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The New York Yankees are tied for the best record in baseball and have looked fairly unbeatable over the first couple of months of the 2024 MLB season, but that doesn't mean that all of their players are making fans happy.
While Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are two of the top candidates for AL MVP and Giancarlo Stanton has had one heck of a resurgence thus far this year, there are a couple of Yankees that may need to be replaced. If not this season, then definitely in 2025.
Fortunately, New York has been dominant enough overall to mask any holes on its roster. Sometimes, teams are so good that they can hide deficiencies. The Yankees appear to be one of those types of teams this season.
But here are two players that Yankees fans would probably like to see jettisoned.
Anthony Rizzo, first baseman
New York initially acquired Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs back at the trade deadline in 2021. That year, Rizzo started to decline and was clearly no longer the MVP-caliber star he had been previously. But, he was at least still productive.
In 49 games with the Yankees in 2021, Rizzo slashed .249/.340/.428 with eight home runs and 21 RBI over 200 plate appearances. Then, in 2022, Rizzo actually turned back the clock a bit, smashing 32 homers. However, he hit just .224.
Since then, Rizzo has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster in the Bronx.
The 34-year-old flashed a .706 OPS last season, although part of that was due to the fact that he was suffering from post-concussion syndrome. Even when he was healthy, however, Rizzo simply did not look like the same player anymore.
In 2024, Rizzo has become a complete liability. Through 61 games, the Parkland, Fl. native has a registered a slash line of .236/.295/.356 with seven home runs and 25 RBI. Most of that production came in March and April, where Rizzo logged five long balls and 15 RBI. He has experienced a power outage since. As a matter of fact, May 10 represents the last time Rizzo homered, and he has accumulated just three RBI during that span.
To make matters worse, the four-time Gold Glover has seen his fielding dip considerably over the last several seasons.
Rizzo is clearly very well-liked in the locker room, and he did have some moments earlier in the year. However, it's getting harder and harder for the Yankees to justify having him in the lineup everyday. You have to wonder if New York is considering making a move at first base before the trade deadline. Some have even suggested that the Bronx Bombers could pursue Pete Alonso, although it seems hard to envision the New York Mets sending Alonso to their crosstown rivals.
Rizzo's contract expires at the end of this season. Chances are, he is playing out his final few months with the Yanks.
Gleyber Torres, shortstop
There was a time when Gleyber Torres looked like one of the top up and coming players in baseball.
During his rookie campaign back in 2018, Torres slashed .271/.340/.480 with 24 dingers and 77 RBI en route to an All-Star selection. The following year, he was even better, slashing .278/.337/.535 with 38 home runs and 90 RBI. He made his second straight All-Star team and also racked up three long balls and 10 RBI in the playoffs.
It's hard to truly describe what has happened to Torres since then.
He slashed .243/.356/.368 with just three homers during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and in 2021, he logged a meager .697 OPS. He showed signs of bouncing back in 2022 and 2023, posting 24 and 25 home runs, respectively. He even got his OPS back to .800 last year.
But in 2024, Torres has returned to the doldrums, laying claim to a .231/.307/.341 slash line with five long balls and 19 RBI across 258 trips to the dish.
To be fair, the 27-year-old has looked better of late, as he homered four times in May after not tallying a single home run in March and April. He also owns an .874 OPS over the last 14 days, so maybe Torres is starting to break out of it.
But that doesn't change the fact that Torres is not even remotely close to the player many expected him to be and that he simply has not been good for the vast majority of 2024.
Torres' defensive miscues have also been on full display. While that is not particularly surprising given that he was never known for his glove, it has been Torres' decision-making in the field (such as throwing to the wrong base) that has left fans scratching their heads (or pulling their hair out).
Like Rizzo, Torres' contract is up at the end of 2024. The difference is that he is considerably younger than Rizzo. However, that doesn't mean the Yankees are going to re-sign him, especially not with all of the money they are going to have to cough up to retain Soto.
