New York lost to the Dodgers in the 2024 Fall Classic and got bounced by eventual American League champion Toronto in the ALDS this past season. A reloaded and perhaps even healthier Yankees club is expected to contend once again in 2026.

Let’s break down the Yankees’ outlook for the 2026 Major League Baseball season.

New York Yankees futures odds 

• To make the playoffs -270 
• Aaron Judge to win AL MVP +225 
• Cody Bellinger to win AL MVP +3000 
• Max Fried to win the AL Cy Young Award +1700 

 New York Yankees key offseason acquisitions 

The Yankees are seemingly content to run it back with the roster that helped them win 94 games in each of the past two regular seasons. Their only notable addition during the offseason was starting pitcher Ryan Weathers, who was a serviceable member of Miami’s rotation in 2024 and 2025. New York otherwise hopes to bolster its pitching with the return of starter Gerrit Cole and reliever Jake Cousins. Both guys missed all of last year – Cole following Tommy John surgery and Cousins due to a pectoral injury that preceded TJ surgery of his own. 

New York Yankees key offseason losses 

New York is really banking on getting healthier, because it lost relief pitchers Devin Williams, Luke Weaver and Mark Leiter Jr. Both Williams and Weaver signed with the cross-town rival Mets, while Leiter traveled across the country to join the Athletics. Williams caught a lot of heat from Yankees fans while pitching to a 4.79 ERA last season, but he made 67 appearances and recorded 18 saves. Weaver compiled a 3.62 ERA in 67 appearances and saved eight games.  

New York Yankees strengths and weaknesses 

The story should be similar to 2025, when the Yankees led all of Major League Baseball in runs scored (849) and homers (274) – both by a country mile. Aaron Judge (.331, 53 HR, 114 RBI) earned AL MVP honours and is favoured to do the same in 2026. New York’s lineup also features Giancarlo Stanton, Cody Bellinger, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe. 

As their offseason indicates, the Yankees’ weakness will likely be – again – relief pitching. They finished No. 23 in MLB in bullpen ERA last year with a mark of 4.37. That ballooned to a horrific 6.15 effort in the playoffs. If younger arms don’t step up, New York will have to rely on its offense bashing its way to victories. 

 New York Yankees futures prediction: Max Fried to win the AL Cy Young Award (+1700) 

As the second favourites to win it all and the favourites in the American League, the Yankees do not have much value on the futures market – not when they have to deal with the likes of Seattle, Toronto, Boston, Houston and perhaps even Baltimore just to reach the World Series. Instead, pivoting to Fried taking home Cy Young honours could be a smart play. In his first year with New York, Fried went 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and a career-high 189 strikeouts in 195.1 innings. At 32 years old, the southpaw should be in – or at least close to – his prime for a while longer.