Should The New York Yankees Hit The “Panic Button?”
The New York Yankees are in first place and arguably the best team in baseball at this moment, but fans would tell you otherwise. They are having their worst month of the season. They’ve lost nine games and suffered three straight losses for the first time since the end of April.
In addition, injuries have plagued the team, and everyone is worried about the depth of the Bronx Bombers. So, should the organization and their fans be concerned, or is everything overblown? I’d say somewhere in the middle.
The New York Yankees Have Been Losing Series
The Yanks' victory over the Kansas City Royals has been the only series they won this month. A series win over the Royals should have brought them back into the flow of things. Unfortunately, they stumbled against the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and the Atlanta Braves. The latter two of which were important matchups for the Yankees.
During Father's Day weekend, the Bronx Bombers faced off against their old rival, the Red Sox. What was supposed to be a series win ended up being a record-breaker for the Red Sox. They won the first of their three games, which had the Yankees pumped, especially after a home run by former Red Sox Alex Verdugo. However, they collapsed in their next two games.
Rodon put the Yankees in a hole in the first inning of the second game when he allowed three runs. The team tried to dig themselves out of that hole, which kept getting deeper and deeper as the game went on. They failed to organize a comeback in the late innings to win the game.
In the third game, the Yankees struggled to defend against the Red Sox baserunning. They struggled so much that they allowed nine stolen bases for the Red Sox, which broke their franchise record of stolen bases in a game. These stolen bases led to a 9-3 victory over the Yankees in what was originally a close game in the early innings. New York could not answer back to Red Sox rookie shortstop David Hamilton, stealing four of the nine bases that night. It was not a celebratory Father’s Day for the Yankees.
Mudstomped By The Orioles
Yankees fans were looking forward to the Baltimore Orioles' series this year, but it became a nightmare. Aaron Judge was struck by a 94 mph fastball in his left hand during his second at-bat. Judge returned to play in the outfield, but management removed him for the remainder of the game before his next at-bat. The win did not matter, as the team and fans anxiously waited for an update on Aaron Judge.
Fans had their thoughts immediately set on Mookie Betts, who suffered a fractured hand because of a similar hit-by-pitch that happened to Judge. Fortunately, Judge returned with good news, stating there was no fracture, only missing the next game.
This good news had fans in a better mood during their next outing against the Baltimore Orioles, where Gerrit Cole made his 2024 season debut. Cole was out for the season with an elbow injury but finally returned after missing a good chunk of the 2024 season.
New York lost in extra innings, but Cole had a good outing with five strikeouts, allowing only two runs. Cole was visibly frustrated after being taken out during the fifth inning, wanting to finish out the inning. Having Cole pitch the entire fifth inning would have benefitted the Yankees, as Ron Marinaccio and Victor Gonzalez allowed three runs in the fifth inning. The game went into extra innings, but the Orioles were able to score and left New York scoreless at the end of the 10th inning.
New York was demolished in their rubber match against the Orioles, losing 17-to-5 in what became the most runs they allowed this season. The 17 runs beat the previous record of 11 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Orioles set the record for scoring 17 runs, making it the second most in a road game against New York and the third most overall. The record is 18 runs scored against the Yankees in June of 1986.
The Atlanta Braves Continue The Beatdown
The beating continued for New York after an 8-to-1 loss in the first game against the Atlanta Braves. The Braves hold second place in the NL East but are still a formidable opponent that Yankees fans want to take down to assert their dominance in the league. However, the opposite occurred when Carlos Rodon allowed seven runs in the first four innings, leaving the mound visibly angry at himself. He was later seen in the dugout in tears after his disappointing outing.
The offense was atrocious, having a batting average of .111 and only three hits out of 27 at-bats. Compare that to the Braves, who had a batting average of .341 and had 14 hits in 41 at-bats. New York's OPS was at .385, and the Braves were at an OPS of 1.108.
New York bounced back the next game when Judge and Trent Grisham homered to give them back the recently lost momentum. Marcus Stroman kept the Braves' offense locked up and allowed only three runs, as the Yankees were back and scoring to push their lead up to eight runs throughout the game. They managed to bounce back from their tough losses in a much-needed win against the Braves.
The victory was short-lived, as the Braves took care of the Bronx Bombers in a low-scoring game the next day. Nestor Cortes allowed three runs and a home run but was decent in his outing with seven strikeouts. The Yankees tried to mount a comeback after an RBI by Anthony Volpe, but they had no answers to the Braves’ bullpen later down the stretch.
Injuries, Injuries, And More Injuries!
The New York Yankees still hold first place in the AL East and have the best record in baseball. So, should the Bronx Bombers and their fans be worried about this June slump? Maybe.
They currently have 14 players in the IL, 10 of which are down in the 60-day IL. Some notable names in the IL are Giancarlo Stanton, Clarke Schmidt, Anthony Rizzo, and Jasson Dominguez.
