The Yankees Are About To Start Cutting Arms To Pay For 2026

Highlights:

• The Yankees have two instant deadlines after the World Series: they have to reset their 40-man roster by Nov. 18 to prep for the Rule 5 Draft, then make non-tender calls on arbitration-eligible players by Nov. 21.
• Several bullpen arms are on the bubble, which could save roughly $10–12 million in projected 2026 arbitration money.
• New York ran a 2025 payroll of around $294 million — third-highest in MLB behind the Dodgers and Mets — and already has about $227 million committed for 2026 before arbitration raises hit. 

The New York Yankees’ offseason starts the minute somebody else wins the World Series.

Right now, the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers are tied 1-1 heading into Game 3 of the World Series on October 27, 2025, with Max Scherzer lined up for Toronto and Tyler Glasnow for L.A. at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers evened the series behind a Yoshinobu Yamamoto complete game in Game 2, the first World Series complete game since 2015.

For the Yankees, the fallout starts almost immediately after the trophy is handed out. 

Within five days of the World Series ending, every club has to reinstate players from the 60-day injured list back onto the 40-man roster and make option decisions. After that comes the first real line in the sand: teams must set their 40-man “reserve list” by 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 18 to protect eligible prospects from the Rule 5 Draft.

Three days later, on Nov. 21, comes the non-tender deadline. That’s when the Yankees either offer contracts to their arbitration-eligible players for 2026…or they don’t, instantly turning those guys into free agents.

So before Brian Cashman even gets to chase a middle-of-the-order bat or another starter, he has to answer a simpler, colder question: who here are we still willing to pay?

The non-tender bubble is basically the bullpen

If you’re looking for where the axe can fall, start with the relief crew.

MLB.com has already flagged a group of Yankees right-handers — Jake Bird, Jake Cousins, Scott Effross, Ian Hamilton and Mark Leiter Jr. — as possible non-tender candidates ahead of that Nov. 21 deadline.

 MLB Trade Rumors’ 2026 projections put Leiter Jr. at about $3 million, Effross around $800,000, Bird at roughly $1 million, Hamilton around $941,000 and Cousins about $841,000. Clarke Schmidt, who just had another elbow surgery, is projected at $4.9 million. Add it up and you’re looking at roughly $11.5 million for a tier of arms that either didn’t stick in the majors, got hurt, or are coming off shaky production.

Bird is a good example of the dilemma. The Yankees traded for him at the deadline, part of a bigger bullpen binge that also brought in late-inning names like David Bednar and Camilo Doval, then optioned Bird back to Triple-A days later after a rough start in pinstripes.That cost in prospects, plus a projected $1 million 2026 arbitration price tag, forces a real “keep or cut” call on someone who wasn’t exactly Mariano Rivera out of the gate.

Mark Leiter Jr. is another case. He went to a hearing with the Yankees last winter and lost, settling at $2.05 million for 2025, and now projects to cost about $3 million next year as an arbitration-eligible reliever coming off an IL stint.

And it’s not just pure arbitration guys. 

The Yankees also have club-option calls. Lefty Tim Hill has a $3 million club option for 2026 (with a $350,000 buyout) after giving them a heavy-usage, ground-ball lefty look in 2025. Reports indicate the team is inclined to pick that up. Meanwhile, Jonathan Loáisiga has a $5 million club option for 2026, but he ended the year hurt again, and that option is widely expected to be declined.

All of this does two things. First, it frees actual cash. Second —and maybe more importantly —it frees 40-man spots.