New York Yankees 2023 Standings: Despite Tons of Injuries, Yankees in Playoff Contention
Yankees Playing Without Reigning AL MVP Judge Yet Again During Trying 2023 Season
Pitching Depth Being Tested As Result of Injuries to Starters, Relievers
It has been a bit of a bumpy ride for the New York Yankees so far during the 2023 season with the injury bug feasting on the team that came into the season as the favorite to win the American League East Division title. Let’s take a look at how the New York Yankees 2023 standings could shake out.
The latest bad news came when reigning American League Most Valuable Player Aaron Judge went on the injured list with a toe injury suffered making a dazzling catch in the outfield. This is not expected to be a long-term issue, so the Yankees will look to make due without the American League’s home run leader in the lineup. The next 13 games come against teams with a combined record of 118-126.
The Yankees came into the season with +110 odds to win the American League East title and that number has moved to +375, second behind the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays according to the MLB odds.
With 100 games left to play, the Yankees are on pace to win 94 games and that is right in line with the preseason predictions as the Yankees were priced at -110 to go over 94.5 wins and -120 to finish under that total.
Feeling the Pain
So far this MLB season, rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe is the only player to appear in all 62 games for the Yankees. Judge appeared in 157 of 162 games a season ago when he set the American League record with 62 home runs. He has already missed 13 games this season and that number will continue to grow. That figures to impact where the New York Yankees land in the 2023 standings.
The Yankees obviously miss the production of the slugger who leads all qualified batters with a .674 slugging percentage and 1.078 OPS (on-base percentage and slugging percentage). More importantly, when he isn’t in the lineup, that impacts the quality of the pitches that his teammates get to see.
Giancarlo Stanton has been limited to 16 games and Josh Donaldson has played in only eight games. Donaldson has returned to action and has three home runs in his first three games since coming off the injured list. Stanton has also returned to action after missing nearly two months. However, he is just 2-for-11 with four strikeouts since returning to the lineup.
Outfielder Harrison Bader could return later this month and that would be helpful since he has six home runs in 26 games this season. The pitching staff has been ravaged by injuries.
Nestor Cortes just went on the injured list. Fellow starting pitchers Frankie Montas and Carlos Rodon have yet to take the mound this season. The hope is that Rodon will be able to make his Yankees debut later this month, while Montas is likely out until early July.
Relief pitcher Lou Trivino is out for the season, and Jonathan Loaisiga probably won’t be back in action until September. With all of those missing pitchers, it is commendable where the New York Yankees are in the current 2023 standings. Clarke Schmidt has moved into the starting rotation after pitching out of the bullpen in 29 of his 34 games in the previous three seasons. Rookie Randy Vasquez is set to make his second start of the season.
Location, Location, Location
There isn’t much of a difference in the Yankees’ winning percentage whether they play at home or on the road.
With a 17-12 record on the road, New York has a slightly better winning percentage than its 19-14 mark playing in the friendly confines of Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees have a .253 team batting average and a slugging percentage of 4.26 at home. The numbers fall to a .236 average and .414 slugging percentage away from home.
The ERA is a little better (3.65 to 3.71) on the road than at home for the Yankees’ pitching staff. The Yankees are just 22-21 against teams with winning records compared to a 14-5 mark against teams with losing records.
Help On the Way?
The Yankees aren’t shy about plucking away star players from teams out of playoff contention. With the Yankees very much in play for a postseason spot, it will not be a surprise to see the Yankees look to improve the roster at the trading deadline. Some of that will likely be determined by the health of the key hitters and pitchers.
The Yankees have the fifth-best record in the American League. According to the MLB divisional standings, that puts New York in third place in the brutal American League East. The AL East is the only division in baseball with each of the five MLB teams having winning records so that will come into play in the second half of the season with so many games for the Yankees against division rivals.
Even with all of that, the Yankees find themselves right on pace for more than 90 wins and it is hard to complain about that, even for the usually hard-to-please Yankees’ fan base.
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