The Yankees were in first place in the AL East for 75 days in the first half of the season, and after a disastrous 6-17 second half, they could and should have gone into the break in first place in the division. But then they suffered a tough loss to the Orioles on Sunday and fell to one game out of first place with 64 games remaining. Here’s how the Yankees performed through their first 98 games:
Aaron Judge: A
Remember his quiet performance in April? Opponents have paid the price since then. The center fielder had another MVP-caliber season with 34 homers and a 1.112 OPS.
Juan Soto: A
The “generational” talent has lived up to expectations after overcoming two injury crises (forearm and hand) and pairing it with a one-two punch with Judge.
Luis Gil: A-
After a strong May, Gill had some shaky starts over the next three games, but he bounced back in his final two starts, lowering his ERA to 3.17.
Luke Weaver: A-
Re-signed as a backup starter, Weaver has found his home in the bullpen, becoming one of manager Aaron Boone’s most trusted high-leverage pitchers and a threat to pitch multiple innings.
Nestor Cortez: B+
He was plagued by injuries in 2023, but if he can perform as well on the road (6.04 ERA) as he did at home (1.81 ERA), even better.
Michael Tonkin: B+
After being DFA’d in a dizzying fashion in April, Tonkin has found a home with the Yankees, where he’s earned manager Boone’s trust with his strikeout-and-whining pitching.
Ben Rice: B
Since being promoted in June to replace the injured Anthony Rizzo, Rice has served as the leadoff hitter and cleanup hitter and led the team with his powerful hitting.
Clark Schmidt: B
He had a strong start to the season before missing time in late May with a lat strain and is expected to return by August.
Clay Holmes: B
He converted 16 of his first 19 save opportunities but missed three of his last five, and his tendency to look to ground balls rather than strikeouts has sometimes backfired.
Giancarlo Stanton: B-
The 34-year-old was back to being a threat in the middle of the order before suffering a hamstring injury in June and should be back soon after resting, but how will that look?
Marcus Stroman: B-
He led the Yankees to victory in nearly every game, but he also recorded a career-high walk rate (10.5 percent) and some of the games were tough.
Tommy Kahnle: B-
A shoulder injury delayed his season by two months, but since his return he has been mostly solid, if unspectacular. His fastball has been an issue.
Anthony Volpe: C+
He got off to a great start, hitting in 22 straight games in May and playing top-notch defense, but he’s had a downturn since June and has generally lost power.
Austin Wells: C+
Wells got off to a rough start offensively, but he’s been playing like the hitter he is naturally like recently, and his defense is performing better than expected.
Alex Verdugo: C
The last month before the break was tough, and while his bat-to-ball skills have been a nice change of pace, his defense has been mostly strong and he’s a popular face in the clubhouse, his attack has been missing.
Trent Grisham: C
Aside from that memorable gaffe, he was a good defensive center fielder, had power and, as he became more of a regular, hit better.
Carlos Rodon: C
Will it be his first 14 starts (2.93 ERA) or his last six (9.67 ERA)? He’s had success mixing up his pitches, but he’s been slow to adapt as of late.
Jose Trevino: C-
He has been a strong offensive player since the early innings and has controlled pitchers well, but he has been having arm issues and could miss at least a month with a quad strain.
Oswaldo Cabrera: C-
He was great in his first few weeks filling a hole at third base for the Yankees, but hasn’t had much of an impact since then.
Gleyber Torres: D+
The pressure of being in the final year of his contract has likely affected his performance, but he has started to pick up some steam in the past two weeks.
Caleb Ferguson: D
The relief pitcher acquired from the Dodgers flashed flashes of brilliance at times, but it wasn’t enough.
Anthony Rizzo: D-
He was having a tough season both at the plate and defensively before breaking his arm in mid-June.
DJ LeMahieu: F
He missed the first two months of the season after fouling the ball with his foot in March, and has not been able to perform to his full potential since returning.
Gerrit Cole: INC
The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner missed nearly the first three months of the season with an elbow injury and then spent his first few starts trying to shake off the rust, his final one offering some hope for the second half of the season.
Aaron Boone: B
The Yankees’ summer slump lingered for a bit before the break, but as of mid-June, his team had the best record in baseball.
Brian Cashman: C+
The Soto acquisition went as expected, but with a struggling bullpen and corner infield, there is a lot of work to be done before the trade deadline.
