As we hit the All-Star Break, it’s time to take stock of New York City’s baseball union. There is good news and bad news in what has been a first half featuring peaks and valleys for the Mets and Yankees both. Let’s not waste much time, if we do, we’ll miss the Subway, so let’s climb aboard and break these squads down.

Yankees

“This is 161st Yankee Stadium…” where the Yankees hit the break in desperate need of a reset on their once promising season. They have gone 1-7-1 in their last nine series and close the half having gone 8-20 in their final 28 games before the All-Star Break. Sure, injuries have played a part in this slide as they lost Giancarlo Stanton and a few others along the way but there is no excuse for the type of baseball we have seen the Yankees play. This team has looked lethargic and sloppy for some time now. Their once strong pitching staff and pen have regressed to last year’s struggling form and the lineup’s depth is non-existent.

This is now the fourth straight season, and fifth out of six where there have been some extreme ups and downs in the Yankees game. While the players are ultimately responsible for their poor execution, the issues we see playing out feel indicative of a large cultural issue that starts with the manager. This stretch is fireable as far as I’m concerned but Aaron Boone is seemingly beyond reproach at this point, as is GM Brian Cashman who has managed to field yet another flawed roster.

This team simply put is flat out bad right now and if Cashman can’t bring in the help it needs then that won’t change. They showed signs of life this past weekend in Baltimore by winning two out of three but washed out the good vibes with a horrendous loss in which their biggest issues exposed themselves again. Closer Clay Holmes continued to struggle while the defense behind was even worse, allowing the O’s to come back take a lead in the division into the break.

Given that this is Soto’s only guaranteed season in the Bronx and the Yanks are one game out of first despite their struggles, it’s time to go all in and re-load this team on the fly. There should be some subtractions from this roster that would help improve the team, while also making big additions to close the gap on the competition. Hopefully we see an improved on the field very soon…after all as their clown manager would say “it’s right there in front of us.”

The Trade Deadline

To say the Yankees, have a lot of work to do at the trade deadline is an understatement. I’d love to add a manager to the shopping list, but we all know that Boone is never going anywhere, so Cashman must try to address the massive flaws in this roster. Whether he can effectively do that given his diminished work in the GM role and the sheer amount of work to be done is a difficult question to answer. But no matter how much must be done, the Yankees have to go all in as long as Juan Soto is on this roster with Aaron Judge. The slugging tandem present the best opportunity for the Yankees to win the World Series since 2009, but they need a lot of help to get the team over the hump.

That help must come on two fronts, the first of which is in the bullpen, a unit which has let the Yankees down this year for the first time in a long time. They have a lack of swing and miss stuff in the pen, even amongst their best arms so for my money I think they must pursue guys that bring more strike out stuff to the table. Buy low option Michael Kopech offers intriguing upside while Marlins lefty Tanner Scott feels like a solid addition. The real prize would come in the form of acquiring electrifying Athletics closer Mason Miller, who is incredibly talented and under club control for several years beyond 2024. The young righty is worth any price and if acquired should move into the closers role over Clay Holmes. While one could argue for additions to the pitching staff as well, it’s not as big a need as the bullpen or our next area of need, the lineup. Especially with Clarke Schmidt’s return looming.

That “next” area of need is the lineup, which has fallen off a cliff from a production standpoint after a strong start to the season. It is clear that Juan Soto and Aaron Judge need help as other than Ben Rice and Austin Wells, no one has really hit of late. Angels switch hitting infielder Luis Rengifo would help lengthen the lineup and provide production from both sides of the plate. While Rengifo would be a nice fit, Ryan McMahon would provide more impact at the plate with his power hitting prowess from the left side, while playing great defense. Marlins outfielder Jazz Chisholm is a bit of a wild card for the Yanks, as they have expressed interest in the lefty, but to come in and play second base which was his former position. The Yankees need big time impact from whoever they bring in, otherwise it is safe to assume their struggles will continue.

Team MVP’s

Aaron Judge: Simply put, Aaron Judge is the best player in baseball. He is yet again carrying the Yankees to contention with the help of our next team MVP. Number 99 has a chance to break his home run record from 2022 if he can keep up his torrid pace, which the Yankees will need him to do cause this team is rough to watch otherwise.

Juan Soto: Juan Soto has come to the Bronx as advertised putting up terrific numbers in his first full season with the bombers. He has been a bit cold of late due to a few nagging injuries, but this has been an MVP caliber season from the big lefty to this point. Soto and Judge need to continue to be a lethal tandem for the Yankees to win, and even then, it may not be enough. Regardless he has been a joy to watch in what will hopefully be the first of many seasons in pinstripes for number 22.

Luis Gil: When Gerrit Cole went down in spring training the Yankees needed someone to pitch like an ace. Some thought it would be a bounce back Carlos Rodon or new signing Marcus Stroman, but instead to everyone’s surprise, young righty Luis Gil filled the void. Gil pitched like a CY Young candidate for much of the first half outside of a short stretch in June where he looked fatigued. The Yanks wouldn’t be in this position without Gil’s contributions and him being joined by a healthy Gerrit Cole should help boost the Yankees chances.

