New York Yankees Standings, Stats, Odds and Schedule for 2023 MLB Season
New York Yankees Last Season Performance
On the surface, the New York Yankees had a great season. They won the American League East, made it to the ALCS, and Aaron Judge had a historic season hitting an AL record 62 home runs.
However, the Yankees started on a historic pace through the season’s first three months. They were set to win 118 games at the 77 mark, but it began to slow after that. They actually fell one win short of 100, and injuries played a clear factor in them losing steam late in the season. The offense also slumped in the final months, including the playoffs.
New York would scrape past the Clevland Guardians in the ALDS, only to be swept by the Houston Astros. It was evident that last year’s team was not World Series-ready during the second half of the season.
Off-Season Changes
Key Additions
It’s not an addition, but the biggest moves that the Yankees had this offseason was re-signing Judge to a massive contract and keeping Anthony Rizzo. Judge was the priority after a record-breaking season and winning the AL MVP. He was also awarded the captaincy with his record-breaking contract.
The cost of keeping last season’s team together left little money for other free agents. However, New York found a way to sign pitcher Carlos Rodón to a six-year $162 million deal, to create one of the top starting rotations in the league. The Yankees also signed Tommy Kahnle to bolster the bullpen, having been with the team from 2017-20.
Key Losses
The Yankees’ batting lineup suffered no major losses over the offseason. Andrew Benintendi, a midseason trade playing 33 games in Pinstripes, left in free agency. Matt Carpenter also left after reviving his career with a run of 15 HRs in 44 games.
Pitching is where New York may have suffered its biggest losses. Jameson Taillon became a valuable back-end starter and decided to move on for a bigger contract. Closer Aroldis Chapman, who had fallen out of favor with the organization, also left. Zack Bribtton and Chad Green had minimal effects last season in the bullpen but had been big names in the past. They also had their contracts run out.
Manager: Aaron Boone
Manager Aaron Boone is one of the hottest topics amongst New York media. That is the life of a Yankee manager, and Boone has handled it well. The Yankees have yet to have a losing season under him and made the postseason in each of his five years, including two AL East Division titles and two ALCS appearances.
On the other hand, he has yet to win that World Series ring, the most important thing to the Yankees. His contract runs till 2024, with a team option in 2025. Expectations are to be in the World Series this season, and if that isn’t met, his seat will get a lot hotter.
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Strengths: Starting Rotation
It is so easy to get sucked into all the big names and powerful bats in the Yankees lineup but to be honest, it’s a little top-heavy. Pitching makes or breaks a season, and New York’s starting rotation might be the best in the MLB.
The biggest names are Rodón, Gerrit Cole, and Nestor Cortes, who all finished in the top 10 in Cy Young voting last season. Surprisingly, Cole had the worst season out of all three. His ERA was 3.50, compared to Rodón and Cortes’s sub 3.00. However, Cole did end up striking out a Yankee record 257 batters.
While the starting rotation is also a little top-heavy, it doesn’t fall off much when you get to Luis Severino. He hadn’t pitched since 2018, due to injuries and struggled at times last season, but he also finished with a 3.18 ERA, despite getting hurt. The fifth spot might be open, but with the strength in the Yankees’ top four, not many other teams can compare.
Weaknesses: Left Side of the Field
The Yankees have one of the best rosters in MLB. They have the starting pitching, one of the best bullpens, solid defenders, batters who can hit homers, and the reigning AL MVP. It is tough to poke many holes in the Yankees other than maybe the left side of the field (third base, shortstop, and left field).
Defensively Josh Donaldson was fantastic at third base, but he also had a batting average of .222 and struggled in the playoffs. Shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa struggled all season, never finding his swing along with defensive errors, leading to him being benched in the postseason. Finally, no one took control of the left field, and the position still seems to be an issue.
However, New York‘s farm system could be turned to in filling some of these problems. Oswaldo Cabrera looked solid in left field at the end of last season, and the Yankees have two of the top shortstop prospects in the minors that might be called up later on.
Predictions for the 2023 Season
This may be the best chance the Yankees have to win a World Series under Boone. However, it has felt that way for three seasons, and they haven’t lived up to the hype. The talent is on this roster, but can they break out of this cycle of regular-season success followed by faltering in the postseason?
All the tools are there for this team to make a deep postseason run, but it’s unclear if it will happen.