What Happened To The Yankees? From World Series To Missed Playoffs?
New York went 18-29 since June 12th despite adding Max Fried, Devin Williams and other key players
The New York Yankees made the 2024 World Series, storming through the postseason on the back of an elite offense and quality starting pitching. Their depth, however, was lacking, and there were several defensive holes on the roster that could be upgraded to improve on the 2024 team.
The Yankees addressed some of those needs in the offseason, adding one of baseball's best and most consistent closers in Devin Williams. Max Fried was signed to provide a devastating top of the rotation along with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon. While Juan Soto departed in free agency, New York brought in Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt to help improve defensively and offensively over 2024 options Anthony Rizzo or D.J. LeMahieu.
Things started to turn when Gerrit Cole went down with Tommy John surgery in spring training. But nobody could have predicted what's happened to the Yankees since the middle of June. New York is just 18-29 since June 12th, percentage points ahead of the Minnesota Twins for the worst record in the American League. They've allowed the most runs in the American League during that time period, while being outscored overall.
Even worse? That record puts them in an effective tie with the historically bad Colorado Rockies over that time period. And it's putting them in a shocking position: at risk of missing the postseason a year after reaching their first World Series since 2009.
ATLANTA, GA - JULY 19: Jazz Chisholm #13 of the New York Yankees walks off the field in the ninth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on July 19, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)
New York Yankees Have Real Issues And Few Fixes
The Yankees defense, one of the stories of the 2024 World Series, has continued to be an issue in the 2025 regular season. After an embarrassing showing defensively against the Toronto Blue Jays, team GM Brian Cashman went out and acquired third baseman Ryan McMahon from the Colorado Rockies to upgrade at third base. Then they got swept by the Miami Marlins anyway.
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While the Yankees offense has generally held up its end of the bargain, the team's defense and baserunning metrics are well below average. And the pitching, particularly the beleaguered bullpen, has been bad, to say the least.
Yankee relievers this season rank 22nd in baseball in ERA, and 23rd in FIP, an advanced ERA estimator. They've collectively been worth just 1.1 wins above replacement, per Fangraphs. For context, Devin Williams was worth 1.8 WAR by himself in 2023, and 2.2 WAR in 2022. Heck, Luke Weaver was worth 1.0 WAR in 2024 alone.
But the inherent unpredictability of bullpens and inconsistency of relievers has hit the Yankees like a freight train this year. Cashman, looking to upgrade, brought in David Bednar, Jake Bird, and Camillo Doval to shore up late-inning depth.
Bird promptly gave up two home runs and seven runs in just two innings, then was sent down to Triple-A. Doval allowed three runs, though just one was earned, in his first 2.1 innings pitched for New York. And Bednar gave up two runs in his first two innings. Welcome to relief pitching.
These are not easily fixable issues, and while the Yankees still have time to fix them, and Aaron Judge's return from the injured list will obviously help, there are teams breathing down their necks for a postseason spot.
The Texas Rangers have surged, finding themselves just a half game back of the 60-54 Yankees at 60-55. The Cleveland Guardians have quietly recovered too, taking advantage of a weak AL schedule to pull to within just a game and a half. Suddenly a team that looked like a potential World Series favorite is struggling to hold on to a third wild card spot.
Fangraphs still believes the Yankees are more likely to reach the postseason than the Rangers or Guardians. But another week or two of this type of performance will almost certainly change that. Not exactly how New York fans drew it up.