A pair of blowouts against the Red Sox in the Bronx gave the Yankees something they badly needed: proof their offense might be waking up at exactly the right moment.
The 16-run outburst in the series finale, fueled by an unfocused Boston club after the controversial trap ruling in the fifth inning, was especially satisfying because it also locked up the tiebreaker for a possible Wild Card Round matchup. The night before, New York put together a nine-run burst that felt just as out of character for an attack that has spent most of the summer grinding through the mud.
That’s the real story here. Since shortly after Aaron Judge’s injury in June, the Yankees have leaned on the best pitching staff in baseball to keep their season afloat while the lineup sputtered. The offense had been the weak link by a mile.
The decline was brutal. After averaging 5.28 runs per game through the first 72 games, the Yankees fell all the way to 3.3 runs per game over the next 40 games leading into the August 3 trade deadline, dead last in the majors. For a team surviving on razor-thin margins, that kind of slide left no room for error.
August, though, has brought a different look. It hasn’t been perfect, but it has been better - both in the box score and underneath it. With four critical weeks ahead and one major bat nearing a return, the timing couldn’t be better.
What made the slump so strange is that Judge’s absence didn’t hit like a hammer right away. The offense actually held up for a bit before the bottom fell out. There isn’t one clean explanation for the drop, but a normal summer dip may have snowballed into a full-blown case of pressing, especially once the lineup lost the power it had relied on for years.
The Yankees were never built to thrive without Judge, and the roster imbalance showed up fast. The lineup has pieces, but not enough versatility to absorb the loss of a star like that.
Some hitters bring power but shaky hit tools. Others grind but can’t really hurt a pitcher.
Once the depth got exposed, it thinned out fast.
Plate discipline had always been one of the club’s calling cards. They could work counts, lay off pitches out of the zone and jump on mistakes.
Then, at the worst possible time, that disappeared too. The team’s chase, whiff and contact numbers all fell off, and a lineup that was already missing damage suddenly lost its feel for the strike zone as well.
Individually, the struggles dragged on for too long. Since June 18, only two Yankees had been even passable at the plate, and one of them was still operating well below his usual level.
A lot of the hitters who mattered most had drifted away from the skills that made them productive in the first place, Cody Bellinger among them. It was fair to wonder whether the slide would ever stop.
It finally has started to turn.
After what was described as a discouraging deadline, the Yankees “exploded” for seven runs on five homers against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 3. Since then, the results and the underlying indicators have both improved, even if the offense still has room to grow.
Entering Monday night in Anaheim, New York was averaging 4.4 runs per game over its last 25 games since August 3. That’s still not elite, and yes, the recent explosion helps the average, but the broader trend is more encouraging than the raw number suggests.
Context matters, too. The Yankees spent three straight weeks facing right-handed starters every day, which left their limited group of right-handed bats with tiny samples while the lefties enjoyed better matchups. From June 18 to August 8, the Yankees saw left-handed pitching in 40.6 percent of their plate appearances, and that number dropped to 15 percent over the next three weeks.
There have been real bright spots in that stretch. The acquisition of Luis Garcia Jr. has helped.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., Austin Wells and Trent Grisham have all bounced back after disappointing seasons. Ben Rice got off to a rough start this month, but he has looked more like himself lately.
Even on the disappointing side, Bellinger and Ramos had big moments this week.
The team’s 102 wRC+ over this span has pushed it back to 12th in baseball, and the process numbers are even more encouraging. The Yankees are chasing less, whiffing less and making more contact than they were around the deadline. In that sense, they’re getting very close to the version they showed early in the season, when they were the American League’s best offense.
And there’s still more help coming.
Judge is due back soon, and Ryan McMahon is also on the way back. That matters for more than just star power. Judge lengthens the lineup and takes pressure off the hitters around him, especially against left-handed pitching, where the Yankees have leaned too hard on platoon bats that have been cold in August and haven’t been used much.
His return should also help Rice, who has spent months getting the opponent’s best stuff every night as one of the focal points of the offense. He’s improved lately, but the level of damage he can create still needs to be unlocked before October arrives.
If the recent trend holds, the most dangerous version of this Yankees offense might be only a week or two away. Paired with that pitching staff, that’s a scary combination.
In Other News...
Anthony Volpe May Have Forced One More Yankees Decision
Anthony Volpes time in Triple-A has only strengthened the case for him to get another look in New York. After being optioned on Aug. 4 and losing his grip on the starting shortstop job, he has put together a productive stretch at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, with a solid batting line and enough extra-base damage to remind the Yankees why he was once viewed as such an important part of the infield picture.
September could now force one more decision for the club, especially with roster flexibility at a premium. Volpe does not need to return as the everyday shortstop to matter, either, because the Yankees could use him in a more limited role as infield depth and even as a bench option at second base if they decide his bat and versatility are worth bringing back into the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Just Turned To A Familiar Ex-Red Sox Arm Again
The Yankees dipped back into the waiver wire for a familiar bullpen arm, claiming right-hander John Schreiber from the Royals as they continue sorting through relief help down the stretch. Schreiber, 32, was effective enough in Kansas City to post a 3.65 ERA across 55 appearances, giving New York another experienced option as it keeps churning the back end of the roster.
Schreiber arrives as an impending free agent, which makes the move a low-risk bet for the Yankees as they look for stability without committing beyond this season. New York was able to add him without a corresponding roster move after designating Justin Topa for assignment, so the club gets a fresh arm in place and another bullpen decision to sort out later. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Face A Catching Decision That Could Force A Tough Move
Mitch Garvers minor league deal with the Yankees has now reached a crossroads, thanks to an opt-out assignment clause that puts the rest of the league on the clock. Any team that wants to jump in must signal interest by the deadline, and if that happens, New York would have only 48 hours to either promote Garver to the active roster or work out a trade.
For the Yankees, the decision is less about Garver in a vacuum and more about what it means behind the plate. They are weighing a move that would bring him onto the big-league roster, but doing so would directly affect backup catcher Ali Sanchez and leave the club with a choice it may not want to make until the last possible moment. [Read more 🡒]