Can the Yankees Season Be Saved, or is it Over?
Can the Yankees still win a World Series this year or is it over?
The Yankees have struggled mightily since Juan Soto missed his first games of the season, and those struggles date back to that series against the Los Angeles Dodgers in New York.
Since that series, the Yankees have only won two of eight series they have played in, and are in danger of losing another one on Sunday against the Boston Red Sox where Kutter Crawford and Luis Gil face-off in the rubber match if a three-game set in the Bronx. This comes after the Yankees were able to steal a game on the back of a Ben Rice three home run game where he became the first Yankees rookie in team history to hit three homers in one game.
Yankee fans have been panicking and they sure have a reason too. The Yankees didn’t play any great competition during the first two month, and the good competition they played they struggled and lost to. Fans will be fans and not actually dissect their team when they’re winning, because they’re winning but when you break this team down, they are just not a fundamentally sound baseball team. Losing 14 out of 18 games is not a team that can afford to stand still at or before the July 30 trade deadline.
The Yankees need help in every aspect of the game besides right and center field. The two players playing these positions (Juan Soto and Aaron Judge) have been so good, and in Judge’s case historically great allowing the team to able to dominate weaker competition early in the year. When you are not a good fundamental baseball team and have a manager that should not be managing the team anymore it is a recipe for being a boring and frustrating team to watch. Fans are frustrated and want change, but will Hal Steinbrenner deliver these long over due changes or will he let the team along with the season continue to fade away. With Soto only guaranteed to be here for three more months the ball is in Steinbrenner’s court to go out there and make it happen.
The pitching staff had a lot of success early in the season and every single pitcher at the exact same time seemingly started struggling. Struggling might be an understatement and that statement right there should scare Yankees fans because it has been incredibly hard to watch. The Yankees went from having arguably the best rotation in baseball, along with arguably the best bullpen to having arguably the worst in both of those aspects of the game over the last 3 weeks. With the trade deadline approaching fast the Yankees must make some moves and make them fast if they want to save their season which seems to be slipping away from them.
The Yankees were the first team to 50 wins and now they only have a 5 and a half game lead over there long-time division rival the Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals who are all fighting for a Wild Card spot. The Yankees went from being a team that might win over 100 games to a team that could potentially be fighting for a playoff spot. That’s not something that usually happens and if the Yankees want to have a legitimate chance to save their season, they must be active BEFORE the trade deadline because if they wait until the deadline, not only might it be too late to have a chance at the division, but they might also see there Wild Card lead completely disappear.
Who could possibly relax the fans and save the Yankees season, who might be available in a league where almost half the teams make the playoffs. With the Blue Jays struggling a lot it seems like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. may be on the move this trade deadline and the Yankees should certainly be open to adding the young first baseman from the divisional foe. He could change the Yankees lineup instantly and bring production to the first or third base position.
More name that comes to mind are Tanner Scott and Mason Miller. These two players must be added as the Yankees bullpen is extremely bad and adding only one reliever just will not be enough to win a World Series. The Yankees have Juan Soto guaranteed for the nest three months, go for it before you risk losing him in free agency and having to be left with a team that will need even more help than it already does over the next few years.
Is the Yankees season over? No but its certainly slipping away and if they can’t get a better grip by acquiring much needed talent they’re going to completely let this season go to waste.