Five questions facing the Yankees in second half of season
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Yankees came into the All-Star break an up-and-down team over the first 3 1/2 months of the season but still in relatively good shape at 53-43, which placed them two games behind the Blue Jays in the AL East. Five questions facing the Yankees in the second half as they go for their second straight AL pennant:
What will Brian Cashman accomplish before the trade deadline?
This is the question for the Yankees as the second half gets underway Friday night in Atlanta. Securing a power bullpen arm — or two — has been an organizational priority pretty much from the time the club broke camp in the spring, and the Yankees have been seeking an upgrade at third base since December’s winter meetings. But when Clarke Schmidt went down with season-ending Tommy John surgery just before the All-Star break that put rotation depth right near the top of trade-deadline needs. Those are three significant areas of need and two of those areas — starters and relievers — are on pretty much every contending team’s deadline wish list. Addressing them all won’t be easy.
What kind of impact will Max Fried’s blister have on his second half?
Fried, the Yankees’ pitching MVP from the season’s first half, left his most recent start, last Saturday against the Cubs, after three innings because of a blister on his left index finger. A blister issue may not sound serious — and it, obviously, is a far better ailment for a pitcher to deal with than, say, shoulder or elbow discomfort — but it has been a significant one at times over the years for Fried. The 31-year-old has ended up on the injured list four previous times in his career because of blisters — the first time in 2018 and the last time in 2023. Speaking on Sunday, Fried, 11-3 with a 2.43 ERA in 20 starts, said it was still “too early” to tell whether he’ll need an IL stint. It goes without saying an extended absence for Fried is among the last things the Yankees need at the moment.
What do the Yankees have in Anthony Volpe?
Volpe is still super young — he turned 24 on April 28 — but at season’s end, the shortstop will have played three full big-league seasons. Those first 2½ years have contained plenty of good, including the AL Gold Glove at short in Volpe’s rookie season in 2023 and his offensive performance during last year’s run to Game 5 of the World Series when he hit .286 with an .815 OPS in 14 postseason games. But there’s been a slight regression in the field this season as Volpe offensively has failed to get on a roll. He entered the break in his longest prolonged slump of the season, 24-for-142 (.169) over his last 41 games, giving him a .214 batting average overall and a .671 OPS. Cashman recently said of Volpe, “he’s our shortstop,” and there are few indications the organization feels much different behind the scenes. But the narrative next offseason, and going into spring training 2026, may well change if a) Volpe doesn’t show much improvement in the second half and b) top prospect George Lombard Jr., a natural shortstop, has a standout second half with Double-A Somerset and ends up in Triple-A by September.
Who is the real Devin Williams?
The Yankees brought in Williams, via trade with the Brewers, to much fanfare in the offseason but it didn’t take long for things to sour for the two-time All-Star. Aaron Boone demoted Williams from the closer’s job in late April and the righthander only got the role back when Luke Weaver hit the injured list in late May. But Williams and his infamous “Airbender” changeup started to get going almost as soon as he lost the closer’s job, posting a 1.90 ERA in 25 games since May 7. Though the bullpen continues to be erratic, if Williams indeed has settled, the Yankees appear to be in good shape with Weaver and Williams in the late innings.
Will Aaron Judge win the Triple Crown?
Judge has come close in both of his AL MVP seasons, first in 2022 and then last season. He was edged out for the AL batting crown in ’22 (the Twins' Luis Arraez hit .316 to Judge’s .311) and again in ’25 (the Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. hit .332 to beat out Vlad Guerrero Jr., who hit .323, and Judge, who hit .322). So far, Judge leads the AL in batting average (.355, well ahead of Jacob Wilson’s .332) but ranks second to the Mariners' Cal Raleigh in homers (38-35) and RBIs (82-81). There has not been an AL Triple Crown winner since the Tigers' Miguel Cabrera in 2012 (a player, incidentally, Judge used to watch video of while at Fresno State) and before that it was the Red Sox's Carl Yastrzemski in 1967 (the last NL winner was Joe Medwick of the Cardinals in 1937). There’s a reason it happens so infrequently and Judge becoming the first Yankee to do it since Mickey Mantle in 1956 would still be considered a long shot. But bet against Judge at your own risk.
Erik Boland started in Newsday's sports department in 2002. He covered high school and college sports, then shifted to the Jets beat. He has covered the Yankees since 2009.
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