The Yankees did their best Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde impression during the first half of the season.
At one point, the Bombers looked head and shoulders above the rest in the American League and seemingly had the best chance to crack the 14-year World Series drought during the Aaron Judge era. Pairing superstar Juan Soto with the Yankees captain at the top of the lineup appeared to be the driving force needed to put them over the top.
And then the wheels fell off.
The Yanks’ dominant 49-22 record was stained by a 9-18 stretch — featuring eight out of nine series losses — which caused the team to fall to 58-40 and second place in the AL East. The stretch was capped off by a brutal ending during the final game of the first half in their stunning loss to the Baltimore Orioles.
The poor play was reminiscent of the lifeless style that viewers have become incredibly familiar with as it’s been heavily featured in each of the last three seasons.
However, despite the poor finish, Aaron Boone’s club still finds themselves in the thick of it as the leading AL Wild Card seed and just one game back of the division-leading Orioles.
Here’s a look at where things stand entering the second half of the season, beginning Friday night against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium:
OFFENSE
On June 14, the Yankees had arguably the best offense in the game as they owned a league-best WRC+ (120) along with the most runs (359), second-most homers (105) and the second-best OPS (.771).
However, during their 9-18 stretch, they ranked 18th in WRC+ (105), 13th in runs (129), and 23rd in OPS (.712), revealing an abundance of holes in a championship-hopeful lineup.
The dip can be attributed to a few factors. One being the sudden decline of two big contributors Anthony Volpe and Alex Verdugo at the top of the Yankees’ lineup.
Volpe was slashing .290/.355/.448 on June 5 while being one of the most dynamic leadoff hitters in the game. However, he has since seen his season numbers drop to .245/.300/.366. Verdugo owned a .757 OPS on June 14 as Judge’s protection but now enters the second half with a .670 OPS after an equally brutal stretch as Volpe.
The injury to Giancarlo Stanton also has contributed to the dip in offensive performance as the slugger — 18 homers and a .795 OPS in 69 games — has been on the shelf since June 22 with a hamstring injury.
Stanton is expected back shortly after the break and the Bombers’ lineup is at a point where it needs his production behind Judge and Soto. There are plenty of holes to address with their offense and Brian Cashman will have an opportunity to do so at the July 30 trade deadline. It remains to be seen where recovering prospect Jasson Dominguez fits into those plans as he is recovering from a strained oblique that is expected to keep him out until late summer.
STRUGGLING ROTATION
Not only did the Bombers feature the best lineup in the game, their starting rotation was equally superb.
The rotation’s 2.78 ERA was the best in baseball through June 14. However, since then, their 6.20 ERA has been the worst in MLB.
Adding reigning Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole back — who made his season debut on June 19 after an elbow injury suffered in spring training — to a group that was the best in the game figured to only take the group to another level. However, the rest of the rotation broke down resulting in a huge dip.
Carlos Rodon and Luis Gil were the biggest culprits during the Yanks’ rough stretch. Gil, however, has bounced back after allowing four or more runs in three straight starts from June 20-July 3 with two straight one-run performances.
The Bombers are still awaiting Rodon’s return to form as his ERA skyrocketed from 2.93 on June 10 to 4.63 entering the second half.
The success of the Yanks’ rotation is heavily reliant on Gil and Rodon in the coming weeks. They should at some point get Clarke Schmidt — 2.52 ERA in 11 starts — back from a lat strain, however, they will need more consistency from the rest of the group in the meantime as help on the trade market appears to be scarce.
TRADE DEADLINE/LOOK AHEAD
Luckily for the Yanks, their torrid start to the season has still put them in a prime position as the second half opens up: Just one game back of the division after being arguably the worst team in baseball for an extended period of time.
They will also have some help from the schedule makers. The Bombers have the fourth-easiest remaining schedule with an opponents win percentage of .492, according to FanGraphs. There are some interesting games ahead immediately out of the break as they will face the Mets, Red Sox and Phillies— in succession — beginning next week.
The trade deadline will be pivotal to the remaining stretch of the season. On the to-do list is a corner infielder with an emphasis on third base — and potentially first should Ben Rice’s audition go haywire — along with some strikeout-capable arms in the bullpen as Yankee relievers tend to struggle missing bats with the 16th-best strikeout per nine-rate at 8.8.
Cashman went all-in on this season once he dealt a hefty package — led by Michael King — for one guaranteed year of Soto. Aggression should be expected on July 30 as the general manager attempts to haul in the franchise’s 28th World Series tittle.
