Less Is More At YES Network

The YES Network has streamlined its New York Yankees broadcast booth for the 2026 season, reducing the number of announcers to create greater consistency and familiarity for viewers.

In 2026, the booth will feature just two play-by-play announcers—lead voice Michael Kay and backup Ryan Ruocco—and three rotating analysts: David Cone, Paul O’Neill, and Joe Girardi. Sideline reporter Meredith Marakovits will continue in her role.

This marks a significant shift from 2025, when YES employed four different play-by-play announcers and six analysts, leading to more variability in broadcasts.

YES executive producer and vice president of production Jared Boshnack told Newsday that the change prioritizes audience preferences for predictability in baseball's daily rhythm.

“I think that's what most of the audience wants,” Boshnack said. “I think they know the excellence of our coverage. It's well documented. But at the end of the day, there is something to be said for the rhythm of baseball, that it's every single night... I think it's going to really be beneficial for the audience to know every single game, ‘Hey, this is who’s going to be covering it.’”

The network is betting that “less is more,” with more frequent appearances by its core talent—Kay, Cone, Girardi, and O’Neill—in two- or three-man configurations to build better continuity and identity.

Michael Kay

Boshnack, who took over the top production role a year ago, emphasized that YES has long featured top-tier talent and used the offseason to focus on tightening the lineup.  “We have always had, since YES launched, some of the best talent in the business across the board,” he said. “What we had an opportunity to do this offseason was to take a look at it, and really leaned more in on consistency, the opportunity to tighten some things up, and create continuity so that there's identity when people are tuning in that they know exactly who they're tuning in for.”

Last season's additional voices included analysts John Flaherty, Todd Frazier, and Jeff Nelson, plus play-by-play contributors Flaherty and Justin Shackil. Flaherty and Nelson will not return for 2026, while Shackil and Frazier remain part of the pre- and postgame roster.

Flaherty, a former Yankees catcher who spent 20 years with YES, said the decision communicated in October was “definitely not a surprise.”

Kay will handle play-by-play for 85-90% of regular-season games in his 25th year with the network. The first spring training broadcast airs Saturday, with Kay and Cone calling the Yankees' home opener against the Detroit Tigers.