This really was the only way it could end for the Yankees wasn’t it? Fast forward a year on from the 2024 World Series and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. A team clad in gray and blue was celebrating on the Yankee Stadium diamond, as the Bombers and their faithful left 161st and River dejected. The reasons for that harsh ending, remained the same as last time, and the time before that, and the time before that and so on. Bad fundamentals crept up last night after being kept in check through multiple playoff games. The star dependent offense had high highs and low lows. The manager stood by like a fool and failed to adjust or just didn’t feel like he needed to, and told the fans “it’s hard to win the World Series.”

And ya know…he’s right. It is hard to win the World Series. It’s hard to win the World Series when you stink every July and August. It’s hard to win the World Series when you struggle to get big hits when you’re not trailing 13-2. It’s hard to win the World Series when you run the same bad shortstop everyday. It’s hard to win the World Series when your team lacks the focus it needs to play baseball soundly every single day. It’s hard to win the World Series when you go through a regularly schedule mid-summer malaise that ruins your place in the standings. It’s hard to win the World Series with a manager and coaching staff and front office who don’t believe or know how to adjust a game plan.

A team capable of winning the World Series wouldn’t allow the same player to beat them in a series over and over the way they allowed Vlad Guerrero Jr to in this one. A team capable of winning the World Series would make the play Jazz Chisholm didn’t in the 7th inning, a mistake that coupled with another at bat from him in the 6th essentially ended the season. A team capable of winning the World Series wouldn’t run a defective Anthony Volpe out there every day when they went out of their way to acquire multiple options to replace him at the trade deadline. They’ll tell you they “don’t back down,” or “it’s a tough play for Jazz,” when or “Volpe had some big hits against Boston,” as it all crashes down around them.

The truth is as talented as this team is, it doesn’t have what it takes to win it all. It was outperformed, out clutched, and out managed by the Jays. It had its chances in this series to come through, stranding the bases loaded in game one, and then totally no showing game two and four. Frankly, they had their chances all year long against Toronto. They led the division by a sizable margin after first two months and change. They then threw away that division lead and wasted just enough games all summer long that they lost the AL East and the top seed on a tiebreaker on the final day. One less bullpen meltdown, one less sloppy mess, one more clutch hit, could make all the difference. You may say “that’s baseball Suzyn,” but I say it’s a shameful waste of this team’s talent and the owners very expensive pay roll. And yes home field would have made a difference as Toronto is quantifiably better at home and the Yankees play like crap up there.

So now it’s back to the drawing board. The Yankees and owner Hal Steinbrenner went all in this year. Their 300 million dollar pay roll won them 94 games and three playoff games. Blaming the owner for not doing enough is foolish, find another blog if that’s your desire here. He furnished the roster his GM and manager wanted, one that over came major injuries and was honestly much more well rounded than last year’s AL Pennant squad. I have said it before, and it will likely hold true again here, Hal is guilty of allowing a culture of acceptance to grow in this organization. By never changing anything in terms of leadership, specifically in the dugout, he and the GM are accepting of the nonsense Aaron Boone and his culture propagate. Argue it all you want, the things this team has gotten comfortable doing wrong under this guy always creep up and bite them…they did last night.

I believe on the whole Brian Cashman had a strong 2025. Like all GM’s some things work out and others don’t, but his bets paid off more often than not this year. Cody Bellinger was an excellent addition who improved the team with his bat, his glove and his baseball IQ. Max Fried was the second ace the Yanks have needed and I can’t wait to watch him work in tandem with Gerrit Cole next year. David Bednar nailed down the ninth inning and is back next year. Even bringing back Trent Grisham fortunately led to enjoyed the outfielders best careers season. Jose Caballero, Ryan McMahon, Ahmed Rosario, and Ryan Yarbrough became solid contributors in different departments. Even the Yankees player development group had a good year, with Ben Rice maturing into a promising offensive player and Cam Schlittler emerging as a star. Sure Jake Bird might just be bad, Camilo Doval and Devin Williams struggled, and Paul Goldschmidt tailed off into a platoon player. But, the middle two were moves you’d make over and over and Doval could be rectified next year, while Goldschmidt at 38 on low money is negligible.

