Where Do We (Yankees) Go From Here? ...

 

Jazz Chisholm Jr (Photo Credit: New York Daily News)

Yanks-Orioles battle for first despite rough waters for both…

The New York Yankees (73-51) sit atop the American League Eastern Division, leading the Baltimore Orioles (72-52) by a half-game. The Orioles lost last night, 5-1, to the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards. But admittedly, the last thing I am concerned about is the Orioles' play, win or lose.

I am more worried about the Yankees.

With Gerrit Cole, the Yankees hold an advantage in Game 1 of any series. After that, it is a crap shoot. It is a roll of the dice backed by a bullpen that has yet to restore its superiority. In other words, it is hard to be optimistic about this team’s chances regardless of whether they win the division or snag one of the Wild Card spots. I know. Make it to October, and then anything can happen. True. But the realist in me knows that the Yankees will sabotage any forward progress with the usual weaknesses evident throughout the season.

The trade deadline is always viewed as an opportunity to build reinforcements. In retrospect, the Yankees’ Trade Deadline yielded nothing. I am not trying to be critical of the new Yankee Jazz Chisholm, Jr. I like the guy and the energy he has brought to the team. However, aside from those facts, he was brought in and immediately asked to play out of position (third base), and now, he is potentially lost for the season due to a UCL sprain in his elbow. Jazz seems to feel he will return this season (perhaps as soon as his 10-day IL stint is over), and maybe he will, but if the greatest need at the deadline was a third baseman, the Yankees should have traded for a third baseman. With Chisholm's injury, the window of opportunity, or the positive aspect of it, is the call-up…finally…of infielder Oswald Peraza, who, unlike Chisholm before his acquisition, has played some third base recently. Although it remains to be seen if he gets significant playing time, his home run this week was encouraging. I would like to see Peraza succeed. I firmly believe the Yankees need to allow him to play for the big-league club or trade him, although the latter point will have to wait until after the season if they go that route. I hope Chisholm makes it back because I believe the Yankees are better when he is on the field, but it does not negate my disappointment with the trade deadline.

Mark Leiter, Jr was a nice pickup for the bullpen, but other options could have provided more substantial, consistent results. Understandably, the cost would have been higher than that of minor leaguers Benjamin Cowles (SS) and Jack Neely (RHP). Yet, I would rather have Leiter over the departed Caleb Ferguson or the demoted Victor Gonzalez (sent outright to Triple-A after he was designated for assignment and waived). It is cool to have Leiter given the family legacy (his father, Mark, and his uncle, Al, played for the Yankees) and Anthony Volpe’s close friendship with Leiter, Jr’s cousin Jack, a top prospect for the Texas Rangers. He is a decent bullpen arm despite his familial connections.

Mark Leiter Jr (Photo Credit: Jason Szenes/New York Post)

I was a little surprised the Yankees traded Caleb Ferguson to a key rival, the Houston Astros, but it is not like Ferguson will bite us in the butt. If he gets critical outs in a playoff game against the Yankees, that potentially ends our season...so be it. Ferguson will remain addition by subtraction. I could not care less about whether Ferguson does well in hot, humid South Texas.

At the deadline, the big swing and miss was the acquisition of reliever Enyel De Los Santos, who performed horribly in pinstripes. He pitched in five games for the Yankees, covering six-and-a-third innings. He gave up thirteen hits and ten runs, yielding a homer and issuing three walks. His Yankees career will feature a 14.21 ERA, but hey, ERA does not matter, does it? Still, I was surprised the Yankees gave up on De Los Santos so quickly. He was designated for assignment this week and lost on waivers to the Chicago White Sox. So, all the Yankees have for trading minor league outfielder Brandon Lockridge, viewed as a rising outfielder, to the San Diego Padres is minor league RHP Thomas Balboni, Jr. Maybe Balboni will achieve his dream of playing in the Major Leagues with the Yankees. Or maybe he moves on, at which time we can revisit an old phrase with a new meaning…Bye-Bye Balboni. Regardless of how this turns out, it was not one of Brian Cashman’s better trades. Then again, he tends to have more deadline dogs than steals, so this is just another misfire to add to his resume. I would prefer a mutually beneficial trade but those seem rare in Cashman's universe.

De Los Santos' roster spot has been taken by former Toronto Blue Jays reliever Tim Mayza, whom the Yankees signed to a minor league deal in July after his release by the Blue Jays. Mayza's highest profile moment is his presence on the mound when Aaron Judge hit his sixty-first home run in 2022 to tie Roger Maris for the American League record. As we know, Judge would hit one more homer in his historic season to set the new AL high, but Mayza helped put him in position to set the new record.

Tim Mayza and Aaron Judge (Photo Credit: MLB.com)

This is when I hate to see the team pass on any opportunities to improve weaknesses in the offseason, with an apparent logic to see what the team needs at the deadline. Then, they cannot make any trades for impact players at the deadline because they are either unavailable or cost-prohibitive (player cost, not the green stuff).

Alex Verdugo at the start of the season to play left field made sense. To view him now as blocking the lane for Jasson Dominguez to receive a promotion to the Major Leagues is absurd. Verdugo should have been traded at the deadline for whatever the Yankees could have gotten for the soon-to-be free agent and ex-Yankee. I know Dominguez started slowly after his return to the field, but he is beginning to play better, and given the circumstances, he cannot be worse than Verdugo has played in recent months. I prefer Dominguez in left field, as a long-term factor for the Yankees, over Verdugo, who will be a one-and-done Yankee in a few months. It is a shame that Dominguez continues to toil in the minor leagues when he is fully capable of being a productive Major League player.

Look, I am not trying to be purposely negative about the Yankees. I am grateful they are battling for first place in the division with the Orioles and not playing leapfrog with the Toronto Blue Jays to avoid the division cellar or playing "mid" baseball with the Red Sox. If the Yankees make the playoffs, they will have my undying support. I only wish I had greater confidence about the potential of this year’s squad. Aaron Judge is the game’s best player, and Juan Soto is not far behind. This should be a magical year for those players. But they cannot win it all by themselves. They need help. Will the men that GM Brian Cashman chose for the roster this season be the right choices to slot around the dynamic duo? Well, as they say, time will tell. I wish I could say the answer is ‘hell, yes!’ but for now, it is just a ‘possible maybe.’ 

As always, Go Yankees!