We have hit the halfway point of the 123rd season in New York Yankees history, or at least we’re at the All-Star Break, considering the Bronx Bombers have played 96 games as of writing this piece. To this point, season 123 has been much the same as seasons 122, 121, and so on under manager Aaron Boone. The Yanks have been up and down and up and down and up again. That most recent “up” I am referring to is their 5-2 stretch going into the Break, which followed one of the ugliest “downs” of the season. A little over a week ago I wrote one of my more scathing pieces about this group and their inability to dig their way out of the muck…and then they dug way out of it last week, so you’re welcome for the mush fellow Yankee fans.

It wasn’t a perfect week for them, as the Yankees slept walked through the final two games against the Cubs, but anything positive right now is a win for this group considering what they were going through. This perfectly imperfect collection of players managed to at least close the gap on the first place Blue Jays as they hit the stoppage two games behind Toronto. Of course, happening simultaneously was the archnemesis Red Sox finishing the first half on a ten-game winning streak, which has them squarely in the Wild Card and Division picture. Seeing Boston turn things around is particularly frustrating considering the Yankees breathed life into their season by dropping five of six to the BoSox back in June. But that is all external, and the Yankees need to focus continuing to do what is working internally and correcting what isn’t.

So, what has been working to get the Yankees to their 53-43 record? Any conversation about what has gone right begins with two people, the first of which is Aaron Judge, who is in the middle of another all-time season, which is a hilarious sentence to write. Number 99 is hitting an absurd .355, with 35 homers and 81 RBI’s…and yet his teammates and manager claim he hasn’t been locked in all year. On one hand it’s crazy to imagine what “locked in Judge” looks like, and on another hand it’s scary to fathom where this club would be without their star outfielder. Equally as scary is the world where they didn’t land lefty ace Max Fried this past winter, as he has carried the pitching staff this season in the absence of Gerrit Cole. Fried is 11-3, with a 2.43 ERA and just seems to have made the Yanks a better team all the way around.

Along with the Judge and Fried, offseason signings Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt have made nice impacts. While Goldschmidt is starting run out of gas by the look of things, he can still hit lefties and play an excellent first base making an ideal platoon veteran. While Goldy is leaking oil, Bellinger seems to be gaining steam as he is on fire right now to cap a first half where his glove and baseball IQ put many Yankees to shame. He’s up to .282 on the year, with 16 homers and 54 RBI’s and the Bombers need him to keep on doing just that for this team to achieve its goals. The team has also gotten surprising contributions from Bene Rice and Trent Grisham, who compliment Goldschmidt and the improving Jasson Dominguez very nicely in platoons at first and in left. Last but not least, Jazz Chisholm continues to absolutely rake since coming back from the injured list, as he helped save the Yanks of late offensively!

Elsewhere Carlos Rodon has mostly been somewhere between serviceable and good most times he takes the ball, backing up Fried in the rotation along with youngster Will Warren, journeyman Ryan Yarbrough who should return soon, and the now injured Clarke Schmidt who is lost for the year. While the rotation has survived the pen has been a bit of a roller coaster, but before we talk about negatives, lets discuss a positive, closer Devin Williams. Williams started off poorly in a Yankee uniform, as he looked poised to join a long line of pitchers who just couldn’t handle this town. But after a demotion to a lower leverage role in the middle innings, Williams has answered the bell, pitching with real confidence and it feels like ages since he has had a bad outing. He’s been accompanied by the ever-steady Tim Hill whose work from the left side remains solid, while the rest of the pen has been a mixed bag.

The term “mixed bag” generously describes the rest of this group, as they went from playing like a well-rounded team to just another Aaron Boone squad. The bullpen has fallen off, from what mostly feels like overuse after being asked to do a lot of lifting early in the year. Luke Weaver went through a tough stretch following his return from the injured list and now Mark Leiter has gone down with an injury that will hold him out a while longer. Coupling these injuries with Jonathan Loaisiga struggling all year long, and you have a bad bullpen that will ruin a season.

From the bullpen we go to the lineup, which has largely underperformed in comparison to the rotation. Those struggles go much deeper than just at the plate, as the issues are just as problematic in the field. Leading the team in the category is shortstop Anthony Volpe, who in spite of his 49 RBI’s has left a high-rise apartment building worth of people on the bases this season, and is hitting just .193 since the end of May. Volpe’s offensive issues are only made worse by his ugly play in the field, where he leads shortstops in errors with 11. He’s not alone with the defensive struggles despite my praise of Jasson Dominguez above, he has not hit from the right side of the plate and is a total liability in the outfield. These flaws and imperfections in their game are what causes the Yankees to struggle with the basic fundamentals of the game of baseball in big spots.

Aside from the issues I just rattled off, they have struggled to get consistent play from behind the plate as Austin Wells has been hampered by injury, while JC Escara can’t throw me out…and I’m not exactly fleet of foot out here. They have tried to carve out a role for Ben Rice as the backup catcher on this roster, but that isn’t what’s best for the player or the team. Finally, there is Giancarlo Stanton, who missed his yearly regiment of games, but is now back in the lineup and starting to heat up. Despite him waking up, number 27 still isn’t hitting lefty pitching and clogs up this roster by taking the DH spot. I say all that as an admitted fan of his, but if can’t put up a big second half and playoff offensively, I fear he’ll end up doing more harm than good.

