The New York Yankees are going through a lot of ups and downs lately. They are not able to find a winning streak that would get them to the top of the American League East Division again. For the first two months of the current season, the 27-time World Champions were really looking like top contenders to make this year’s World Series. However, the NY side’s stronghold over the AL East division started fading away in mid-June. Since June 13, the Bronx Bombers went 6-16 in their next 22 games. Later, in early July, things seemed to get even worse. The Yankees went 4-8 right before the Midsummer Classic.
Fans thought the All-Star break would help the team rejuvenate and get back stronger. But when the season resumed, the very first series was against the Tampa Bay Rays, which Aaron Boone’s side eventually shared 2-2. Later, in the Subway series, the Bronx Bombers lost the first game 3-2. Clearly, things don’t look convincing for Boone’s side right now. They are planning to make important roster moves before the July 30 MLB Trade deadline. Besides that, the manager is making questionable lineup changes for the Subway series.
Why Are Yankees Making Lineup Changes With New Leadoff Hitter?
On Tuesday, the Yankees lost 3-2 to their city rivals, the New York Mets. They trotted a new lineup to begin the Subway Series. After all, the Mets had Jose Quintana, a lefty pitcher, to start for them. As a result, Aaron Boone thought that it was a good idea to give Ben Rice, the rookie, a day off. After all, Rice has 62 OPS+ against left-handed pitchers. Hence, the manager thought he should bring in Jahmai Jones to the rotation as a leadoff hitter. It made Jones the sixth Yankee this regular season to hit from the top spot of the batting order. However, the new leadoff hitter does bring some qualities, but in a small sample size.
Whenever Jones has been in the starting lineup, he had a batting average of .321 with an 165 OPS+ over 33 plate appearances. Moreover, Jones was not the only questionable move that Boone made on Tuesday. He added JD Davis in the cleanup spot to protect Aaron Judge. Davis played the role of the first baseman, coming behind the 2022 AL MVP. Anthony Volpe, Gleyber Torres, and Alex Verdugo followed Davis in the batting order. It is a fact that the manager did not have many options available. Nonetheless, putting Davis behind Judge was a questionable move.
NY Side Will Need Other Hitters Besides The Judge-Soto Duo
Aaron Judge and Juan Soto have been playing at their expected All-Star levels this year. That’s why they made it to the Midsummer Classic. Eventually, the American League won against the National League yet again. It was their 10th victory in the last 11 All-Star Games. After the Midsummer Classic, the Yankees went 2-3. Clearly, the NY side needs their star players to be at their best.
But also they need the rest of the players in the lineup to step up if they want to make the World Series. First of all, they will need to figure out a way to go deep into the playoffs. But lately, they have been displaying a lot of flaws. They need to get things back on track to winning ways.
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