The New York Yankees claimed the top overall seed in the American League last season behind the two-headed monster of Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. Despite depth concerns and a shaky rotation, the Yankees rolled through the postseason en route to a pennant, and then set up a classic battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. We all know how that went.
L.A. dismantled New York in five games. It was a proper beatdown, and a sobering reminder of what made the Yankees such a volatile team in the first place.
That all preceded Soto's much-publicized departure in free agency, followed by a season-ending Tommy John diagnosis for Gerrit Cole before Opening Day. All of a sudden, the Yankees went from potential World Series favorites to a postseason question mark.
New York has responded in force this season, carving out a seven-game lead in the AL East and looking the part of a contender — again. Just don't tell Giancarlo Stanton the Yankees are sitting comfortably. The veteran slugger was blunt with teammates at their AL pennant ring ceremony.
"This isn’t the one we wanted, boys,” Stanton said, per MLB. “The one that we want is in front of us. I’d better not see any of you guys wearing these around."
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Giancarlo Stanton was not satisfied whatsoever by Yankees' AL champ rings
New York ranks third in MLB in runs. Aaron Judge is going supernova, with a comical 1.227 OPS and an AL-leading 18 home runs. There are still holes to poke in New York's offense, but Judge alone — combined with unexpectedly strong contributions from Paul Goldschmidt, Trent Grisham and Ben Rice — has the Yankees mowing through pitchers right now. I'd also bet on players like Cody Bellinger and Jasson Domínguez getting better, not worse, as the season progresses.
The Yankees' pitching staff still needs the most work after Cole's season-ending injury, but Max Fried is pitching like a Cy Young frontrunner and Carlos Ródon is playing his best baseball in years. That one-two punch gives the Yankees a crutch to lean on in the playoffs and a solid foundation to build around at the trade deadline.
This Yankees team has the juice to challenge the Dodgers again in the World Series, if we are so lucky as to get a rematch. Nothing is guaranteed, but the Dodgers are beat up and the AL is far weaker than the NL towards the top right now. The Detroit Tigers look like New York's biggest challenger, but when rubber meets the road in October, that Yankees' lineup simply outclasses Detroit's — even with the Tigers boasting such a loaded pitching staff to combat it. We saw this last postseason.
Stanton's words ring true, no pun intended. The Yankees were AL champs, which is a real accomplishment, but the Bronx Bombers are always aiming higher. It's part of being the New York freakin' Yankees. And, lest we forget, the Yanks are still waiting on Stanton's return from injury. His eventual arrival will bring a new, exciting dynamic to what is already an above-average offense.
New York has the pieces and the right mindset. Now, we see how the deck unfolds in the coming months.