Yankees news: Blue Jays make a move, sign Kazuma Okamoto

SNY.com | Colin Martin and Phillip Martinez: The 2025 American League champion Toronto Blue Jays made a splash yesterday afternoon, signing Japanese corner infielder Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year, $60 million deal roughly 24 hours before the end of his posting period. With the move, Toronto has now made three big additions this season, as they had previously signed Dylan Cease and Tyler Rogers, while they continue discussions with their own free agent, infielder Bo Bichette. Although the Yankees never seemed to be seriously in on Okamoto — or either of the other two prominent Japanese free agents this year, for that matter — the move does highlight the Yankees’ need for another bat, preferably one capable of hitting lefties, this winter.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: Yankees beat reporter Bryan Hoch revealed his 2026 Hall of Fame ballot yesterday with an article explaining what is a very Yankees-centric ballot. He votes for four players linked to performance-enhancing drugs or cheating scandals, including three Yankees (Carlos Beltrán, Andy Pettitte, and Alex Rodriguez; Manny Ramirez was the fourth), writing that “the Hall should tell the full story of the era.“ The three players he view as underrated but deserving also include a pair of Yankees in Bobby Abreu and Andruw Jones (Chase Utley being the third). Last, he considers what ”what a Hall starting pitcher will look like in the future,“ as he voted for Mark Buehrle, Cole Hamels, and Félix Hernández.

MLB.com | Manny Randhawa: This one’s a couple of days old, but it’s still early in the year, so it’s still a good time to consider what 2026 will have in store. Manny Randhawa highlights eight major storylines for the upcoming year, and this list has its fair share of Yankees involved. The World Baseball Classic, in which Aaron Judge will be serving as Captain America for Team USA, returns in March. No fewer than four players are within striking distance of the 400 home run club, including Yankees captain Aaron Judge. And the Automated Ball-Strike challenge system will be deployed this year, hopefully saving Aaron Judge from a lot of low strike calls that he has spent his career battling. Hmm, maybe this list really is just filled with Aaron Judge, not filled with Yankees.