The New York Yankees entered the season as one of the best teams in Major League Baseball and through the first half of the regular season have done that record-wise. However, they just made some franchise history on the Fourth of July as they lost to the Cincinnati Reds 8-4.
This loss saw the Yankees get swept in the three-game home series, the first time they were swept at home in interleague play in franchise history. Incredible how that never happened before but it did now as the team continues to reach new lows from their massive expectations.
This loss on Thursday afternoon was their 14th in the previous 19 games, dropping their season record to 54-35 and they sit 2.5 games behind the Baltimore Orioles for the lead in the AL East. While that is still an incredible record, it should not be too much longer before general manager Brian Cashman begins to make moves as the All-Star Break gets closer.
What is wrong with the New York Yankees right now?
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The New York Yankees have been in free-fall the last few weeks and a lot of things have to do with injuries. In the last few weeks they saw designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton, first baseman Anthony Rizzo and center fielder Jasson Dominguez all hit the Injured List to significantly hurt the depth as well as the overall lineup.
However, it is not only the injuries that are affecting the team but inconsistent play. Outside of Aaron Judge (1.262 OPS) and Juan Soto (.916 OPS) in the last 30 days, there is no consistent hitter in the lineup. Anthony Volpe has gone 24-for-124 with just three walks in that same stretch while boneheaded mistakes in the field are not helping either.
Then we can discuss the pitching woes. The Yankees were one of the best pitching teams for the first few months but have really seen that strength just completely collapse. In the previous 30 days, only the Colorado Rockies (6.17) have a worse team ERA than the New York Yankees’ 5.56 team ERA.
What can the team do to fix things?
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The New York Yankees have a few different needs as the MLB Trade Deadline approaches soon and general manager Brian Cashman may not be able to wait for the deadline. The team needs to address the lack of hitting from their corner infield spots as well as the bullpen.
The Yankees understand that this may be the only season that they have with Juan Soto on their roster and should push the chips all on the table for right now. The team has put a lot of their depth into trades but they need to find gems to supplement the roster. One thing in terms of the bullpen is the fact they do not have relievers who can get strikeouts consistently.
Instead, the Yankees have built their relievers to have low exit velocity as they pitch more to contact. Teams are making contact but it’s not resulting in outs. While it is difficult to imagine which players are available for trading right now as it is the beginning of July, Brian Cashman and his staff need to figure out ways to help this roster compete before things get even worse.
There are some teams like the Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox who are out of the playoff race completely but will the Yankees pull the trigger on a move soon?
About the Author
Vincent Pensabene graduated from Saint Leo University in 2019 with a B.A. in Sport Business and has focused on the media side of sports. He writes for multiple publications and is interested in the reasoning of why things happen. Feel free to follow him on social media @TalkVinTalk and discuss all things sports.
