The New York Yankees have always been known for their fierce lineups but 24 games into the season, there are some real concerns. Without Giancarlo Stanton for a while, where does Aaron Boone’s team find consistent production?
The whole off-season for the New York Yankees was about bringing back last year’s MVP Aaron Judge. And they did. General Manager Brian Cashman also brought in Carlos Rodon, although Yankees fans haven’t seen him yet due to a shoulder injury. But other than the Judge move and bringing back Anthony Rizzo, the Yankees didn’t do much to improve their lineup. They were content on bringing back last year’s core that struggled to score consistently in the second half and roll the dice with a bunch of prospects.
Through the first 15 games of the season, the Yankee offense ranked 12th in runs scored (72) and 12th in wRC+ (108). Then, Giancarlo Stanton went down with a hamstring injury that will sideline him for 4-6 weeks. Since the injury, the Yankees offense has scored the 4th fewest runs in baseball (24 in 9 games) and have the 6th worst wRC+ (67). They have scored 8 runs in their last 5 games going 1-4 in that stretch. The injury to Stanton should not be a surprise as Stanton has spent a lot of time on the IL during his time with the Yankees. When Stanton is on the field, he is one of the most productive power hitters in baseball. But if you’re the Yankees and Brian Cashman, you can’t expect Judge and Stanton to carry you all season long.
In Tuesday’s loss against the Twins, the Bronx Bombers 5-9 hitters were the following:
Willie Calhoun: .192
Oswald Peraza: .158
Franchy Cordero: .160
Jose Trevino: .212
Aaron Hicks .129
I know it is only mid-April but that looks and sounds like the 5-9 hitters of the Oakland Athletics, not the New York Yankees. Even if you want to say it’s only April, those are not household names that are going to strike fear in opposing pitchers. With the bottom of the order producing like that, it puts a lot of pressure on guys like Judge, Rizzo, and LeMahieu to carry the offense. We all know the type of season Judge had last year but I don’t think anyone expects Judge to have another record breaking season. If the bottom 4-5 hitters continue to struggle and with the absence of Stanton, the Yankees will need another record breaking season from their franchise player. If I am an opposing team, no way Judge beats me. I’ll take my chances with the bottom of the order.
The Yankees pitching staff is one of the best in the American League. They have the third best team ERA in baseball (3.25) and the 7th best fWAR (3.4). When they get Carlos Rodon back healthy, the rotation has the opportunity to get even better. The issue with the offense struggling to score on a regular basis is that it puts stress on the pitching staff forcing Aaron Boone to use his best arms on most nights to try and win. Gerrit Cole has been on another planet to start the season (0.79 ERA). The Yankees will need him to remain at a CY level to make up for the lack of offense. But when you play in the American League East with offenses like Tampa (#1 scoring offense), Toronto (#13 scoring offense, but will be higher), Boston (#3 scoring offense), and Baltimore (#9 scoring offense), consistently playing low scoring games and expecting to win does not seem like a recipe for success.
Again, it’s only April and there’s plenty of time for a player or two to find the pinstripe magic. Last season we saw Matt Carpenter carry the Yankees offense for a couple of weeks. Maybe we see a Josh Donaldson resurgence or Volpe or Peraza find their groove at the big league level. But Stanton will be out for at least another month and they already trail the red hot Rays by 7 games. The Yankees will need to find answer for their offense quickly.