The New York Yankees aren’t having the season they wanted.
Not even close. In fact, the team is heading toward its first losing season since a fourth-place finish in 1992.
So … what happened?
ESPN’s MLB insider Jeff Passan offers up one possibility.
“The Donaldson trade was terrible,” Passan told Michael Kay on the ‘Michael Kay Show’ on Tuesday.
Back in March of 2022, Donaldson was traded to the Yankees by the Minnesota Twins for Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt were also part of the deal with Donaldson.
Since then, he’s been riddled with injury and slashing a collective .207/. 293/.385 across two seasons and also creating some other issues along the way.
“That was bad from the jump,” Passan added. “I think the Donaldson trade was bad from the start because the Yankees knew just how poorly he was getting along with people in Minnesota. There was some toxicity going on there. I don’t think you can look at the Donaldson trade in any positive way.”
Passan didn’t single out this season solely, of course.
But … Back in March, Twins’ executive vice president and chief baseball officer Derek Falvey once said on “The Show” with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman that Donaldson, “brings a tenacity and an edge to the game that we benefitted from during his time here.” To which Sherman responded, “I’ve learned over the years, Derek, that when people use terms like ‘tenacity’ and ‘edge’, they usually mean something else.”
Take that how you must, but it would appear Donaldson wasn’t the only problem.
Veteran slugger Giancarlo Stanton and hasn’t performed. The three-time All-Star is hitting .183 since the All-Star break and they proved they couldn’t perform with Aaron Judge. With Judge landing on the injured list with a toe injury, they went 19–23 batting a collective .220.
The younger core is dealing with growing pains, as they do. Shortstop Anthony Volpe is batting .216/.292/.393.
You throw the pitching performances in there and you have a pretty decent idea of why the team hasn’t put up the numbers we’re used to seeing.
With a big free agent market this offseason that will include two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani, the Yankees could make some moves, even after shelling out for a nine-year, $360 million contract for Judge.
About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.