Jonathan Bowlan (groin) iffy for weekend series

In the same press conference, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that he doesn’t anticipate offseason surgery for any Yankees player, which would include Judge. Cashman added that “We feel like we’re in a good place. He can take advantage of the rest of the winter and be ready to go when Spring Training starts.” While it does seem like Judge will be healthy heading into 2027, the bigger question is whether or not the Yankees will utilize the DH spot to take some stress off his body during the season and help him remain healthy for the full season as he gets older.

Boone also didn’t rule out third base as an option either. One of the Yankees’ biggest challenges heading into 2027 is finding a defensive home for Garcia Jr. Ben Rice will likely be the starting first baseman, and the Yankees likely need to keep designated hitter open for Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, especially if they want Judge to remain healthy throughout a full season. That means Garcia needs somewhere else to play. Unfortunately, the Nationals had to move him off of second base because he was such a poor defender, and he has no MLB experience at third base. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the offseason, but Garcia Jr. getting multi-position eligibility back would be great for his fantasy value.

On a conference call, Cashman told reporters that he and the Yankees had agreed on a new deal, but they are “just hammering out the final details.” Despite the Yankees being a perennial contender and advancing to the AL Divisional Series again this season, the fanbase has grown a little frustrated by the lack of World Series titles this century. Cashman has held the job since 1998 and has led the Yankees to 29 consecutive winning seasons, six pennants, and four World Series, but the Yankees have not won a title in 17 years and have only one championship in the last 26 seasons. For a franchise that is used to being at the top of the sport, the recent performance allowed some fans to believe the Yankees wouldn’t simply run it back again in 2027. That appears to be exactly what they’re doing.

Woodruff is hoping to be included on the Brewers’ World Series roster after missing the last 4 1/2 months with a shoulder injury. His velocity apparently is back close to the 91.8 mph he averaged with his fastball in nine starts before going down this season. Still, it seems like something of a long shot that he’ll be activated.

Sandridge, a 27-year-old reliever, opened the season on the Orioles’ 40-man, but he gave up six runs in 5 1/3 innings in six appearances for Triple-A Norfolk and then missed the rest of the year, The left-hander has made one career major league appearance, giving up two runs in two-thirds of an inning for the Yankees in 2025.

Medick, 35, spent the last four years in the Yankees’ system, serving as a Triple-A pitching coach this year. He had a very brief career in the minors in the Diamondbacks’ system, posting a 1.17 ERA in 30 2/3 innings as a Rookie-ball reliever in 2014. That wasn’t enough to keep him around, though, and he finished his pitching career in indy ball in 2018.

Chandler Rome says it’s unclear if the team is still considering any of its current assistant GMs — Charles Cook, Gavin Dickey and Connor Huff — for the head job replacing Dana Brown, who was let go in August. Kleine, Barfield and Flores are all assistant GMs for their teams. Kleine previously interned for the Astros in 2007 before being hired by the Brewers and working his way up.

The rule for replacing injured players in the postseason is that it has to be a new injury, so the Brewers might be stuck with Woodruff on the roster and unable to pitch if something goes wrong. Woodruff hasn’t pitched since June because of a shoulder injury that was originally thought would require season-ending surgery. If he’s added to the World Series roster, it could be at the expense of Kyle Harrison, who has yet to pitch in the postseason.

The 19-year-old had an inconsistent first full professional season, hitting .242/.427/.403 in 36 games with four home runs and 12 steals. However, he also had a 35/40 K/BB ratio and showed elite plate discipline. Kilby is hitting .290 with a .964 OPS in Arizona Fall League action and now has four steals. He should begin next season in Single-A, and it remains to be seen what his long-term positional fit is with George Lombard Jr. now up with the Yankees at shortstop.

Rodríguez allowed one hit but struck out two in his inning of work. Perhaps more importantly, he sat 96.5 mph, which was up from 95 mph in his first outing, and he touched 98 mph on the radar gun. The 27-year-old has yet to allow a run in his AFL action and could be the favorite for saves in San Francisco heading into the 2027 season.