With the holiday season in full swing, Aaron Boone spent his Friday afternoon handing out food and toys at a charity event hosted by the NYPD’s 44th precinct.
There, the Yankees skipper and two of his sons generously greeted Bronx residents with athletic gear, dolls and bags of groceries, among other items. The Food Bank For New York City also served as a partner for the annual event.
Aaron Boone, along with 2 of his sons, are passing out food and toys at the NYPD’s 44th precinct ahead of the holidays. #Yankees pic.twitter.com/8ZqZloN2B0
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) December 19, 2025
With the Yankees in the midst of what’s been a quiet offseason thus far, Boone is still waiting on some new toys of his own.
To date, Rule 5 draft pick Cade Winquest is the only external addition the Bombers have made to their major league roster. However, Boone said that the club’s front office has been “grinding away,” and he plans on managing a competitive squad no matter what.
“I know we have a really good team right now. We have a lot of really good players on our roster,” Boone said, echoing sentiments shared by the Yankees since their season ended with the ALDS. “It’s probably not finished. There’ll be tweaks, I’m sure, up until spring training. So whatever happens, our expectation is that we’re going to be really good.”
One impactful addition to the Yankees’ roster would be Japanese free agent Tatsuya Imai.
The team, which could use frontline rotation insurance, is believed to be interested in the right-hander, as well as restoring its presence in the Japanese market. However, Boone said the Yankees have not met or scheduled a meeting with Imai yet.
Asked if he expects the team to do so, Boone said, “I don’t know.”
Boone, as part of larger Yankees contingents, has met with free agent targets in the past, whether it be virtual or in-person, including Japanese stars Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki. However, the Yankees haven’t revealed much when asked about Imai this offseason.
During the Winter Meetings last week, Brian Cashman wouldn’t say if he expected Imai to visit the Yankees in New York. When reminded that he did comment on Sasaki’s sweepstakes last winter, the general manager said it was because that process was very public.
Imai, posted by Nippon Professional Baseball’s Saitama Seibu Lions and represented by Scott Boras, has until Jan. 2 to sign with an MLB team.
Boras has previously said that Imai is “very geographically open.” The pitcher hasn’t expressed a need to team up with other Japanese stars, either, and he’s even said that he would love to take down the Dodgers and their cast of his fellow countrymen, which includes Sasaki, Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani.
Those factors bode well for the Yankees, who haven’t had a Japanese player since Masahiro Tanaka, but Imai’s price tag could end up beyond the team’s comfort zone.
BOONE EXPECTS TO HAVE JAZZ
With Cashman “open-minded” to “challenge trades” and saying it’s a “problem” that the Yankees’ lineup is so left-handed at the Winter Meetings, Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s name has come up in trade rumors. However, Boone said that he expects the second baseman to be on his roster.
Of course, the manager threw in the caveat that the offseason can be unpredictable.
“You never know what’s going to happen, where teams match up on certain things, but no, I’m planning on him being right in the middle of the lineup,” Boone said.
Boone added that while he has spoken to Chisholm this offseason, he hasn’t discussed the rumors with him. Chisholm, meanwhile, has expressed interest in an extension before he hits free agency next winter, but the Yankees typically avoid such deals.
HAPPY HOLLIDAYS, BELLINGER
Boone didn’t have much to say about free agent Cody Bellinger, other than that he plans to reach out to the outfielder over the holidays.
Boone previously said he has not played an active part in recruiting Bellinger back to the Yankees. The club has been open about its desire to retain the veteran, another Boras client, though it’s unclear how high Bellinger’s market will go or when he will make a decision with Kyle Tucker’s free agency also dragging.
WEAVER JOINS METS DEFECTORS
With Luke Weaver, a Yankee since the end of the 2023 season, agreeing to a two-year, $22 million deal with the Mets, Boone said that he’s “happy” to see the former journeyman starter get a deal “that he’s earned.”
“When we got him, it kind of seemed like not a big move at the time,” recalled Boone, who texted Weaver on Thursday. “To turn into the reliever in the role he ended up having for us the next two seasons, credit to him for going out there and making a little alter to his career and it paying dividends for him.”
Weaver became the second member of the Yankees’ 2025 bullpen to join the Mets this offseason, as Devin Williams made the switch first. The Mets also poached Juan Soto and Clay Holmes from the Yankees last winter.
Asked what he made of all the defections to Queens, Boone laughed and simply said, “It’s not quite the Bronx.”
A NEW POSITION FOR ROSARIO?
Finally, Boone said that recently re-signed utilityman Amed Rosario will work to become an option at first base. That would give the Yankees a righty-swinging alternative to the left-handed Ben Rice at first, though Boone previously said he expects Rice to face southpaws more often in 2026.
Rosario, a subpar defender at second, third and in the outfield, began working at first base before the Yankees acquired him from the Nationals this past summer. However, he has never played there in a major league game.
