2025 season: 94-68, second in AL East, eliminated in ALDS
With the Yankees eliminated by the Blue Jays in Game 4 of the ALDS, let’s take a look at the season that was in New York, the questions the team must address this winter and the early outlook for next year.
Read more: MLB offseason previews 2025: What’s next for the White Sox, Pirates, Twins and more?
Things that went right
As is the case most years, the good news with the Yankees started with Aaron Judge. The hulking slugger left little doubt that he is baseball’s best hitter, posting a 1.145 OPS that was 131 points higher than the second-place finisher, Shohei Ohtani. Judge put a scare into the fan base when he went on the IL due to a right flexor strain on July 27, but he returned quickly, albeit initially as the DH. Judge is headed for a tight finish with Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh for AL MVP honors.
Judge wasn’t the only reason the Yankees finished first in baseball in runs scored. After getting his feet wet last year, Ben Rice became a regular contributor who split time among catcher, first base and DH. While Rice was ascending, Trent Grisham was bouncing back from three consecutive disappointing seasons. Grisham often worked out of the leadoff spot and produced career-best totals in homers (34), RBI (74) and runs scored (87). And although Cody Bellinger and Jazz Chisholm Jr. didn’t have memorable seasons, they fared well enough to make pitchers pay for working around Judge, who led the majors by a wide margin with 36 intentional walks.
Although the pitching staff was merely average overall, the Yanks can’t blame their two aces, as Max Fried and Carlos Rodón finished fourth and eighth, respectively, in the American League in ERA. Clarke Schmidt was also a positive contributor, albeit over just 14 starts before he landed on the IL on July 4 due to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. Luke Weaver was the team’s steadiest reliever. He led the club in holds and finished third in saves.
Last but not least among things that went right: The Yankees rallied after losing Game 1 of the wild-card round to defeat the Red Sox in the three-game series and advance to the ALDS.
Things that went wrong
After that wild-card victory, the Yankees ran into a buzzsaw against the Blue Jays. The offense other than Judge struggled across the four games, and Toronto’s bats beat up on New York’s pitchers, outscoring the Yankees 34-19 in the series. After rallying big to win Game 3 at home, the Yankees managed just six hits in their season-ending loss in Game 4. And their defense looked pretty bad, too.
In the regular season, a trio of young players didn’t take an expected step forward. Anthony Volpe has a nice blend of power and speed, but he logged a lowly .663 OPS, which kept him out of the premium spots in the lineup. It should, however, be noted that he came through in the wild-card round, going 4-for-11 and hitting an important home run.
Austin Wells provided optimism when he reached base at a .322 clip last year, but his OBP dropped to .275 this season, and his playing time was reduced in the second half. Although Wells struggled at the plate, he was an effective defender at the most important position. Jasson Domínguez was the youngest of the three disappointments but also the one who came into the season with the highest expectations. The 22-year-old wasn’t a complete flop (.719 OPS), but he lacked power, and like Wells, his playing time was reduced during the stretch run.
The bullpen was in a state of flux for most of the season, primarily due to Devin Williams’ inability to hold the closer’s role. The right-hander was expected to be an elite ninth-inning man when he was acquired from Milwaukee during the offseason. But after opening the season with eye-popping career numbers (1.83 ERA, 14.3 K/9 rate), Williams was removed from the ninth-inning job in late April. He got another chance when Weaver landed on the IL in early June, but an inconsistent stretch surrounding the trade deadline caused the front office to add multiple relievers and try other ninth-inning options. One of those options was expected to be former Giants closer Camilo Doval, but he posted a 4.82 ERA after joining the Yankees.
Of course, the biggest hit to New York’s rotation came back in March, when ace Gerrit Cole was sent for Tommy John surgery, missing the entire season. Yankees fans will always wonder what the rotation would’ve looked like and what the team might’ve accomplished with Cole alongside Fried and Rodón.
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Offseason outlook
As a big-budget team in a baseball-crazed market, the Yankees are always expected to be aggressive in the offseason. Here’s where things stand heading into the winter.
With Wells and Rice, the team has options behind the plate. Rice could also spend more time at first base, given that Paul Goldschmidt is heading to free agency. The front office would be wise to add an effective hitter at first, which would allow Rice to continue to share time at multiple positions. The rest of the infield is set, with Chisholm playing second, Volpe serving as the shortstop and Ryan McMahon holding down the hot corner. José Caballero was acquired at the trade deadline, and he’ll provide value as a utilityman who often finds his name on the lineup card.
