy.
Bench (4): C J.C. Escarra, 1B Paul Goldschmidt, INF/OF Amed Rosario, OF Randal Grichuk.
This group is most interesting not because of who is on, but because of who isn’t: Jasson Dominguez, who will likely start the season in Triple-A despite a solid spring, and Oswaldo Cabrera, the super utilityman who could be a true backup shortstop but it still recovering from a serious ankle injury and may not be ready for Opening Day.
At the moment, the Yankees’ backup shortstop is their starting third baseman in McMahon, and their backup catcher may be their starting first baseman in Rice.
Escarra should make the team because the Yankees want a third catcher (or is he the second? Rice hasn’t played an inning behind the plate yet in spring training). So that has to be sorted out.
It’s possible Rice – who like Wells and Escarra is a lefthander hitter – will catch when Wells needs a day off with Goldschmidt playing first. The Yankees lessened their bench flexibility when they re-signed Goldschmidt, but they really like him against lefties and in the clubhouse.
McMahon has looked shaky in limited action at short. Rosario, who came up as a shortstop with the Mets, is seen as more of a corner infielder/outfielder now and will platoon with McMahon at third.
So the most likely scenario has the Yankees using Caballero nearly every inning at short and crossing their fingers until Anthony Volpe returns from shoulder surgery sometime in May.
Grichuk, who is in camp on a minor-league deal, will get at-bats against lefties early in the season and will probably get a month or six weeks to show he’s worth a roster spot before Volpe returns and creates another potential roster crunch.
Of course, all this supposes everyone stays healthy, which almost never happens either in spring training or during the regular season. Or that general manager Brian Cashman doesn’t put off a last-second trade or waiver claim before Opening Day, which he likes to do.
Anthony Rieber covers sports media and business and professional sports (you know, games and trades and things). He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since Jan. 1, 2026.
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