TAMPA, Fla. - A veteran American League scout, one assigned to the Yankees for roughly the last decade, spoke before a recent Grapefruit League game.
"Kind of boring," the evaluator said with a shrug. "Not in a bad way. Roster is good, pretty deep. They'll probably win their usual 90-95 games, do whatever they do at the deadline, take their shot in the postseason. Not a lot to it."
Indeed, it has been Camp Quiet to this point for the Yankees who, as much as the Yankees can, have flown relatively under the radar a little more than a week into training games.
That is not a bad thing and, naturally, that can change on a dime. It was just a year ago, after all, that within a period of weeks the Yankees lost Gerrit Cole to Tommy John, Luis Gil to a severe lat injury and Clarke Schmidt to shoulder soreness.
No news, generally speaking, this time of year is good news.
"I like the arms," GM Brian Cashman said over the weekend of what has stood out in camp. "The arms that we're seeing, there's a lot of quality. Hopefully it will stay that way, but guys are throwing well."
As Opening Day roster decisions go, there are a few to make but not many.
Barring injuries, obviously, Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger are the outfield starters, and Ryan McMahon, Jose Caballero, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Ben Rice and Austin Wells comprise the infield. Giancarlo Stanton, paid to swing a bat and not open potato chip bags, has been doing, without setback, all of his prescribed work and is set to make his spring debut Tuesday. He'll be the DH. Paul Goldschmidt and Amed Rosario are locks to be reserves and, even though Rice is a catching option, indications are J.C. Escarra will make it as the backup catcher (that is, however, still very much being debated behind the scenes). The just-signed Randal Grichuk, given the Yankees spent the winter trying to find a right-handed hitting outfielder and tried to acquire him before last season's trade deadline, instantly became the front-runner to grab the final spot (Jasson Dominguez, because the club wants him to get "everyday" reps, Cashman has said repeatedly, appears ticketed for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start the year).
The rotation is set with Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, Luis Gil, and Ryan Weathers. (Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt all will start the season on the IL but are expected back at various points during the season). David Bednar, Fernando Cruz, Camilo Doval, Tim Hill, Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough are certainties for the bullpen. Trade deadline pickup Jake Bird, already gassed when he arrived to the Yankees and soon sent down after he was acquired, is throwing well and has a good shot of making it. The Yankees liked what they saw last year, and have liked what they've seen this spring, from lefthander Brent Headrick and righty Yerry De Los Santos. But both of those pitchers have minor league options remaining and so the final spot may well go to righthander Cade Winquist. Though talent evaluators - both inside and outside of the organization - give the 25-year-old mixed reviews, the Yankees made Winquest, who did not pitch above Double-A last season in the Cardinals system, their first Rule 5 pick since 2011 during last December's winter meetings. Winquest, drafted mostly at the behest of the Yankees analytics wing because of the potential the group saw in his faculty to spin the ball, must remain on the club's big-league roster all season if he breaks camp with the club or be offered back to St. Louis for half of his $100,000 selection price.
The Yankees overall like the depth of arms they have in camp; quietly liking among others righty Osvaldo Bido and Angel Chivilli both of whom are on 40-man roster; righty Dylan Coleman non-roster invitee big-league experience threw 100-mph winter showcase Rhode Island (Yankees present).
"We feel good about the talent we have and about who's going to kind of emerge from that group to grab a meaningful role," Aaron Boone said as spring training began.
Said Cashman: "Hopefully we'll have tough decisions by the end of camp. That means everybody stayed healthy and performed at a high level and it makes those decisions difficult."
Difficult decisions in the spring are good. Drama, whether caused by injury or off-the-field stuff, is not.
So far so good in that regard for the Yankees and spring training 2026.