The outfield is especially unsettled, with the only certainty being that Judge will play right field. Grisham is heading to free agency, and Bellinger is expected to exercise an option to void the remainder of his contract. Domínguez will surely get another chance to be the every-day left fielder, but he will need to not only improve at the plate but also show more consistency in the field. Giancarlo Stanton will be the DH. While he was pressed into action in the outfield when Judge was playing hurt this year, the team would prefer to avoid a repeat of that situation, given his injury risk.
Fried and Rodón will remain the leaders of the rotation, and they will be supported by Will Warren, who was inconsistent but showed potential in his first full season as a major-league starter. Cam Schlittler showed enough in his debut season to be part of the Opening Day rotation, and he could quickly cement himself as the team’s No. 3. His marquee moment came when he struck out 12 Red Sox over eight scoreless innings in the wild-card round. Luis Gil missed the initial four months of 2025 due to a shoulder injury and was especially wild when he returned. Still, he was successful in 2024 (3.50 ERA, 1.19 WHIP), which gives him the inside track on a rotation spot. And Cole could return in the second half of the season.
The bullpen will look different next year, as Williams and Weaver are heading to free agency. Of course, Yankees fans won’t miss Williams after his failed one-year trial with the club and likely are fine with watching Weaver leave after his struggles in the postseason. David Bednar should open next season as the team’s closer, with Doval and Fernando Cruz working high-leverage innings as setup men. Tim Hill gives manager Aaron Boone an effective lefty, and Mark Leiter Jr. will hope to bounce back from a mediocre 2025.
Prospects on the horizon
Many of the Yankees’ top prospects recently joined the team, but this is a mediocre group at the moment. George Lombard Jr. is the team’s top prospect, but he is more likely to debut in 2027 than next year. The Yankees’ first-round draft pick in 2023, Lombard has a balanced offensive profile and is a natural shortstop who can also play second and third. If Volpe doesn’t improve offensively, Lombard will eventually push him to the bench.
While Lombard is the top prospect, Spencer Jones is the one who garners the most attention. Such is life when you’re a former first-round pick (2022) who has reached Triple-A and produced 35 homers in 116 games this year. Standing 6-foot-7, Jones is also an effective base stealer, and while he will likely always struggle with strikeouts, he has made improvements in that area. A contending team such as New York might hesitate to hand an Opening Day lineup spot to an unproven prospect, but it’s worth noting that Jones could fill a vacancy in center field.
The Yankees’ top pitching prospect is Carlos Lagrange, who features an impressive fastball and mows batters down in bunches. Like many young starters, he needs to harness his control skills, but he has elite upside. The 22-year-old should debut next summer at the latest.
Goals for 2026
As much as any organization, the Yankees have “World Series or bust” goals every year. This year, the “bust” came swiftly in the ALDS. Looking ahead to next year, the AL East is difficult but wide open. Toronto will be looking to repeat an outstanding season, Boston will be continuing its rise, and Baltimore will be trying to bounce back from a down year. Plus, Tampa Bay is typically in the mix. Even so, if things go right for the Yankees, they have the talent to put all of their division competitors in the rearview mirror.
To set themselves up to win the division in 2026, the Yankees need to add at least two impactful bats to the lineup. After all, Bellinger, Grisham and Goldschmidt will all need to be replaced. The young outfielders can help to some degree, but they aren’t going to lead the way. Ideally, general manager Brian Cashman will find someone who can hit leadoff and someone else who can bat in the third or fourth spot. Adding a reliable starter to support the emerging arms at the back of the rotation would also be a smart move.
Fantasy focus
Judge will be the first player off the board in many 2026 drafts and shouldn’t fall any lower than second. He will be followed by Chisholm, who has the power-speed blend that fantasy managers covet. He’ll be selected in Round 3 in most leagues.
There will be a bit of a wait for the next Yankee, who will come in the range of Rounds 5-6 when Fried and Rodón are drafted as No. 2 mixed-league starters. Rice will be a popular midround pick, with managers attracted to his catcher eligibility. Bednar will be regarded as a top-15 reliever, which will put him in the area of Round 10 in most drafts.
Domínguez, Warren and Schlittler are three young Yankees who will be popular choices in the late rounds of drafts. All three have the potential to creep toward the middle rounds with strong springs.
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