Can Yankees take AL East back in '26? Here's what they need

The American League East, already a tough division from which three clubs reached the postseason last year, has gotten better even with the departures of Bo Bichette (Blue Jays to Mets) and Alex Bregman (Red Sox to Cubs) in free agency.

After coming up two outs short of winning their first World Series title in 32 years last fall, the Blue Jays signed star right-hander Dylan Cease to the largest contract in franchise history and added Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto to the lineup, also bolstering the bullpen by signing reliever Tyler Rogers.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox swung some big trades, acquiring veteran right-hander Sonny Gray and slugging first baseman Willson Contreras from the Cardinals. Boston then landed star left-hander Ranger Suárez in free agency.

The Orioles responded aggressively to a disappointing 2025 campaign by signing slugger Pete Alonso to a five-year contract, as well as trading for outfielder Taylor Ward from the Angels and right-hander Shane Baz from the Rays.

One team conspicuously absent from the discussion so far? The Yankees, who, after re-signing Cody Bellinger on a five-year deal, appear to be returning largely the same roster in 2026 -- though the offseason isn’t over yet.

While it might seem as though the Yanks face a tougher road to reclaiming the AL East after the Jays won it last year, this is still a club that won 94 games last season and reached the World Series two years ago.

Here are five keys to the Bronx Bombers recapturing the division crown in 2026:

1. A healthy Judge

Aaron Judge is the heart and soul of this club, and what the Yanks don’t want to see is what happened in the middle of the 2023 season.

That’s when Judge was sidelined for nearly two months with a toe injury he suffered when colliding with the outfield wall at Dodger Stadium.

Prior to Judge’s injury, New York’s lineup ranked fourth in the Majors with 94 home runs and ninth in the Majors with 283 runs scored. While Judge was out, the Yankees were tied for 17th in homers (51) and ranked 28th in runs scored (169).

Judge, who is putting together possibly the greatest peak performance by a right-handed hitter in baseball history, is the engine that propels the Yankees forward, and they need the three-time MVP to be in the lineup for a full season.

2. Youngsters in rotation need to shine while Cole and Rodón are out

With Carlos Rodón not expected back from left elbow surgery until sometime early in the regular season, Gerrit Cole not expected to return from Tommy John surgery until possibly June and Clarke Schmidt also recovering from Tommy John surgery that will keep him out until at least sometime after the All-Star break, much of the fate of the starting rotation to begin the season will depend on a trio of youngsters.

Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Ryan Weathers will be counted upon to carry the load behind ace Max Fried to open the 2026 campaign, and they’ll need to be good in order for New York to get off to a strong start before Cole and Rodón are back.

Schlittler, who turns 25 next month, was excellent in 14 regular-season starts last year after making his MLB debut on July 9, posting a 2.96 ERA with a 27.6% strikeout rate.

But it was in the AL Wild Card Series against the archrival Red Sox that the right-hander shined the brightest, tossing eight scoreless frames during a historic performance in Game 3, walking none and striking out 12.

Warren, 26, had a 4.44 ERA over 33 starts in 2025, though he had some stretches over which he looked good, including a nine-start span from April 12-May 25 in which he pitched to a 3.67 ERA. He also had one of the best fastballs in the game last season, with a four-seam run value of +11 (93rd percentile among qualified pitchers, according to Statcast).

The Yankees recently acquired Weathers in a trade with the Marlins. The 26-year-old left-hander and son of former MLB pitcher David Weathers was a first-round pick by the Padres back in 2018. Injuries have limited him during his five-year Major League career so far -- he hasn’t made more than 18 starts in a season (with San Diego in 2021).

Weathers stands to be a breakout candidate, however, given his repertoire and potential. With a fastball that averages 97 mph, a sharp sweeper and an upper-80s changeup that produce whiff rates of around 40%, our David Adler points out that his closest comps based on pitch type, speed and movement are none other than Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet and Jesús Luzardo.

If the Yankees are to weather the challenge of being without two of their top starters to open the season, Weathers will need to begin reaching his tremendous potential.

3. Another big season from the new Grisham

Trent Grisham was a revelation in pinstripes last season, belting a career-high 34 homers -- more than double his previous high for a season -- while producing an .811 OPS.

Entering the 2025 campaign, Grisham was known primarily for his glove in center field after winning a pair of Gold Glove Awards with the Padres. But his big year at the plate was a boon for the Bronx Bombers, and after he accepted the Yankees’ one-year qualifying offer, they hope they’ll see more of the same in '26.

If he continues the trend he has established of pulling more balls in the air, which led to his home run surge last year, this new version of Grisham could be here to stay. His tendency to hit the ball in the air, and now more to the pull side than ever, coupled with the short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium, means 2025 might not have been a fluke.

If Grisham proves that, it would go a long way toward New York reclaiming AL East supremacy.

4. A bounceback from Volpe

Anthony Volpe hit 21 home runs and won a Gold Glove Award at shortstop in 2023, leading to the notion that the Yankees might have their shortstop of the future. But he hit just .209 in that rookie campaign and in three Major League seasons, he has a .662 OPS.

Last year, Volpe suffered a left shoulder injury while diving for a ball in early May, and he struggled from there through the end of the season. Prior to the injury, he had a .786 OPS. After, he posted a .628 OPS.

Volpe’s defense has also declined. During his Gold Glove-winning campaign, he racked up 15 defensive runs saved. Last year, he produced +2 DRS and -6 outs above average.

The Yankees still believe Volpe, who is expected to be ready to return sometime around early May, is their starting shortstop over the long term. They’ll need a bounce-back performance from him in 2026.

5. Big bullpen names need to live up to their billing

The Yankees made some major moves to upgrade the bullpen at last year’s Trade Deadline, acquiring David Bednar from the Pirates, Camilo Doval from the Giants and Jake Bird from the Rockies.

It didn’t turn out the way the Yanks hoped it would. Bednar, a two-time All-Star, was good, posting a 2.19 ERA with 10 saves down the stretch as New York’s closer.

Things got off to a rocky start for the right-hander, who surrendered two runs and blew the save against the Marlins on Aug. 1 in Miami. But from there, Bednar yielded just four runs over 23 innings (1.57 ERA) the rest of the way before giving up one run and striking out nine over six innings in the playoffs.

Doval and Bird, however, struggled. The former had a 4.82 ERA over 22 appearances and the latter gave up seven runs (six earned) over three appearances with the Yanks before being sent down to Triple-A, never to appear in the Majors again in 2025.

The Yankees haven’t made any significant additions to the bullpen this offseason, and have lost two prominent relievers to free agency in Devin Williams and Luke Weaver. As things stand, the trio of Bednar, Doval and Bird will have to produce much better collective results if New York is to compete for a division title in 2026.