So how do Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone fix all of this (as if Boone is capable)? Before we get to the external options, let’s talk about what can be inside the organization to balance out this roster. There are two players that represent coming reinforcements to the pitching the staff, the first of which is talented righty starter Luis Gil. After making such a strong impression in 2024, expectations were off the charts for Gil, but a spring training injury caused him to miss the whole first half. Gil is reportedly close to returning and the Yankees need him to be his best self-down the stretch in the place of the injured Clarke Schmidt. Also returning soon is veteran lefty Ryan Yarbrough, who was the subject of praise earlier in this piece, and could help this team wherever they need him to eat innings. Both arms coming back will be vital, but it doesn’t change the fact that Cashman needs to add arms at the deadline as well…but we’ll get back to that.

Aside from getting guys back healthy, Boone and Cashman can continue to sort out this roster internally by getting their platoons worked out and putting the right guys in the right position. This already began when they committed to playing Jazz Chisholm at second base and allowing the offensively challenged Oswald Peraza to continue to play strong defense at third. I’d also continue to give young righty Cam Schlittler the ball in the rotation, as he earned that chance with his first start against Seattle going so well, assuming of course he isn’t a trade chip at the deadline to bring in more outside help.

Speaking of trade chips, let’s talk about external options to improve this squad. The Yankees have to improve third base, with an option who could provide more offensive punch while also being able to pick it at third. In my eyes there are four viable options, all of whom are in the slideshow above. Eugenio Suarez is having a massive year with the bat while playing a solid third base for a struggling Arizona team, while his NL West counterpart Ryan McMahon seems to be willing to do just about anything to get out of Colorado away from that brutal roster. Then in the NL Central there is Cardinals veteran Nolan Arenado who has been rumored to be dealt to 161st street for some time now and Ke’Bryan Hayes of the Pirates, who could join the Yankee fraternity on legacy status…maybe he can follow in his dad’s footsteps and catch THE last out.

Suarez is the clear-cut best option of the group, as he can really make an impact at the dish with his 31 homers and in the field with his solid glove, but he will come at a cost that I am not sure the Yankees can meet right now. Arenado won’t come cheaply either, especially considering he costs quite a bit per season on his contract. He’s hitting .246 with just 10 homers and 42 RBI’s, but a change of scenery in more of a pennant race might jump start him as it did his buddy Goldy. The other two are more in the buy low category as Ryan McMahon is having a tough year along with seemingly every other Rockies player, hitting just .212 with 12 homers so far on the year, but he boasts a “Yankee stadium swing” and the best glove of the foursome. Not far behind him defensively is Hayes, who can pick it at third but is hitting just .238 with 2 homers and 31 RBI’s. He and McMahon are the ultimate rolls of the dice at the plate, even if they play great defense.

Moving to the mound, the starting pitching markets isn’t very robust with great options, unless you’re willing to pay through the nose for Twins righty Joe Ryan. The best options despite their on field performance and absence in 2025 are a pair of Diamondbacks pending free agents. Ace of the staff Zac Gallen has had a tough season, but his track record speaks for itself, and the same can be said for his running mate, Merrill Kelly. Kelly has been out all year but is on the verge of return and with his return comes a stellar history of good playoff work. While these two have excelled in big games, the other starters on our list don’t come with playoff experience to speak of. Mitch Keller has been a part of the Pirates for years and while he has a wealth of talent, he has yet to put it all together, probably due in part to the disaster that is the Pirates. If Keller is a mid-level option, then there is the ultimate buy low guy, Edward Cabrera from the Marlins, who would be a project…one the Yankees don’t need right now.

Meanwhile the relief market isn’t exactly stacked with quality either. The two best options once again hail from the Pirates, as Dennis Santana and David Bednar are the best the bullpen markets has to offer at the moment. The problem with both of them is, everyone else and their brother wants to acquire them. They’d make a profound impact on the Yankee pen if they were brought here but it seems unlikely the Yankees will pay the cost to rent one of both of them. The rumor mill has brought the Yankees and veteran reliever David Robertson back together as they reportedly plan to attend his workout next week in hopes of signing him to the big club roster to help the pen. At 40 years old he’s still got something left in the tank, but for how long?

You’ve heard me reference the cost to acquire the players mentioned so far and the Yankees inability/lack of desire to meet that cost. It’s yet again another deadline where Cashman is dealing with a farm system that isn’t exactly deep, while hoarding his top prospects. Per reports, outfielder Spencer Jones is available, along with young pitcher Cam Schlittler who debuted last week. There are a few other minor league names on the block as well as some players on the roster like Will Warren who the Yankees would consider dealing if the right player was available and willing to play for them. They have made clear that top shortstop prospect George Lombard is not available as they view him as part of their long-term plans.

It’s really hard to sit here and predict right now how this deadline will play out for the Yankees, so I am not going to predict which players they bring in. What I will predict is that Cashman and company bring enough at least one of each player type they need (position, bullpen arm, and starter). I’ll go another step beyond that and predict the Yankees will come back to win the AL East. They’re far from perfect right now, and I don’t know if that will change dramatically post deadline, but this team can raise its level of play from the doldrums it’s been in and that should be enough to win a tight race to the finish with the Blue Jays and Red Sox. Or at least that is what I hope happens from here, and in this hour of need, I turn to the great baseball philosopher Yogi Berra to take us home here in this one.

This season has been “deja vu all over again,” and the Yankees need to stop making “too many wrong mistakes.” This team is at “the fork in the road,” so they may as well “take it.” So remember these two things in a pennant race, “it gets late awful early out there,” and “90% of the game is half mental,” so why not be positive about the Yanks chances?!

On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon.