The Yankees ended the first half of the season in Baltimore with a loss that Aaron Boone described as “deadly.”
That ended a month-long streak for the Yankees, who finished the first half of the season with an 8-18 record before the All-Star break and one game behind the Orioles for the AL East lead.
They resume their season on Friday against the Rays in the Bronx, looking to put together a better second half than the past two seasons in which they failed to post a winning percentage above .500 after the break.
In 2022, the Yankees overcame a 35-35 record after the hiatus to reach the American League Championship Series before losing to Houston, but last season’s 33-38 record contributed to the Yankees missing the playoffs.
Now they’re trying to avoid a similar fate.
“When I come back, I’m going to sprint,” Boone said. “I’m going to go out there and give it my all.”
The question remains whether that is enough.
Ahead of the final game of the first half against the Orioles, the manager said the team is “in a pretty good position heading into the second half. This is mainly due to our play that has kept us where we are. We are in control of the scenario from now on. We are the relief pitchers in the second half. It’s in our hands. This is due to how we played in the first half.”
The second half has been a big issue in the Bronx recently, and if it happens again that could mean changes.
It is likely that some changes will occur by then.
With less than two weeks until the July 30 trade deadline and coming off a season in which they missed the playoffs and then acquired Juan Soto in a trade, general manager Brian Cashman and his staff will surely be looking to add some roster tweaks.
“We’re the Yankees,” Aaron Judge said before Tuesday’s All-Star game in Texas, “and we’re going to try to put ourselves in the best position possible, and the front office will fill any holes that we need, but we’re a great team right now and we’re open to any help we can get.”
Two years ago, the Yankees acquired Andrew Benintendi, Harrison Bader, Scott Efros and Frankie Montas.
A mediocre first half of last season didn’t pressure the front office to do anything big.
How will the Yankees approach the final stages?
The starting rotation was a pleasant surprise for much of the first half despite the absence of Gerrit Cole, but it was the worst in baseball last month, and the relief corps hasn’t been great either, making it the Yankees’ top priority as the deadline approaches.
Miami’s Tanner Scott is one of the potential additions after offseason acquisitions Victor Gonzalez and Caleb Ferguson didn’t work out.
Nick Burdy and Scott Efros are both returning from injured reserve and could contribute in the second half of the season.
The infield is also in disarray, with everyone except rookie Ben Rice underperforming.
Rice is probably a temporary solution at least at first base, but Gleyber Torres was again a disappointment at second base and DJ LeMahieu offers little offensively at third base.
Anthony Volpe is coming off a promising rookie season but looked underwhelmed at the plate for much of the first half.
With the expected return of Jon Bertie, who appeared in just 17 games before landing on the disabled list with a torn calf, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the infield add one or two new hitters.
He’s coming off a solid season with Miami last year and should thrive against at least left-handed pitching, and he should also be solid defensively at third base (and second if necessary).
But the Yankees will likely consider adding an infielder at least before the end of the month.
Soto and Judge have relied on other players to mask many of their shortcomings, but the Yankees’ recent slump has shown that even they need help from others.
That hasn’t come from Alex Verdugo, one of several members who recently had a bad day before the break.
Jasson Dominguez could have provided some much-needed energy to the offense, but he is still sidelined with an oblique injury suffered at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and isn’t expected to return for another month.
Additionally, veteran sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo are both injured. Stanton has provided some protection for Soto and Judge and is expected to return soon from a hamstring strain, but his health remains in question.
Rizzo, on the other hand, looked nothing like the hitter he was before he broke his arm.
