For the third consecutive year, the New York Yankees have secured a place in the MLB playoffs, and this time around, they appear determined to put an end to their World Series championship drought. The Blue Jays’ loss on Monday pushed them over the line, giving the Yankees their ninth postseason appearance in the last 10 years. Earlier this season, they achieved their 82nd victory, which locked in a winning record for the 34th straight campaign.
The year 2014 marked their worst campaign since 1992, ending with a record of 84-78. The team’s regular-season success has been remarkable, especially given that it holds an MLB-record 27 World Series titles. However, that winning streak has not carried over into October; they have not claimed the World Series since 2009, making that drought one of the longest in franchise history.
Judge Is Back
Judge was coming off winning three of the last four AL MVP awards before the season began. An injury limited him to just 106 games in 2023, which allowed Shohei Ohtani to take the award instead. He sat out from May 31 through Sept. 8 this year, and now he is being brought back slowly into the Yankees’ lineup. No other player in Major League Baseball changes how a lineup looks the way Judge does, with maybe the exception of Ohtani. His presence alone appears to lift the rest of the lineup around him.
The statistics support the claim. When Aaron Judge bats first, the Yankees have won just 41 of 24 games; when he sits on the bench, they have won 46 of 39. Judge hit a home run Monday night for the first time since getting hurt, and with over two weeks remaining in the regular season, he could be fully recovered by the time the playoffs begin. Should he return to full health in October, the Yankees’ lineup, featuring Cody Bellinger, Paul Goldschmidt, Ben Rice and Luis García Jr., among other players, will be an imposing force.
Trio of Aces
Even with multiple starting pitchers missing long stretches, the Yankees own the best team ERA in all of baseball. A playoff rotation of three or four pitchers works just fine instead of five. The Yankees could very well enter October with a trio of aces.
Cam Schlittler is on track to claim the AL Cy Young award at age 25, and it would come in his second season in the majors. He sits atop the league with a 1.95 ERA, which works out to a 216 ERA+, and he demonstrated his postseason mettle last October with a 12-strikeout outing in an elimination game.
The Yankees’ previous Cy Young winner was Gerrit Cole in 2023. Cole returned this season from Tommy John surgery and isn’t posting gaudy numbers. He has been more good than mediocre, though, with a 3.48 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 77 ⅔ innings in his last 13 starts. He has had trouble with the longball in his last two games, so that is something to clean up before the postseason.
Among the candidates stands Max Fried, a veteran southpaw who has managed a 2.73 ERA across 18 starts despite missing time due to two injured list stints this season. Fried served as a workhorse for the 2021 World Series champion Braves, and he carries more than 75 innings of playoff experience on his resume.
This Yankees pitching staff is strong across the board, yet it has to be dominant at the top in order to win the World Series. Given how this group performs, it very well may be good enough up there to get the job done.
The AL Field Is Weak
The AL West champion and the last AL wild-card team appear destined to finish just above .500, while even the AL Central champion might come up short of 90 victories. Under the current playoff structure, the four and five seeds serve as the top two wild cards, facing each other in the opening round before the victor moves on to take on the top seed in the ALDS. As it stands, the three best AL teams by record are poised to eliminate one another before reaching the ALCS.
If the Yankees were to eliminate the Red Sox in two games and the Rays in five or fewer, they would then face a far less formidable opponent in the ALCS. That outcome could be seen as a chance to advance through the weaker of the two leagues.
A 28th World Series championship is certainly within reach for the Yankees. Then again, they might lose in the Wild Card Series against the Red Sox, where the short format breeds random results. The Red Sox themselves are a strong team to face.
What Comes Next
The Yankees still have a shot at the AL East title. They entered Monday trailing the Rays by four games, with a four-game head-to-head series remaining. The Rays visit the Yankees Sept. 22-24, which includes a doubleheader in there.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Sept. 22-24 | Rays vs. Yankees, four-game series |
Judge’s return is the biggest story. He homered Monday night, and the Yankees are 41-24 when he starts. The pitching staff is deep, with Schlittler leading the league in ERA and Cole and Fried providing experience. The AL field is weaker than the NL, which could mean a softer path to the World Series.
There is no telling how the playoffs will turn out. The Yankees face a short series against the Red Sox, where an unexpected result could easily happen. The team has not captured a championship since 2009, though it holds the talent and the record to put an end to that run.
This year’s World Series could well belong to the Yankees, who now stand as a genuine danger to claim it. The only uncertainty surrounds whether they will actually seal the deal.
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