These 5 Yankees deserve the blame for embarrassing six-game skid

The New York Yankees were always going to face an uphill battle with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Max Fried and Trent Grisham all on the IL for a prolonged period, but things have gotten uglier than anyone could've expected. After treading water for a bit, New York has dropped six in a row, scoring four runs or fewer in each of those contests. They've gone from sitting relatively comfortably in first place in the AL East to trailing the Tampa Bay Rays by 2.5 games in the division.

There was reason to expect the Yankees to struggle given their injuries, but their play over the past week has been completely unacceptable. These five players deserve most of the blame.

1B Ben Rice

Ben Rice has been at or near the top of the AL MVP rankings for most of the year, and it isn't hard to see why. As good as Judge is, Rice was putting up even better numbers for a Yankees team that was clearly the best in the American League. To say he's slown down significantly lately, though, would be an understatement.

Yes, he took Tarik Skubal deep on Tuesday, which was a good sign, but he went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts looking and a flyout in his three at-bats after the long ball, and he had gone 0-for-18 in the previous five games. Rice has gone just 1-for-22 with six strikeouts and no walks during this stretch. The Yankees needed him to step up now more than ever with Judge and other big hitters out, and he's done the exact opposite of that.

2B Jazz Chisholm Jr.

A rough contract year has only gone worse for Jazz Chisholm Jr. over this six-game skid. While I can't blame him for the injury he suffered in Monday's game, I can blame him for going 1-for-12 with five strikeouts during this skid. I can also blame him for getting ejected in Sunday's game at a time when the team clearly needed any offensive firepower it could get.

Chisholm is supposed to be one of the best players on this team, and while he's been significantly better since a brutal April, weeks like this one show why some Yankees fans are frustrated with him. His streakiness at the plate and immaturity on the field have certainly not helped the team in this trying time.

C Austin Wells

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Austin Wells finds himself on this list because he's been, well, 2026 Austin Wells. He entered this losing streak hitting .161 with a .520 OPS — and somehow, those offensive numbers have only gotten worse. Wells is now hitting .155 with a .493 OPS after going 1-for-13 with four strikeouts while appearing in five of the last six games.

His recent skid only adds to year-long struggles at the plate. There's a reason the Yankees have been rumored to be very interested in acquiring a catcher at the trade deadline, and Wells has done nothing over the past week to steer them in a different direction.

OF Cody Bellinger

Cody Bellinger has been nothing but a steady and reliable presence ever since his Yankees career began last season, but when New York needed him to shoulder the offensive load the most, he simply has not come through. Bellinger has gone 1-for-18 in this streak before missing Tuesday's game.

Bellinger has seen his OPS dip from .834 to .797, nearly 40 points, in just five games. That's really hard to do this late into the season, and it goes to show just how badly he is slumping. With another series at Yankee Stadium (where he's routinely crushed the ball) on the docket, Yankees fans are desperate to see Bellinger break out of his funk.

RHP Cam Schlittler

Much like Rice was in AL MVP conversations, Cam Schlittler has been (and probably still is) leading the AL Cy Young race virtually all year. But things are getting tighter now based on how he's performed in this skid. He technically didn't allow an earned run in his start in Boston thanks to Amed Rosario being unable to field a scalding 112.8 mph ground ball, but he did surrender four runs in the fifth inning alone, causing the Yankees to go from a 2-0 lead to a 4-2 deficit.

As if that wasn't bad enough, with the Yankees badly needing zeroes and knowing Tarik Skubal was his opposition on Tuesday, Schlittler allowed the Tigers to hit three home runs — all of which came with two outs — putting the team in a 4-0 hole before they came up to bat. In other words, the game was essentially over in the first inning. That's unacceptable for any starting pitcher to allow, especially one of Schlittler's caliber. A great year overall does not absolve him of blame for underperforming when the Yankees needed him to step up most.

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