We’ll write more about the offseason here in the days and weeks ahead but I thought I’d share the moves I would make if I was Cashman. Yes it’s (Thursday) morning quarterbacking but hey we’re fans, it’s what we do.

• Boone Goes: This probably seems like low hanging fruit for me, but I believe the Yankees need a cultural change. That in my mind would stem from a managerial change. Who the next guy is I don’t know, but that’s what a search is for. I am not naive enough to say the next skipper would have tons of autonomy from the front office, I just want a different message from a different messenger. It should not be acceptable to play so lax and stink for two months every year.

• Bring Back Bellinger: As I said earlier, Bellinger improved this team in many ways. Even if he didn’t produce as much statistically next year, I think his approach and professionalism is vital to retain. Bringing him back in the outfield makes this team better so I’d re-up there immediately.
• Sorry Trent & Jazz: This may sound harsh, and I absolutely appreciate both players contributions in 2025, but I’m not looking to bring back Trent Grisham or Jazz Chisholm. Grisham feels primed for a classic overpay situation, where this career season he finished should get him a nice pay day. Don’t overreact to a total outlier, let him go. I would move on from Jazz as well, as much as I enjoy watching his talent and personality. For all his ability, Chisholm never feels like he’s quite locked in and that comes back to haunt this team. To me he is a trade chip the front office could use to sure up another spot on the roster, rather than extend him now in his deals final year.
• Upgrade at Shortstop: Am I hard on Anthony Volpe? Yes, maybe too hard. But year three was worse than the first two, and that says a lot. He has his defenders in the organization but after a lackluster regular season, he mostly struggled in the playoffs outside of a few moments. The Yanks looked ready to move on from him in August with Jose Caballero taking over the shortstop role, seemingly in preparation for the playoffs…until Volpe drew back in. I am not lobbying for Caballero to be the long term answer at short, as I would rather keep his flexibility on the bench, but you can’t tell me a better player isn’t out there for the Yankees.
• Refresh the Pen: No group on the roster needs a bigger overhaul than the bullpen. While Bednar, Cruz, Doval, and Leiter Jr. are signed through next year others are UFA’s. Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Tim Hill and Ryan Yarbrough are the three notable pending free agents and all should be let go. Williams wasn’t a good fit here, Weaver looks like he’s out of gas and fairy dust and Yarbrough was likely a one year plan anyway. Adding some more quality around the guys under contract next year, assuming they all stay, would go a long way towards solidifying the team.
• Sort out Rice and Wells: The Yankees need to commit to a long term plan at first and behind the plate. I believe Ben Rice is the long term answer at first base, as his lefty swing is built for Yankee stadium. Is he a perfect defender? No, but he can improve in the field as he has at the plate and ideally this will come in time. He is certainly better off there than he is behind the dish, where he held his own but can’t throw out runners. If Rice is at first, they need to then decide if Austin Wells is their guy long term at catcher. Wells had a disappointing regular season offensively and struggled to throw runners out. He’s solid enough defensively but perhaps an upgrade exists, and that does not mean he has to be an upgrade offensively. Finding an all around defensive catcher would be just as good for the team in my opinion.
• BE ALL IN: Last but not least, I think the theme of the winter ahead is to be all in. The Yankees were this year in the wake of losing Juan Soto and frankly that needs to continue. They need to fortify this roster, with even more additions to eliminate their weaknesses. Moving surplus players that haven’t hit yet like Jasson Dominguez and other prospects to add major league pieces. Improve where you need to so some of the nonsense that goes on can stop. There may well be no season in 2027, so why not make 2026 the year.

I hate that we’re here writing this story once again. I can’t stand the Blue Jays, and frankly never have, liked them so losing to them is a bitter pill. They managed to waste Aaron Judge’s best postseason, a tough thing to swallow knowing he will be 34 years old next season, fighting a potential severe shoulder injury. Sure there are things to be excited about next year, things that could put them over the top, but this season should have been so much more. The reasons that this one was a letdown make me fear another one lies ahead. We’ll be here ready to go again for opening day 2026…maybe it will be the year.

It’s been a pleasure once again covering the Yankees this season for you. As frustrating as it is at times, I love this team as much as you and hope we can get to write about a championship season soon. We’ll have offseason coverage for you in the weeks ahead, Let’s Go Yankees!

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.