The Yankees are on a three-game losing streak. Is it time to sound alarm buttons? No. Out of 30 teams, 30 teams have losing streaks, and those same 30 teams have winning streaks. It’s frustrating, but it is baseball. With that being said, the Yankees do have some issues that need to and will be addressed between now and the August 3rd trade deadline.
1. The Defensive Alignment
Injuries have completely dismantled the Yankees’ outfield core. Of the outfielders that they broke camp with, one remains, and that is Cody Bellinger. When facing a lefty with the injuries, Bellinger, who has been the best left-field defender in baseball, has shifted to center, with Jose Caballero moving to left field. In a small sample, Caballero has not played well in left field, costing the Yankees at least two runs so far with misplays and wild throws. Couple that with the defensive liability that is Jasson Dominguez. Though Dominguez is learning right field on the fly and told the media that he feels more comfortable there, he has looked a bit suspect.
Here is a montage of all the #Yankees outfield defensive gaffes from the past four games.
Might be time to abandon the platoons for now and play the best defenders pic.twitter.com/fokZY2A3jP
— Matthew Nethercott (@MattNethercott_) June 23, 2026
Early in the season, the Yankees were praised for their buttoned-up defense, but as of late, it’s leaking oil and leading to runs and big innings. There is no doubt in my mind that this will improve overtime, but for right now, the Yankees can’t afford to be giving away extra outs with Aaron Judge out of the lineup for the time being.
2. The Yankees’ Bullpen
The Yankees bullpen is just shallow right now, and the lack of depth in that department is going to catch up to them. The Yankees have two long relievers in the bullpen, Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough, and added Yerry De Los Santos prior to the series in Detroit, so really, three long relievers. For a bullpen that has not been phenomenal this season, having three long men is just poor roster construction.
Camilo Doval has also been a bit of an issue. Doval has had issues getting lefty batters out this season and overall issues in high leverage. The Yankees were banking on Doval being their setup man in 2026, and he’s been largely relegated to low-leverage roles because of how bad he’s been this season. Doval’s stuff is still very good; it’s the results the Yankees are getting that are concerning. They also optioned Jake Bird to the minors despite believing in his stuff, but the results were simply not there so far, and as the team saw last season, every game matters, and they can’t just keep pitching players and not getting results.
The good news for the Yankees is closer David Bednar has not given up a run in over a month. Bednar eliminated his curveball from his pitch mix, and his velocity has ticked up since blowing the save against the Mets, and he’s been dependable in the backend of the bullpen. In a perfect world Bednar would be the setup man, but this is not a perfect world, and Bednar is the least of the Yankees’ concerns in the bullpen.
The Yankees are also developing Carlos Lagrange in AAA to pitch out of the bullpen. They are at the point of his development where they will be pitching him in high leverage with the RailRiders to iron out any possible hiccups before calling him up.
The Yankees are looking at Lagrange as sort of a 2023 Michael King, who can come into the game and give multiple innings (like the sixth and seventh) before going to the other high-end arms in Brent Headrick, Fernando Cruz, and Bednar. Out of the bullpen, Lagrange has posted a 2.19 ERA (though he has given up a home run that was unearned after an error), walked six batters, and has struck out 34% of batters he’s faced in 11.4 innings pitched.
Even with the internal addition of Lagrange, the Yankees will be looking for at least one, but more likely multiple, high-end relievers on the marketplace as we get closer to the trade deadline. With how the wild card picture is shaking out right now, it’s hard to see who will be moved in July/August, but the Yankees will be aggressive nonetheless.
3. Catching Position
The Yankees will be in the marketplace for a catcher at the trade deadline. There are not many options, but the name that keeps coming up is Ryan Jeffers, and The Athletic reported that the Yankees are looking into adding a right-handed catcher, and Jeffers makes the most sense given his ability and relationship with catching coach Tanner Swanson.
The Yankees have actually gotten some production from Ali Sanchez, who was placed on the paternity list Tuesday, since he was recalled from AAA. In 19 at-bats, Sanchez is slashing .319/.381/.421 with an .802 OPS. It’s a small sample size, but Sanchez has given the Yankees some production. Is it sustainable? Maybe, with Sanchez having a
J.C. Escarra is on the Scranton shuttle with Sanchez being on the paternity list, but in his sample this season, Escarra has not performed well at all. The same goes for Austin Wells, who is 0-3 since coming off the IL with clavicular headaches. Wells has offensive potential but has not shown it so far in 2026. If the Yankees want to go all the way in 2026, they are going to need production from Wells and the rest of the catching core.
The Yankees do have a shot to do something special this season, but they are going to need to be more buttoned up defensively, get better outings from the bullpen (and add to that room), and get better production from the catchers.
Main Image Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
