Yankees Have Work To Do To Swap Red Flags For Another Championship Banner
Whereas certain New York City area teams (i.e. Jets/Nets/Mets) are free to proceed with more modest aspirations, the Yankees aren’t one of them. It’s World Series or bust.
Working in the only major professional sports league without a salary cap, the Bronx Bombers have maintained a top-three payroll every season since 2018. This season’s iteration is as star-laden as any of them, with Juan Soto joining Aaron Judge in the outfield to form a powerhouse duo not seen in these parts since Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in the early 1960s.
Even without reigning Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole all season until Wednesday’s 62-pitch debut, the Yankees (51-26) are nearing the 2024 midpoint with the best record in Major League Baseball, percentage ticks ahead of Philadelphia. All while managing a daunting schedule—only Arizona has played more games and just three others have seen a heavier skewing of road contests.
Why bother nitpicking then? Because all of the above will be moot should the Bombers fail to capture Championship banner No. 28 in October. And too many flags flying over Yankee Stadium these days are red.
I promise not to be unduly influenced by Thursday’s 17-5 lambasting by Baltimore, who pulled within a half-game of New York in the American League East, in my annual pilgrimage to the Bronx. I’m fully aware that baseball is a six-month marathon.
However, upon closer inspection, the picture is murkier than a team with such a grand record suggests. For as much as you can praise the Yankees for their dominance in banking wins against AL Central teams (17-2), you have to acknowledge that postseason success is not assured when it’s their turn to go up against other contenders. Against non-Central teams that are currently over .500, the Yankees are a combined 3-7 versus the Orioles and Red Sox and 2-2 against the Mariners. The Dodgers took two of three when they came to town, albeit with Soto sidelined for the series.
This team has yet to earn the right to be trusted. I don’t like their depth and I don’t believe in the manager—Aaron Boone has had every advantage a skipper could ask for and his playoff record in his six seasons at the helm is a mediocre 14-17.
Boone tends to burn out his bullpen, though June is a bit early for him. Even before Thursday’s debacle that saw catcher Jose Trevino toss up some 57 mph junk to get through the ninth inning, New York’s bullpen ERA this month ranked 27th in the majors at 4.94. They were No. 2 over the season’s first 59 games through May 31.
Boone’s unyielding faith in Trevino behind the plate is another concern. Stolen bases allowed can be as much on the pitcher’s delivery as they are on the catcher, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. Opponents lately are catching on (no pun intended) to Trevino’s declining arm strength—per NJ.com’s Bob Klapisch, Trevino has lost 3.4 mph off his velocity from last season and is currently last among 62 major league catchers in that metric. In his previous two games, the Red Sox swiped nine bases on Sunday and then the Orioles stole another four on Wednesday. Trevino’s throw on the last attempt by Baltimore outfielder Cedric Mullins in the tenth inning was sent into left field, allowing the deciding run to score in a 7-6 defeat. It was Trevino’s third consecutive game with an error. Perhaps the Orioles’ bashing to a big early lead on Thursday curtailed their need to go big on a running game after just one stolen base.
Gleyber Torres is another error machine, committing his MLB-leading 11th (among second basemen) on Thursday before exiting with a sore groin. He also ranks in the bottom half of the league in advanced stats such as runs saved and outs above average. Combine that with his periodic gaffes on the basepaths and you have to wonder how long the Yankees can tolerate his subpar .221/.300/.341 batting split.
They’ve managed so far mainly because Judge has been Herculean since early May and Soto is as consistent a hitter as they come, rarely wasting an at bat. New York’s overall approach at the plate has done a 180 from last season, as they are ranked second behind the Dodgers in on-base percentage and tied with them for the league lead in runs scored per game.
And oh, can the Bombers still bomb when they get going. Judge, Soto, and Giancarlo Stanton have combined for 63 homers, or as many as each of the four weakest MLB clubs. Judge himself has hit 21 dingers in his last 41 games while batting .399. That’s sick.
That doesn’t mean the lineup is free of holes. In addition to Torres, the corners have seen too little production. D.J. LeMahieu, who once was a hitting machine, looks washed at third base, as did first baseman Anthony Rizzo prior to the broken forearm he suffered on Sunday that will keep him out approximately another seven weeks. I have liked Ben Rice’s swing since his callup, but Boone typically gives rookies a short leash.
Make no mistake, the Yankees already possess many of the necessary ingredients to go a long way, namely power pitching and power hitting. Can—and will--General Manager Brian Cashman go for it in advance of the trade deadline to round out his club for the playoffs? And will Boone push the right buttons once they get there?
Only then can this Yankees season be evaluated.