When the New York Yankees opened their 2023 campaign, people thought they would be candidates to win the AL East division.
They did it last year, and had the same core entering the year.
Fast forward six months, and they have now been eliminated from playoff contention in late September; as MLB on FOX reports via Twitter.
The New York Yankees have been eliminated from Postseason contention pic.twitter.com/nWlT50CXHY
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 24, 2023
It’s the first time they won’t be in the postseason since 2016.
A lot has happened after that year.
They reached the American League Championship Series in 2017 and lost to the Houston Astros.
In 2018, they added Giancarlo Stanton but couldn’t beat the Boston Red Sox in the Division Series.
They fell to the Astros again in 2019 and 2022, and the Red Sox eliminated them in the 2021 Wild Card game.
Sandwiched in between, there was a Division Series elimination at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2020.
The playoffs haven’t been kind to the Yankees in the recent past, but at least they made them.
This year, they were left out of the party.
The injuries that some of their star players suffered (most notably Aaron Judge) were too much to overcome, but all teams deal with injuries.
It was the Yankees’ lack of preparedness, quality depth, and planning the elements that doomed their 2023 campaign.
They will be entering an important offseason in which they can’t spend too much on pitching if that means they won’t address the lineup.
They have several problematic positions, such as center field, left field, catcher, third base, and more.
With more questions than answers, it’s not a given the Yankees return to form in 2024.
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