Yankees 2026 season preview: Projected lineup, rotation, MLB prediction as they hope boring will be better

A boring winter gave way to a boring spring — the latter coming with a better connotation than the former.

But now, after getting the band back together from the last time they were on the field for a game that counted — Game 4 of the ALDS in October — the Yankees are about to find out whether their wavering belief in the roster they finished 2025 with can pay dividends in 2026, sprinkling in the help of a few additions along the way.

“I think we have a good, strong, deep roster of players that are capable of great things,” general manager Brian Cashman said. “We look forward to testing that theory.”

While 24 of the 26 players from the 2025 ALDS roster are back in the organization, the biggest potential difference this season is the looming return of Gerrit Cole. The former AL Cy Young winner’s comeback from Tommy John surgery was one of the most promising developments of a relatively uneventful spring training for the club, keeping Cole on track to potentially make his season debut at some point in May.