New York

Yankees

This confirms some speculation last week from The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner. While the Paul Goldschmidt reunion looked like something tough for Rice after Goldy played against left-handers last year, this is a terrific update for Rice’s fantasy value. He may even be able to maintain catcher eligibility for 2027 if he gets into enough games at the position, giving him some extra keeper league value going forward.

He added that Cole could graduate to game action by the end of spring training. The word over the offseason was that Cole was likely to be out until late May or early June, and this update seems to jive well with that timetable. Cole figures to rejoin the Yankees at midseason as long as his rehab and ramp-up go well.

Hamel lost his spot on the club’s 40-man roster last week after the Yankees picked up Yanquiel Fernandez off of waivers from the Rockies. The 26-year-old hurler posted a 5.32 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and a 75/22 K/BB ratio across 67 2/3 innings in a swingman role at Triple-A Syracuse in 2025.

Shewmake had been designated for assignment late last week but passed through waivers unclaimed and will continue to function as extra infield depth for the Yankees. He’ll stay in major league camp as a non-roster invitee.

The 28-year-old infielder had been designated for assignment on Friday. The Yankees were in the market for quality infield depth with the uncertainty around the status of Anthony Volpe to begin the season, so Schuemann looks like a quality addition. The glove-first infielder can continue to be ignored for fantasy purposes.

The 23-year-old slugger was just claimed off of waivers from the Rockies on Wednesday, but the Bombers needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the addition of Max Schuemann and unfortunately Fernandez finds himself in roster limbo once again. It seems likely that another team would be willing to take a chance on him on waivers once again.

Rice is likely to come off the board as a top-five catcher in fantasy drafts this spring, but he’s rapidly becoming one of the more polarizing hitters in the entire fantasy landscape. He ranked among the league’s upper echelon in average exit velocity (95th percentile), barrel rate (92nd percentile) and hard-hit percentage (97th percentile) during last year’s 26-homer breakthrough campaign. The soon-to-be 27-year-old slugger appears poised to catch more often than originally anticipated with the Yankees bringing back veteran lefty-masher Paul Goldschmidt to handle the cold corner against southpaws. Kirshner notes that Rice, who is currently viewed as the club’s third backstop, could potentially move into the backup catcher role behind starter Austin Wells in addition to serving as their primary first baseman against right-handed pitching to free up a roster spot for someone like Jasson Domínguez. The added playing time opportunity comes paired with the inherent injury risk that has always followed catchers behind the plate.

The financial terms come from Jon Heyman of The New York Post. It’s been said that Ben Rice was going to get a shot against lefties this year, but that hardly seems to be case now, at least not while everyone is healthy. It’s certainly an understandable move by the Yankees. Goldschmidt, a future Hall of Famer perhaps entering his last season at age 38, hit .336/.411/.570 in 168 plate appearances against southpaws last season. Besides diminishing Rice’s role, his return figures to push Jasson Domínguez back to Triple-A, again assuming that the starting lineup makes it through the spring healthy.

The Bombers needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the addition of Osvaldo Bido on Thursday and unfortunately Shewmake drew the short straw this time around. The 28-year-old infielder spent the 2025 season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre where he slashed .244/.318/.362 with four homers, 29 RBI and a 52/30 K/BB ratio over 315 plate appearances. There’s a decent chance he’ll pass through waivers unclaimed and continue to function as extra infield depth for the Yankees.

It’s the fifth time since the 2025 season came to a close that Bido has changed teams via waivers — going from the Athletics to the Braves, to the Rays, to the Marlins, to the Angels and now to the Yankees. He’s talented enough that he’s going to keep getting opportunities, though if the Yankees need a 40-man roster spot in the coming weeks, Bido could be on the move once again.