The New York Yankees are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016. This puts the curtain on a tumultuous season that fell short of the team’s ambitious goals and let fans remain clamoring for radical changes in the organization.
However, the month of September witnessed a short of turnaround. Energized by youthful vigor and Aaron Judge’s remarkable show of power, the Yankees bring into focus compelling narratives to follow. Here are five key aspects from that to keep an eye on as the Yankees approach the conclusion of their season.
Gerrit Cole’s strong Cy Young bid
After achieving five previous top-five finishes, Gerrit Cole stands on the brink of potentially securing his elusive first Cy Young Award. As of Saturday, the Yankees ace sits atop the American League rankings with an impressive 2.75 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP, and 200 innings pitched. Furthermore, he ranks third in wins with 14 and strikeouts with 217. Notably, he has held opponents to two runs or fewer in 25 of his 32 starts this season.
Cole’s most recent performance was nothing short of exceptional, highlighted by his streak of retiring the first 16 Toronto batters he faced and allowing just one run over eight innings. With at least one more start left this season, the Yankees ace could take the mound on Tuesday with regular rest, allowing him to also pitch in the season finale on October 1 under the same conditions.
Among the contenders for the prestigious annual pitching award are Seattle’s Luis Castillo (14-7, 3.06 ERA) and Minnesota’s Sonny Gray (8-7, 2.84 ERA).
At 33 years old, Cole, who embarked on a nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees in 2020, has consistently delivered, making at least 30 starts, striking out over 200 batters, and earning All-Star recognition in each of the past three seasons.
According to manager Aaron Boone, Cole had lived up to the team’s hopes and the initial recruitment discussions they had when they met in California. He also noted the player’s dedication to representing the team, and the organization and being the ace of the New York Yankees’ pitching staff.
Aaron Judge’s record performance
Around this time last year, Judge was on the verge of approaching the AL single-season record of 62 home runs. Unfortunately, injuries prevented the Yankees’ power hitter from mounting a challenge to that record this year, but Judge still has the potential to etch his name in the history books.
As of Sunday, the Yankees slugger has amassed 35 home runs in just 100 games. If he manages to hit five more homers in the Yankees’ remaining eight games, he will join an elite group of players in team history who have achieved three 40-homer seasons. This select club includes legends such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Mickey Mantle.
Remarkably, Ruth accomplished this feat an astonishing 11 times, Gehrig managed it five times, and Mantle achieved it four times. Judge’s home run tally for 2021 concluded at 39. Furthermore, reaching a total of five more home runs would propel the Yankees captain to 260 career homers, placing him in a tie with Derek Jeter for the ninth spot on the Yankees’ all-time home run list.
How do Yankees’ young guns perform
The final eight games offer a valuable opportunity for the Yankees’ young call-ups to establish themselves.
Austin Wells, aged 24, Oswald Peraza, aged 23, and Everson Pereira, aged 22, have all been given consistent playing time in recent weeks, particularly as the Yankees fell out of contention for the playoffs.
Wells, a former first-round draft pick, is currently hitting .170 across 13 games, but he recently marked his first MLB home run and was the catcher for Michael King’s remarkable 13-strikeout performance. Additionally, the Yankees have catchers Jose Trevino, Kyle Higashioka, and Ben Rortvedt under team control for the next season.
Pereira has been sidelined for over a week due to a hamstring injury, and he holds a .143 batting average over 21 games. He has exclusively played in left field, a position that the Yankees have struggled to fill adequately in recent years.
Peraza is batting .204 with one home run in 45 games this year, which includes multiple MLB stints. In recent times, he has primarily taken on the third base position, which became vacant after the Yankees released Josh Donaldson.
Among the Yankees’ young talents, 20-year-old outfielder Jasson Dominguez made a notable impact with four home runs in eight games this month. However, Dominguez has since undergone elbow surgery, and he faces a lengthy 9-10 month recovery process.
The shaping of the Yankees rotation
As the 2024 starting rotation for the Yankees has a couple of vacancies to fill, a number of pitchers are treating the final week of the season as a crucial audition leading up to spring training.
Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, and Nestor Cortes are all slated to occupy three-fifths of the starting staff. However, there are looming questions surrounding the future of Luis Severino, who faced challenges with injuries and inconsistency this season, and Frankie Montas, who missed the entire year due to shoulder surgery, as both are impending free agents.
Additionally, there is uncertainty surrounding Domingo German, who left the team in August to undergo inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse.
Michael King, who has excelled as a late-inning reliever over the past two seasons, has been making a compelling case to be part of next year’s starting rotation. He has delivered a remarkable 1.27 ERA across six games since transitioning to the rotation last month, including a career-high 13 strikeouts in his recent start against the Blue Jays.
Meanwhile, Luke Weaver, Jhony Brito, and Randy Vasquez have each enjoyed moments of success in their starts for the Yankees this season.
Looking at potential free-agent acquisitions, top pitchers like Blake Snell from San Diego and Aaron Nola from Philadelphia are expected to be in high demand. Jordan Montgomery, who initially came up with the Yankees in 2017 and spent six seasons with them, is also among the notable free agents.
Furthermore, Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto, whom Yankees general manager Brian Cashman recently observed throwing a no-hitter, is anticipated to be posted for MLB teams to pursue.
Will the Yankees end up above .500?
The Yankees have not concluded a season with a subpar or .500 record since 1992, a remarkable 30-year span of success. Yet, this illustrious streak is currently at risk, as the Yankees stand at 78-76 as of Sunday, with just eight games left to play.
Their remaining schedule consists of two home games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who hold a record of 81-73, followed by a road series against the Toronto Blue Jays, who are in the hunt for a playoff spot, and the Kansas City Royals, who occupy the last place in the standings.
Manager Boone downplayed the significance of the streak, acknowledging its impressiveness but emphasizing that his primary focus is on winning each individual game. He remarked that while the achievement was impressive, their aspirations and expectations for each season, as he had experienced during his tenure, were set even higher than what had been accomplished.
The Yankees had previously notched 39 consecutive winning seasons spanning from 1926 to 1964, marking the only streak longer than their current one in the history of Major League Baseball.
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