Are the Yankees' three new acquisitions priming them for another postseason meltdown?

The New York Yankees are fresh off the bitter, agony-filled Juan Soto sweepstakes that saw their number-two superstar head to their crosstown rivals, the New York Mets. But soon after that calamity happened, Brian Cashman rose from dust of shattered Yankees dreams and leapt into action.

Before Soto even had time to don a Mets cap, Cashman signed former Atlanta Braves ace Max Fried, one of the top pitchers in the game. Cashman’s streak of decisive brilliance continued with a trade for one of the most dominant relievers in the game in Devin Williams. And lastly, Cashman traded for former MVP Cody Bellinger, a much-needed left-handed bat who also brings defensive versatility to the table. While there are more moves to make, Cashman has already built a strong, postseason-bound team. What could go wrong?

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB offseason.

The new Yankees acquisitions have terrible postseason track records

Fried has a magnificent career ERA of 3.07. Williams has been a force in his own right, posting a spectacular 1.83 career ERA. And even if he’s not an MVP-type player any more, Bellinger still packs a quality bat that will match perfectly with the short-right porch in Yankee Stadium. Unfortunately, as good as these three stars have been throughout their careers, there is one thing their stat lines don’t account for: abysmal track records in the postseason.

Fried is coming off a season where he pitched to a 3.25 ERA, his worst performance since 2019 (which speaks volumes to his excellence as a hurler). But in the postseason, Fried maintains a rather shocking 5.10 ERA. In 12 starts over 20 games, Fried has thrown some gems, three outings of six or more innings in which he didn't allow a singl erun. Unfortunately, he has been blown up numerous times as well, resulting in that unsightly ERA.

Bellinger, while an improvement over the likes of Alex Verdugo in left field, also comes with some unappealing postseason numbers. As a former Dodger, Bellinger has seen plenty of October action. But over 242 at-bats, he's posted a .211 average with nine home runs. This isn’t to say he hasn’t had his postseason moments; in 2018, he won the NLCS MVP Award, though he went 5-25 with one home run and only one walk. But sadly, like Fried, his poor performances vastly outweigh his great ones.

Of the three, Williams has the least postseason experience. Over three games, Williams has pitched just 2.1 innings. But in those 2.1 innings, Williams maintains a monstrous 23.14 ERA, which comes out to six earned runs. fa

Overall, Yankees’ fans should be hoping that the only history that repeats itself are the successful postseason moments. They will surely hope to see repeats of Fried’s gems rather than his blowups, more of Bellinger’s postseason heroics rather than his offensive stagnation, and will certainly hope to see more of Williams improve upon his single clean postseason outing.