New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has expressed optimism about the team's pitchers during the early days of 2026 spring training in Tampa, Florida. He highlighted the performances of young prospects and the recovery progress of Gerrit Cole. Cashman noted the overall quality and commitment of the pitching staff ahead of the season.
In Tampa, Florida, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman shared positive observations on the team's pitchers as 2026 spring training begins. Speaking on Saturday before the Yankees' 5-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at George M. Steinbrenner Field, Cashman said, “I like the arms. The arms that we’re seeing, it’s a lot of quality. Hopefully it’ll stay that way.”
Cashman praised young pitchers, calling them “young pups” like Carlos Lagrange and Elmer Rodríguez, who have shown poise and velocity as expected. Lagrange, MLB's No. 79 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, reached 102.1 mph in a relief outing against the Minnesota Twins in Fort Myers on Friday. Rodríguez, ranked No. 82, is seen as a potential future rotation member. Cashman added about Lagrange, “We’ve all known how hard he throws. Just how he’s gone about his business, his body language, he seems very comfortable. He doesn’t seem overwhelmed.” He also commended Ben Hess for benefiting from training alongside pitchers like Max Fried, Gerrit Cole, and Carlos Rodón.
Gerrit Cole, recovering from Tommy John surgery less than a year ago, impressed by touching 97 mph in live batting practice. On Friday, Cole threw 26 pitches with a new over-the-head windup, facing Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Trent Grisham. Cashman described it as “comforting” and said, “Not surprisingly, he’s done everything he can in a very methodical way. It’s all playing out as you would hope... But he looks great.” The Yankees plan for Cole to possibly pitch in Grapefruit League games, targeting a rotation return in late May or June.
Ryan Weathers hit 99.8 mph in his spring debut, a career high. Cashman noted, “I’m happy to report that everybody really was committed and focused, as you’d hope they would be.” Looking back, the 2025 Yankees tied the Blue Jays with 94 wins but lost the tiebreaker, and missed Cole's contributions while not planning a full season from Cam Schlittler.
The team re-signed Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham, Paul Goldschmidt, Amed Rosario, and Ryan Yarbrough. To address a prior concern over right-handed bats, they added Goldschmidt, Rosario, and Randal Grichuk as a non-roster invitee, who had his first workout on Saturday. Cashman said of Grichuk, who has a history of hitting left-handers, “Hopefully we’ll have tough decisions by the end of camp.” Prospects Jasson Domínguez and Spencer Jones may start in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, as everyday spots are occupied by Grisham, Bellinger, Judge, and Stanton. Cashman stated, “I just think we have a good, strong, deep roster of players that are capable of great things. And so we’re going to look forward to testing that theory.”
