The Yankees had more wins than any other team in the American League and reached the World Series for the first time since 2009. Quite a good year, huh?
But they also suffered long stretches of poor play, including fundamentally flawed moments, and one of the worst innings in Fall Classic history. The fifth frame of Game 5 looked like something out of a horror movie to Yankee fans.
Nightmare on 161st Street, anyone? (It involved someone named Freddie.)
Either way, we’ll try to put the AL champions into perspective with our annual report of the key players. Remember, this team made it to the World Series, the 41st in club history. Their grades reflect the players’ roles and expectations.
These are the numbers:
Brian Cashman
The GM traded for Juan Soto and is the face of a front office that put together a World Series team. Not bad. His deadline was mixed – Jazz Chisholm Jr. lineup added, but Mark Leiter Jr. didn’t impact the bullpen as hoped, though he provided solid postseason work. Yanks still excel at creating strong bullpens. Now, of course, Cashman needs to re-sign Soto, especially with cornerstones Aaron Judge And Gerrit Kool not getting any younger.
Grade: B+
Aaron Boone
The seventh-year manager, who has made the postseason six times in his career, seems unpopular with some Yankee fans, but he is getting respect during the game. Dave Robertswho defeated Boone in the World Series, said he thinks Boone is “doing a fantastic job” and knows that “Aaron is the only one in baseball who can really identify with my work in the sense that you either win a World Series championship , or you fail. .” Still, Yankee mistakes were a seasonal theme that carried into October. Boone has to solve that in the future.
Grade: B
Juan Soto
They traded for him so he could help them get to the World Series. After a great regular season, Soto hit the home run in the 10th inning that sent them there. Soto had 41 home runs, 109 RBI and a .419 on-base percentage and enjoyed career-bests in runs, hits, home runs, total bases and extra-base hits. He was also a postseason force, with an OPS of 1.102 and four home runs. He was everything anyone could have expected.
Grade: A+
Aaron Judge
He will win AL MVP, and rightfully so, after leading the world in fWAR (11.2) and homers (58), as well as on-base percentage, slugging, OPS and RBI. He played in 158 games, an important statistic for him, and played in midfield when necessary. Without the postseason, he would get the same grade as Soto. Judge struggled in October, hitting .184 with 20 strikeouts in 49 at-bats. We’ll probably hear about that fly ball he dropped in Game 5 of the World Series for years to come, the gateway to a ruinous inning.
Grade: A
Giancarlo Stanton
In 114 games during the regular season, Stanton had 27 home runs, 72 RBI and a .773 OPS. Good season for the DH. Then he exploded (again) in the postseason, hitting seven home runs – the most in a single postseason in Yankee history – and recording 16 RBI and a 1.048 OPS. If every month was October, what would his numbers look like?
Grade: B+
Postseason Giancarlo grade: A++
Alex Verdugo
One of five Yankees to play at least 149 games, Verdugo was a reliable defender in left field (seven defensive runs saved according to FanGraphs) and an early vibemaster in the clubhouse. Offensively, he disappeared for long stretches during the season, finishing at .233 with 13 home runs and an OPS-plus of just 83.
Grade: C+
Jazz Chisholm Jr.
With 24 home runs and 40 steals between the Marlins and Yankees, Chisholm was one of four MLB players to go 20-40. He also took over third base after the trade, although he had never played there before. He was exactly the kind of athletic young player the Yanks wanted, but he struggled in the postseason (.559 OPS).
Grade: B
Anthony Volpe
The shortstop from Sustainable (one of nine MLB players to play in 160 games) was a defensive stalwart all season, although he made a key throwing error in the World Series. His offense didn’t make the jump many expected during the regular season (.243 average, .657 OPS, 12 home runs), but his postseason offered dazzling glimpses. Volpe hit a Fall Classic grand slam and his .815 postseason OPS was third on the team.
Grade: B-
Gleyber Torres
Saw the seventh-most pitches per plate in the MLB and emerged as a leadoff hitter later in the season (.840 OPS over the last 39 games). But mistakes on the field were too much a part of his game
Grade: B-
Anthony Rizzo
Injuries marred his season, which was limited to 92 games, and two broken fingers initially kept him off the postseason roster. But he reached base in 8 of 16 at-bats in the ALCS. Yanks initially lacked defense during the regular season. Hit .228 with a .634 OPS.
