4 Yankees most to blame for embarrassing sweep from Reds ahead of Red Sox series

The Cincinnati Reds just traveled into the Bronx and swept the New York Yankees in a three-game set. Cincinnati did so by shutting down the Yankees' offense and not throwing either of their top arms, Nick Lodolo or Hunter Greene.

The media, Yankees fans and plenty of others have voiced their opinions on who to blame for such an embarrassing set of games for New York. The list could include plenty of names.

Before we get into the list of Yankees to blame for this embarrassing sweep, I want to let you know that Trent Grisham won't be on this list. While his effort on a play in game three has embarrassed the franchise, it didn't end up affecting the outcome of the game. Yes, he should be DFA'd because of a play like that, but Yankees fans have come to learn that Grisham just isn't a competitive major-leaguer anymore.

4. Anthony Volpe deserves some blame following putrid performance

The pace of the offense is set by the leadoff hitter, especially when the two and three hitters in the order are Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. Teams have shown a willingness to walk Soto and Judge because they would rather deal with the rest of the lineup and they're given this ability if the leadoff hitter doesn't reach.

Anthony Volpe, who's led off for most of the season for the Yankees, has struggled to reach ahead of these two sluggers. Volpe has found himself slumping over the course of the last month, hitting below .200 since June 6th and below .150 since June 21.

After the first two games, Yankees' manager Aaron Boone moved Volpe out of the leadoff spot, opting for Ben Rice instead. Volpe still couldn't find a way on base, going 0 for 4 in game three to make him 1-for-14 on the series.

Volpe has seen his OBP inch closer and closer to .300, a spot that turns him from a struggling hitter to an almost unusable bat. Luckily for the Yankees, he's still just 23 years old and has a ton of untapped potential.

Volpe would hit a two-RBI double in game two, though, that being his only hit of the series.

3. Gleyber Torres deserves some blame following 1-for-11 performance

For weeks, the media has speculated that the Yankees would be looking to upgrade from Gleyber Torres at second base. It's been a shocking turn of events, as Torres slashed .273/.347/.453 last year and once hit nearly 40 homers in a season. But 2024 has been a nightmare for the Yankees' second baseman and the series against the Reds was no different.

Torres went 1-for-11 against the Reds with his only hit being a game one RBI single off the Reds' starter Graham Ashcraft. This series moved Torres' season slash line to .223/.296/.346, good for an OPS+ of 82, well below league-average.

Some in the media have speculated that the Yankees would be a good fit for the Reds second baseman, Jonathan India. India outperformed Torres by a long shot in the series, going 3-for-11 with four runs scored and a home run.

I don't see Cincinnati moving India as he remains the heart of the Reds team. It's just a fun comparison to make as the Yankees watch Torres struggle as their dream trade target excels.

Expect the Yankees to be aggressive in the infield market at the trade deadline. Their infield seems like a slice of Swiss cheese at the moment.

2. DJ LeMahieu deserves some blame following horrible series

DJ LeMahieu has looked like a shell of his former self in 2024. He's slashing .185/.283/.207 on the season, good for an OPS+ of 43 and he's yet to homer. And to think, this is the same player who posted an insane .364/.421/.590 slash line in the shortened 2020 season.

In this series against the Reds, LeMahieu consistently looked out of sorts at the plate. He never seemed to find his timing or rhythm while facing pitchers that he would have crushed a few short years ago. He finished the series 1-for-8, with his sole hit coming in the bottom of the 8th of the second game of the series.

New York desperately needs to look to upgrade from the 35-year-old. There's no reason that LeMahieu, at this point in his career, should be getting consistent at-bats. The fact that he's getting at-bats as consistently as he is, let alone them coming for a competitive team like the Yankees, is completely out of the ordinary for the franchise.

Expect the Yankees to be aggressive in the infield market in the coming weeks. Their infielders have struggled recently and they can't continue to trot out the lineups in which they have been.

1. Aaron Boone has to take some of the blame following embarrassing sweep

At the end of the day, the blame always comes back to the manager. Aaron Boone finds himself on the hot seat in 2024 because the Yankees have such an incredibly expensive payroll, that if Boone doesn't find a way to win games, he could find himself out of a job by November.

Boone made a few questionable calls, including letting Trent Grisham take seven at-bats across the three-game series. Grisham is slashing .157/.276/.349 on the season and has shown no promise to break out of the slump. It's also taken Boone way too long to move the slumping Anthony Volpe down in the lineup, consistently leading him off and bringing Soto and Judge to the plate with no runners on.

But you can't put the entirety of the blame on the manager. Boone wasn't the one at the plate popping up or grounding into double plays with the game on the line. He can only do so much with the players that he's given and right now, he doesn't have many capable hitters to work with. New York is going to need to be quite aggressive at the trade deadline in order to give Boone the lineup that has a chance to compete down the stretch.