Can the Yanks Make the Necessary Halftime Adjustments? ...

  

Max Fried (Photo Credit: Jason Szenes/New York Post)

Hanging on to AL East second place by a thread…

When the season started, I was cautiously optimistic. Despite losing their ace, Gerrit Cole, to Tommy John surgery, they had signed Max Fried as a free agent in the offseason. It looked like a great 1-2 punch at the time of the signing. As it turned out, Max would take the throne as the rotation’s ace. I thought Max would be good, but he turned out to be better than expected.

You cannot hold the blister issue in Fried’s last start when he lasted only three innings, giving up six hits, four runs (three earned), and three walks, in the 5-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday. Despite the struggles against the Cubs, Fried finishes the first half with an 11-3 record in twenty starts. His WAR is 3.3, and his ERA still sits below 3 at 2.43.  He racked up 113 strikeouts in 122 innings pitched. I cannot imagine where the Yankees would be without Fried. For as much as we have trashed GM Brian Cashman, the decision and the ability to sign Fried was one of the best moves of Cashman’s lengthy career. It helps that Carlos Rodón answered the bell to provide a substantial number two for Fried. Every pitcher occasionally throws a clunker, so I will not hold Rodón’s poorer games against him. Overall, he has been effective and is what the Yankees need.

I digress when the point was early-season optimism, with some caution. The Yankees are 53-43, after their struggles since May have caught up with them. They are two games behind the Toronto Blue Jays after holding down first place for most of the first half until the recent sweep by the Blue Jays. They can make up ground in the second half with the correct deadline moves. The Yankees MUST fix their weaknesses. The failure to address third base in the offseason is a colossal mistake. It has cost them several potential wins converted to losses through errant play or trying to play players out of their normal positions. I have no doubts the Yankees would be ahead of the Blue Jays at the half if Cashman had not stopped short, leaving the gaping hole at third. Jazz Chisholm, Jr. is a talented guy who did not embarrass himself but is a better second baseman. As much as I loved DJ LeMahieu early in his Yankees’ career and as gifted as he was with a glove at second base, it was too obvious he was not the player he once was. His misplays at the position would have been easy outs for Chisholm had he been the team’s second baseman. I am glad the Yankees finally did the right thing by moving Jazz back to second base.

As for LeMahieu, I am saddened his Yankees career ends with a designation for assignment, followed by his release the next day. Saddened, but it was the right move. Watch LeMahieu sign with the Blue Jays or the Los Angeles Dodgers and make a game-winning hit in the World Series for his new team. I enjoyed his time in New York, but all good things must end. I wish LeMahieu the best in the future, but regardless of how he plays for his next team, Cashman made the best move for the 2025 Yankees (as it relates to LeMahieu).

DJ LeMahieu (Photo Credit: New York Yankees/Getty Images)

If you had told me the Yankees would be 53-43 at the All-Star Break before the season, I would have welcomed it. After the miserable play of the last month and a half, it does feel like the Yankees were exposed as an early-season fraud.

The past month/month-and-a-half events prove the Yankees do not have the right combination of players on the roster. They need a third baseman (Oswald Peraza is not the answer). I have given up hope for a player like Eugenio Suarez. I do not feel the Arizona Diamondbacks will trade him, and if they do, they are looking for an overpay. Do not give up Spencer Jones or George Lombard, Jr., for a rental player. Ryan McMahon of the Colorado Rockies rates my best-case scenario, although I would gladly take Ke'Bryan Hayes for his glove. I wish Hayes had a better stick, but he can help the Yankees. I have moved from Nolan Arenado. The Cardinals were foolish for not offloading him last offseason. In retrospect, I am glad they did not.

The Yankees need a starter with Clark Schmidt’s Tommy John surgery this past week. Given that they needed one before Schmidt’s injury, they need two unless they believe Cam Schlittler can contribute at the back end of the rotation. No aces or near aces will be available for trade, so solid number three is the best the Yankees can hope for. A strong third would help enhance chances to reach October and provide a solid third for the duo of Fried and Rodón. The tricky part is how much prospect capital will cost to secure a strong starter. It is a double-edged sword. You must believe that you have a chance to reach the Fall Classic to let go of elite talent. If there is doubt, tough decisions must be made, which may not bode well for the immediate future.

Again, I keep digressing. To get back on course, I feel the Yankees have had a successful first half of the season, albeit tinged with disappointment. They are within striking distance, which is all you can ask. The Boston Red Sox are doing well, winning ten consecutive games, and they sit just one game behind the Yankees. The Yankees are the better team, but this reinforces why they need to address their weaknesses now.