Honorable mention Luke Weaver: In a Yankee bullpen that has mostly this year, two arms have emerged from nowhere to help the situation. While former Mets reliever Michael Tonkin has been terrific in pinstripes, Luke Weaver has outshined enough to win this award as he has been reliable from the get-go this season. He has morphed from a long man to being an effective late inning reliever that gets multiple outs. Its great story for one of the most likable guys on this roster who has had a hard time sticking to teams before.

Mets

“This is Mets Willets Point…” where the Mets are rolling to the All-Star Break off the back of an incredible season saving stretch. After such an ugly start to the season, the Mets have managed to pull it out of the fire and find themselves in a playoff spot at the pause of the season. This turn around is a credit to this groups character and determination to avoid what looked like a disaster of a season. Carlos Mendoza has gone from “maybe this guy won’t last long” to “maybe the Mets have something in their new skipper.” While you can praise his effort at the helm, we have to credit his players even more.

Several of the Mets top players got off to slow starts but have found ways to turn it around. Francisco Lindor is the poster child for this as he has put together a solid season after all. Others like Mark Vientos and Jose Iglesias have resurrected their careers with contributions at the plate, in the field and in the clubhouse. They have made this dramatic turnaround while not even getting the most out of Pete Alonso and injuries to Francisco Alvarez, Edwin Diaz and a delayed start to JD Martinez season. Their bullpen is also a far from quality and will have to address it going forward so it is not a liability the rest of the way.

We’ll deal with the second half more in next week’s release, but as we did above with the Yankees let’s talk about trade deadline plans and some first half MVP awards.

The Trade Deadline

This Mets trade deadline has two real themes to it. The first is arms, arms and more arms! The second is operating with caution as it does feel like GM David Stearns will look to add what he can at a reasonable price. The second theme is of course not entirely up to him as his colleagues operating with other clubs will set the prices for assets on the market. But let’s deal with the first theme, which goes with the slideshow above of prospective targets that I think make sense for the Mets.

The Mets lineup is incredibly solid right now, the best it has been in some years and that should rule out any kind of significant offensive additions. Their starting pitching has performed admirably to this point, but could stand to be updated in some form here, but more importantly their bullpen is disaster and must see several upgrades come in. Edwin Diaz has seemingly gotten his form back but the bridge to him isn’t good enough so strengthening that is paramount to maintaining their hold on a Wild Card spot. The Blue Jays are looking to sell this deadline and they offer righty Yimi Garcia (assuming he is healthy) and former Yankee Chad Green as attractive additions. White Sox closer Michael Kopech offers intriguing upside at a buy low price while Halos righty Carlos Estevez would help as well. While none of these are likely to come for a low price, even adding just one of these to replace the struggling Jake Diekman would make a difference.

Beyond just helping the bullpen, adding a veteran starter would give this team an even better chance at making the postseason. As much as it would be good to see Christian Scott continue to try and develop in the rotation, adding a pitcher who has been through the battles before could help out on the experience and innings front. Angels starting pitcher Tyler Anderson is enjoying a solid season in Anaheim and has performed well for contending teams in the past, particularly in his time with the Dodgers. While Anderson is a little more under the radar despite his good numbers, Blue Jays righty Kevin Gausman brings a more established pedigree to the conversation. Gausman has had a good career but is struggling through a down year, where he has particularly struggled pitching at home in Rogers Centre. A change of scenery could bring more consistency out of his game in a real pennant race.

While there is reason to be extremely positive about the Mets second half outlook, it is important that Stearns doesn’t give away the farm to ensure the club secures a wild card place. I don’t expect him to make a major move in either direction (buying or selling) but rather to tinker around the margins and just try to boost areas of need. The Mets have chips to move though and not doing anything at all would be both a mistake and a disappointment.

Team MVP’s

Francisco Alvarez: While his stat line may seem a bit meager, its far more impressive when you consider the number of games played and the general lack of production from the catching position league wide. Alvarez is every bit the gem the Mets advertised him as and his impact goes deeper than just his bat. He makes the pitching staff better with his game calling and solid defensive work behind the dish. His intangible quality as a spark plug to this roster can’t be understated as his return to the lineup coincided with the teams improved play, which doesn’t feel like an accident.

Brandon Nimmo: Nimmo has had an interesting season, one that saw him struggle out of the gate and draw comparisons to the fading career of Brett Gardner from a few years ago. But he quickly shed that with a hot streak that should have made him a National League All Star (and still may). Nimmo’s glove has always been there, but his power surge goes a long way to making this lineup so deep and explosive. The Mets will need to see more of this play down the stretch if they are going to make the postseason.

Francisco Lindor: Much like Nimmo, Francisco Lindor was not sharp out of the gate at the plate this year, a theme of his time in New York. But much like previous seasons where he struggled to hit early, Lindor has gotten on track and he is helping to lead this team in a contentious playoff race. He deserves a lot of praise for turning things around after dealing with rightful criticism early on.

Honorable Mention JD Martinez: I could have gone Mark Vientos here, and he would deserve it, but I feel that JD Martinez’s impact on this roster is exactly what the Mets hoped for. He has been a steadying presence whose wealth of big game experience seems to have helped calm a group that once looked aimless and confused on the field. Martinez production at the plate is a big reason for this team’s turn around and safe to assume he will continue to produce the rest of the way.

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