Grade: C+
Austin Wells
His overall numbers (.229, .717 OPS) dipped toward the end of the season, but he was previously huge in providing lineup protection for Judge. He had the 10th best catcher’s ERA in MLB (3.79) and his fWAR was second among AL backstops. He is a big part of the future.
Grade: B
Jose Trevino
Expert pitch framer had a 3.49 ERA (eighth best), but hit just .215 with an on-base percentage of .642 and was below average at throwing out runners.
Grade: B-
Oswaldo Cabrera
Cabrera thrives on his versatility and has played six different positions this year, making him a key player on the bench. In 109 games, he hit .247 with a career-high eight home runs.
Grade: B
Jasson Dominguez
An injury ruined his year and he didn’t really have a chance to get going when he returned to the majors, as he didn’t hit (.179 in just 56 at-bats) and didn’t give the Yanks confidence in his outfield defense. Next year is a big one for the decorated, much-hyped youngster.
Grade: Incomplete
Gerrit Kool
An injury during spring training limited him to 17 starts and he was 8-5 with a 3.41 ERA. His numbers were lopsided as he was cut twice by the Mets and once by the Red Sox. He is still a top player, which he showed in October (2.17 ERA), although there were also some fluctuations.
Grade: B
Carlos Rodon
The left-hander led the Yanks in starts and innings and made big strides after a disappointing 2023. He was 16-9 with a 3.96 ERA and was second in the AL in wins. He’s giving up too many home runs (31, second most in the league) and needs to find consistency in the postseason — he dominated the Guardians for six innings in Game 1 of the ALCS, but had an 8.79 ERA in his other three Oct. performances.
Grade: B
Clarke Schmidt
Lat strain cost him 86 team games, but he allowed three runs or fewer in each of his first 15 starts, tying the longest streak in team history with Ron Guidry in 1978. (But certainly not when you compare the two seasons!) Still, Schmidt was very good when healthy, with a 2.85 ERA and just 0.8 home runs allowed per nine innings.
Quality: A-
Luis Gil
The great: Had 17 starts with one or zero runs allowed, tied Tarik Skubalthe likely winner of the AL Cy Young Award, and Garrett hook for most in the MLB. He was 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA and his 171 strikeouts are the second most by a Yankee rookie, behind only Russ Ford‘s 209 in 1910. The scary part: Led MLB in walks. Still, a great rookie year.
Quality: A-
Nestor Cortes
Most will remember the fateful field he pitched on Freddie Vrijman in Game 1 of the World Series when they think about Cortes’ season. One grand slam later, the Yankees were in a huge hole. But Cortes was second to the Yanks in starts and innings, pitching to a 3.77 ERA.
Grade: B
Marcus Stroman
One of three Yankee starters to reach double figures in wins (10), Stroman pitched 154.2 innings and had a 4.31 ERA and 95 ERA-plus. He can still get ground balls (his 49.8 percent rate was eighth in the MLB among pitchers with more than 150 innings) and he’s allowed three earned runs or fewer in 20 of 29 starts. But he couldn’t crack the postseason rotation after briefly moving to the bullpen late in the year.
Grade: B-
Lucas Weaver
One of the best stories of the Yankee year: Weaver went from depth piece to lockdown, closer to October’s relief arm. He held hitters to a .176 average and a 2.89 ERA in the regular season and then had a 1.76 ERA and a 0.652 WHIP with four saves and a win in the postseason.
Grade: A+
Clay Holmes
Holmes was an All-Star closer and then lost his job, moving to the regular role during a slump. He blew 13 saves on the season, but still had 30 saves, a 3.14 ERA and was a reliable source of ground balls (64 percent ground ball rate). Also thrived in October, going 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA and leading the Yanks by appearing in 13 of their 14 games.
Grade: B+
Tommy Kahnle
Switch guru – he had several October appearances where he threw only his best pitch – was once again a trusted setup ace, holding hitters to a .190 average during the regular season while posting a 2.11 ERA in 50 games . He did not allow a goal in eight of nine postseason appearances, although he gave up the eventual winning run in the final game of the World Series.