Giancarlo Stanton suffered a left hamstring strain after running the bases against the Braves. The team stated that Stanton expects to be out for at least ten games. Giancarlo Stanton has had an interesting season thus far, with 18 home runs and 45 RBIs. He is batting at .246 with an OPS of .795 and slugging at .492.
These are not MVP numbers by any means, but they are much better stats than his 2023 season, where Stanton had 24 home runs the whole season while slashing at .191/.695/.420. He is expected to return after at least ten days in the IL.
Clarke Schmidt had a great start to his 2024 season with an ERA of 2.52, 67 strikeouts, and a record of 5-3. Schmidt felt uncomfortable during his start against the Padres on May 26th and was placed on the IL. Schmidt suffered a right lateral strain and was placed on the 60-day IL on June 18th, and it was reported that Schmidt was not allowed to pitch for at least four to six weeks. Schmidt is expected to return in August.
Anthony Rizzo suffered a right forearm fracture after a collision at first base during the June 16th game against the Boston Red Sox. Anthony Rizzo has been having a rough 2024 after suffering a concussion in May of 2023 that he played through up until August. Rizzo could not get things going this year with a slash line of .223/.289/.341.
While Rizzo is speculated to return in mid-August, he has not been himself this season, and many fans are speculating that it may be time to let him go or at least sit on the bench for the remainder of the season.
Lastly, the Martian, Jasson Dominguez, was out and placed on the IL after suffering a significant left oblique strain on June 15th while playing in Triple-A. Dominguez has been a monster of a player and crushing home runs down in the minor leagues.
The Giancarlo Stanton injury might have been the green light to send Dominguez up to the major leagues, but fans would have to wait until at least September to potentially see the Martian back up in the big leagues again.
Yankees Infield Woes
The New York Yankees, despite their great offensive sluggers with Judge, Volpe, Soto, and Verdugo, are struggling to have their infielders hit. Anthony Rizzo, DJ LeMaheiu, and Gleyber Torres have been underperforming, and fans feel bleak about how they’ve played. Enough has been said about Rizzo, so let’s move on to DJ LeMaheiu and Gleyber Torres.
DJ is coming off a bone fracture in his right foot but has not performed well since his return in late May. LeMaheiu is slashing at .185/.280/.185. These numbers are not good. This got fans thinking of trading or designating LeMaheiu for assignment. While yes he is coming off an injury, it should not excuse his subpar performance and the fact that they need to get a better third baseman.
Gleyber Torres has not had the best season either, slashing at .218/.296/.338 and only hitting seven home runs. Torres has also been notorious for missing plays on defense and frustratingly losing balls that could have led to outs.
Torres has been having a tough 2024 season so far, and while there have not been talks of trading Gleyber, don’t be surprised if his name is included in trade rumors in late July if he doesn’t pick things up.
Will The Yankees Get Out Of Their Slump?
It could be the case of the Dog Days of Summer, and the Yankees will soon be back to being the offensive juggernaut again. However, there is a cause for concern with the injuries and lack of bullpen depth. They did sign a new bullpen arm to add to the depth, but only time will tell if the team will be an effective bullpen come October.
They recently picked up former Oakland A’s third baseman JD Davis in a trade for infielder Jordan Groshans. Davis was DFA’d by the A’s after slashing .236/.304/.366 and hitting nine home runs. Davis could be a good addition on paper, but fans likely want a young guy like Oswald Peraza at third base rather than another 30-year-old.
Ben Rice has been a small silver lining in the Yankees' struggles. He acquired his first base hit in all smiles against the Orioles on June 18th. Since then, Rice has quickly become a fan favorite and has put up decent numbers in his first six games in the major leagues. Rice is slashing at .294/.381/.294. Rice also had three walks and one RBI.
He still needs time and experience to grow, but he’s shown to be a player with lots of youthful energy and enthusiasm, which is what this Bronx Bombers squad needs.
Are The Yankees In Trouble?
So Yankees fans, don’t be in panic mode just yet, but there is a lot of understandable concern. It is best to fix some of those holes now, especially with the trade deadline in a few months. The Yankees added another pitcher to the bullpen after relieving Victor Gonzalez, and the addition of JD Davis shows the front office is paying attention to the infield woes and the bullpen depth.
Winning every game matters, and securing a spot in the postseason should be the most important goal for now. Getting these issues fixed now rather than later is a smart move, and the slump is a much-needed wake-up call for them to step it up.
Injuries happen, and they are inevitable, but the team needs to work around that and try to win every game possible, no matter the situation. Losing guys like Schmidt and Dominguez is alarming, but it's best the Yankees get them back healthy and ready for the postseason rather than rushing their recovery.
Having Gerrit Cole back can relieve some stress on the starting rotation, which is possibly having a rough start to the summer. We can only hope that the team can get it together in July and that the All-Star Break will provide some much-needed rest to push this team into being World Series contenders.
So Yankees fans, try to relax, but be aware that they have some holes in their game that must be fixed before it's too late.
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