Yankees building a nice start, but there are a few cracks in the foundation
Yankees rightfielder Juan Soto draws a walk against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning of an MLB baseball game at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, April 6, 2024. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The distinction between “great” and “good” can be a slippery slope, as manager Aaron Boone was quick to mention in describing the Yankees’ loss to the Blue Jays in Friday’s home opener.
One minute, Juan Soto is vibing in rightfield with the Bleacher Creatures. The next, he’s slamming his bat and helmet to the ground. Or take the Yankees’ bullpen, previously considered bulletproof right up until Nick Burdi began flinging wild pitches, transforming home plate into a turnstile for the Jays.
The Yankees had a great start to the season, putting together a 6-1 road trip that included a four-game sweep of the hated Astros and two wins in three games against the defending National League champion Diamondbacks. But the drop-off to a merely good April can happen quickly, and it’s not as if the Yankees are immune to such slippage, especially with the early warning signs regarding Jonathan Loaisiga’s season-ending elbow surgery and some widening lineup holes.
The surest way to squash any creeping doubts, however, is to muscle them out of the picture. And that’s what the Yankees mostly did by hammering Jays ace Kevin Gausman en route to Saturday night’s 9-8 victory, with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo going deep in the 10-hit attack.
Soto also chipped in with his first two Bronx hits and RBIs. But this was Stanton’s desperately needed chance to shine, and he did so by ripping three hits, including a 116-mph single that suggested the struggling DH indeed is on the rebound from his 3-for-24 start (13 strikeouts).
“That’s G, man,” Boone said before the game of Stanton’s sluggish opening. “He can be streaky like that. Once he gets it going, you know, hop on. I don’t see it that far off.”
Boone’s words ended up being prophetic. And when the Yankees can bounce someone like Gausman so quickly — scoring six runs in 1 1⁄3 innings — their problems tend to shrink in stature. At least before the Yankees’ bullpen made the night far too interesting and required Clay Holmes to close it out.
“It doesn’t always go according to plan,” Boone said. “But shaking hands sure solves a lot of things.”
Perhaps the most worrisome development was Saturday’s revelation that Loaisiga — long considered an heir to the closer’s role — has been lost for the season because of pending elbow surgery. The Yankees didn’t immediately provide an exact diagnosis, but a day earlier, he was put on the 60-day injured list with a right flexor strain, a strong indicator that his condition was quite severe.
Subtracting Loaisiga from the Yankees’ bullpen equation is a significant blow to what was supposed to be one of the team’s greatest strengths. And any dent to the relief corps further hinders their ability to cover for a rotation that won’t have Gerrit Cole (elbow) until June at the earliest.
The Yankees didn’t sweat the starters so much because they figured to lean on a deep and flexible bullpen. With Loaisiga gone, Boone & Co. will have to be more creative, and let’s be honest: Despite racking up four saves, Holmes hasn’t instilled a ton of confidence through his first five appearances. On Friday, lefty Caleb Ferguson — pegged as the new Wandy Peralta — teed up the go-ahead homer by Jays pinch hitter Ernie Clement in the seventh inning. Then Burdi’s control issues turned the ninth into a circus.
The lockdown Loaisiga would have been helpful in those spots, but Boone now is faced with a trial-and-error phase to determine who can best fill Loaisiga’s vacated role — as impossible as it may be to find another guy who throws a nasty 98-mph sinker with a lethal changeup and slider.
“You take out an impactful player, it leaves more questions,” Boone said. “But hopefully ones we have answers to.”
There are other pressing questions besides Loaisiga’s absence. Like DJ LeMahieu, who showed up in the Yankees’ clubhouse Saturday afternoon after rehabbing his fractured right foot down at the Tampa complex. LeMahieu put a positive spin on his recovery, which has progressed to taking batting practice, but he still can’t move laterally, so he hasn’t worked much on defensive drills.
Sifting through the comments by LeMahieu and Boone, it’s impossible to pinpoint a specific date for the third baseman’s return. But once you factor in the steps, which almost certainly will include a minor-league rehab stint, an optimistic timeline should have LeMahieu back by the end of this month.
“I feel like I had pretty much a full spring training,” he said. “We’ll see how this week goes, but I don’t anticipate a super-long [rehab assignment].”
With LeMahieu’s difficulty staying healthy over the past three years, his status has become increasingly hard to predict, forcing the Yankees to come up with alternatives at third base and the leadoff spot. Gleyber Torres was atop the order for the ninth straight game Saturday night and supplied a sacrifice fly that nearly was a grand slam. Oswaldo Cabrera made his seventh start at third (the newly acquired Jon Berti had the other two) and went 1-for-3 along with making a brilliant backhanded play to save a run in the second inning.
Before Saturday’s barrage, the Yankees’ .666 OPS ranked 21st in the majors, with a plus-4 run differential that was the third-lowest among teams with winning records, better than only the Cardinals (plus-2) and Angels (minus-3).
That wasn’t great. But good enough for now.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
