Yankees, Mets have positioned themselves to reach their ultimate goals
Yankees outfielder Jasson Domínguez steals second base against Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor during the seventh inning of a Subway Series game on July 4 at Citi Field. Credit: Noah K. Murray
The Yankees spent 78 days in first place before the All-Star break. The Mets sat atop their division for 73.
As the NYC rivals start the second half Friday night, however, neither one resides there now. Both tumbled from the summit due to a lengthy malaise that nobody saw coming — the Yankees led the East by as many as seven games on May 28, the Mets had built a 5 1/2-game cushion by June 12 — but there’s no point in looking back now.
The mission remains the same as it was from Opening Day.
Win the World Series.
And nothing we’ve witnessed so far from the Bronx or Queens during the first 3 1/2 months has given us any reason to believe that’s not within reach.
Possible? Sure. Probable? Well, the Tigers and Dodgers established themselves as the favorites at the break, with Detroit awarded the AL’s best odds at 10.2% (according to FanGraphs) and L.A. given a whopping 21.4% chance.
The Yankees sit at 9.4%, the Mets at 7.1% — but those are merely projections largely based on past performance. Hal Steinbrenner and Steve Cohen didn’t invest more than $300 million with the intention of finishing runner-up, so how that money performs over the second half and how far each owner is willing to go by the July 31 trade deadline should increase those odds.
From the Yankees’ perspective, it’s always about what everyone else does around Aaron Judge, as once again the AL MVP trophy is his to lose. While much of the conversation at the All-Star festivities involved the emergence of Cal Raleigh, who polished his growing legend by winning the Home Run Derby, it’s Judge who leads more than a dozen key offensive categories by significant margins over Raleigh — despite being three homers shy of the Mariners’ catcher (38).
When asked if Raleigh belongs in the MVP conversation, Judge smiled.
“That’s not my job — that’s your job to talk about it,” Judge said, referring to the media. “I’m just going to keep going out there and doing my thing. But that’s what makes it fun. Somebody like [Raleigh] doing his thing, leading the league in homers, behind the plate, it’s fun to watch, man. It’s good for the game and I’m looking forward to more of that in the second half.”
Judge is never the Yankees’ concern obviously — at least until October. But Max Fried’s status remained murky at the break due to the recurrence of a chronic finger blister problem, and losing him for any length of time — it’s put Fried on the IL four times in the past — would be an early headache for a rotation that just lost Clarke Schmidt to Tommy John surgery.
As long as the blister maintenance holds up for Fried, and Luis Gil returns shortly in top form, the Yankees should be in decent shape at the front of the rotation given Carlos Rodon’s All-Star first half (10-6, 3.08 ERA, 119 2/3 IP).
“I’ve thrown the ball really well,” Rodon said. “So I just try to feed off [Fried] and keep it going. Just try to stack Ws.”
Beyond that, the Yankees should be looking for an upgrade at third base after moving Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to second permanently a week ago (and dumping DJ LeMahieu). Bullpen help, too, is always on GM Brian Cashman’s agenda and a little retooling at the deadline should keep the Yankees on track.
As for the Mets, they’re going to have their hands full with the pitching-rich Phillies, who seized back first place (by a half-game) on the final day before the break. But Carlos Mendoza & Co. also got a big rotation boost with the returns of Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea during the wrap-up series in Kansas City. Manaea especially provided a jolt, striking out seven over 3 1/3 innings in his season debut.
“There’s never a doubt when that guy holds the rock,” Pete Alonso said. “He has presence, he has poise, and then he executes. Getting our big lefty back is going to be real important for us.”
Said David Peterson: “He’s such a lively presence and personality on our team. To have him on the road, to see him do his thing again, was awesome.”
Peterson, the Mets’ other big lefty, earned his first All-Star invite by anchoring a depleted rotation that scrambled to be one of the majors’ best for most of the first half. Even at the break, the Mets’ starters still ranked fourth in ERA (3.38) despite getting only 77 innings from Senga (1.39 ERA) while losing Griffin Canning (Achilles rupture) and Tylor Megill (elbow sprain).
“I think the front office did a great job of having a plan in mind in terms of something coming up,” Peterson said. “I think that everybody who stepped up and pitched worked their butt off and we were able to put ourselves in a good spot through the first half.”
Thanks to president of baseball ops David Stearns’ emphasis on depth over big dollars for rotation-building, the Mets more than stayed afloat amid a rash of pitching injuries. But now the front office has more work to do, most likely targeting relief help and another starter, with the potential for upgrading third base and centerfield. Figure on Stearns checking at least a couple boxes off that list if the Mets are truly all-in with a World Series pursuit.
“We got off to a really good start — way better than we had last year,” Alonso said. “We’ve got guys coming back that are healthy and are going to help out big-time. So I think we’re in an excellent position. We just need to stay consistent, do the little things right and play clean baseball. Things will fall into place and we’ll put ourselves in a favorable position going into October.”
That’s the plan anyway. For the Yankees and Mets, failure is not an option.
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.
