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The New York Yankees were one of the most active teams at the MLB trade deadline. They brought in seven pieces, three relief pitchers and four position players, in the days leading up to the deadline. Ryan McMahon has been excellent at third base, the new relievers struggled in their first appearances, and they will be relied upon heavily. The Yankees should not be done there, with questions about Anthony Volpe and Aaron Judge left to be answered.
The biggest post-deadline move the Yankees needed to make was activating Luis Gil. After winning Rookie of the Year last season, Gil suffered a lat injury during spring training. He came back on Sunday, allowing five runs in 3.1 innings. The corresponding move was cutting Marcus Stroman, ending his rollercoaster tenure in The Bronx. There are still more questions for Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone to answer.
A short leash on Anthony Volpe
Anthony Volpe has not been the problem for the Yankees since the trade deadline. He hit a big home run in Friday's loss to the Miami Marlins, did not make an error in the three games, and has been hitting consistently. Since the All-Star Break, he has a .979 OPS with seven homers in 16 games. But history shows that this streak will die out.
In his first 16 games after the All-Star Break in 2024, Volpe had a 1.009 OPS. From then until the end of the regular season, he had a .492 OPS and only missed one game. In his rookie season, an .889 OPS in August gave way to a .482 mark in September. If those offensive struggles continue, they have to pull the plug on Volpe.
Trading for Jose Caballero was a move to replace Oswald Peraza and his poor offensive bat. But if Volpe's late-season offensive struggles continue, the Yankees won't have his defensive prowess to lean on as they have in past years. The move that needs to be made is shortening the leash on Volpe and putting in Caballero if things get ugly again.
Balancing Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton at DH
The Yankees are currently living their nightmare, as Aaron Judge is not in the lineup. Without their captain, their lineup is not that of a World Series contender. Judge has been taking batting practice and is expected to be activated for Tuesday's game, but only as a designated hitter. Giancarlo Stanton has been sensational lately, but is unlikley to play the outfield at this point in his career. This is quite the conundrum for the Yankees as their playoff standing dwindles.
The Yankees are not the Bronx Bombers without Aaron Judge. But sitting Stanton for Austin Slater does not seem like the recipe to win games either. For home games, Stanton could play the shallow right field in The Bronx. But other outfield spots across the league won't be kind to Stanton. Figuring out who goes to AAA when Judge is activated and balancing the DH role will be difficult for Boone and the Yankees.
An open competition for Yankees' closer?
The Yankees prioritized relief pitching at the MLB trade deadline, specifically back-end relievers. David Bednar and Camilo Doval, both former closers for their previous teams, can also close games for the Bombers. But they also traded for Devin Williams before the season, who was great for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2024. But his struggles this year should make it an open competition.
The Yankees tabbed Doval for the save in the bottom of the ninth against the Marlins on Friday. Doval allowed three runs, only one earned, to blow his fifth save of the year. Williams has blown a few saves as well with a 5.01 ERA on the season. Could that mean Bednar gets the next opportunity? Figuring out who the closer is before the postseason begins is key for the Yankees.
Aaron Boone has said that Williams will still get the majority of the chances. But he is a free agent at the end of the year, while Doval and Bednar are not. Locking in a 2025 postseason closer and a 2026 closer is important, and that may not be Devin Williams.