I appreciate the job that JC Escarra has done for the Yankees as a backup catcher, but trading him makes sense given Ben Rice’s ability to catch. Roster Construction is the key. Opening Escarra’s roster spot allows the Yankees to strengthen the bench in other areas. Escarra is also a late bloomer and does not represent the future. The Yankees have strong young catchers coming up in the farm system. They are better with Austin Wells and Rice as the catching tandem because they can build a stronger bench.

I am glad that Cody Bellinger has proven to be a reliable Yankee. I never lost patience with him in April when he got off to a slow start. He is not Juan Soto, but he fits the Yankees' roster. I hope the Yankees see his long-term worth and work to secure him for a longer tenure. He wants to be a Yankee and has performed at the level necessary to ensure his fan support. Hopefully, Cashman and his cast of nerds are watching.

Cody Bellinger (Photo Credit: Wendell Cruz/Imagn Images)

We have established that the Yankees need a third baseman and a starter. Lastly, they need bullpen help. A managerial change is a need, but regardless of how we feel, Aaron Boone will be the Yankees' manager throughout the 2025 season and most likely longer. I had hoped that a seasoned manager as a bench coach would help Boone, but while Brad Ausmus may be good at what he does, Boone has not noticeably improved. Yet, the calls to fire Boone, even though he is not my favorite, lead to the question of who is available and who is better? The options are limited. This season is Aaron Boone, whether we like it or not.

As for the bullpen, the Yankees have proven to be bullpen wizards in recent years, but they have had their challenges this season. Devin Williams got off to a horrific start as the Yankees' closer and lost his job until a Luke Weaver injury put him back at the end of games. He has performed better and is starting to play like a guy the Yankees should consider re-signing at the end of the season.

I do not know what to think about Jonathan Loaisiga. He was always at risk of injury, but has been awful this year. He has become a guy, and I cringe when he enters games. I am not sure the Yankees can turn him around. Given his injury history, is he worth holding onto to find out? I am starting to lean to the side of letting him go.

The Yankees should have made a small deal by now as a prelude to the coming days leading up to the deadline. So far, nothing but crickets. Is this the year the Yankees shock us with their moves, or will it be another deadline that passes with an underwhelming feeling?

If the Yankees do nothing, fail to make the playoffs, or get bounced in the early rounds, if they do, Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner must finally stand up and make a change in the general manager and manager seats. He has the money; he needs to bring the brightest and the best to the team’s most sacred managerial roles (the general manager and the field general).

I am not sure what to think about the second half. There will be more disappointing games if we stay with the status quo. Making a return trip to the World Series seems like a long shot without shoring up the team’s weaknesses.

I am grateful Aaron Judge is a New York Yankee. Seattle’s Cal Raleigh is having an incredible (and historic) season, but Judge remains a step ahead.

Aaron Judge (Photo Credit: Brad Penner/Imagn Images)

Sunday’s only run was on a Giancarlo Stanton home run. It would be nice if he found his groove for the second half. The Yankees need him.

Like the first half, I go into the second half cautiously, emphasizing what the Yankees do at the trade deadline to determine whether optimism becomes pessimism. If the Yankees can add a strong starter, a reliable bullpen weapon ( a Circle of Trust kind of guy), and an elite defensive third baseman, the AL East can be the Yankees if they choose to take it.

No pressure, Brian Cashman. You, sir, are on the clock.

The MLB Draft has finally arrived. Congratulations to Eli Willits, the Washington Nationals' first selection of the 2025 MLB Draft. Willits, 17, a shortstop from Fort Cobb-Broxton (OK) High School, is the son of the former Yankees first base coach Reggie Willits. I did not like watching the pitcher with the highest upside fall to the Boston Red Sox for the fifteenth selection when they chose Kyson Witherspoon, RHP, Oklahoma.

The Yankees did not have a first-round selection. With the thirty-ninth (compensatory) pick, the Yankees have chosen shortstop Dax Kilby, Newnan High School (GA). A polished bat, according to the guys on MLB Network. They also said Dax was Buck Showalter’s favorite during the MLB Combine. After all the shortstops taken in recent years, I would have gone in a different direction. The Los Angeles Dodgers got an intriguing prospect in LHP Zach Root, Arkansas, immediately after the Yankees’ pick. I would have chosen Root over Kilby because you can never have too much good pitching. Nevertheless, welcome to the Yankees family, Dax!

Dax Kilby

Back to the Yankees: Brian Cashman is the key to the second half. Can he fix the roster and give the Yankees their best chance of success in the October race? I wish I had better confidence that it would happen. Color me a skeptic. I want the Yankees to win, and I hope they win. The current roster says otherwise, so make the moves. Ensure the lights of Yankee Stadium shine brightly deep into October.

As always, Go Yankees!