RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 20: Ben Rice #22 and Jazz Chisholm Jr. #13 of the New York Yankees celebrate after defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates at Yankee Stadium on July 20, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across Major League Baseball. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Yankees fans and fans across the country.
The New York Yankees are the New York Yankees. This statement means that getting into the dance isn’t enough outside extreme circumstances. And if we’re being honest, whatever their circumstances are, the Yankees should have enough firepower to go toe-to-toe with anyone in the American League.
The gap to the Rays makes it extremely plausible that the Yankees don’t win the AL East. Still, FanDuel has the Yankees as the likeliest World Series winner on the American League side, with +750 odds. Consequently, the Yankees show up as the favorites to win the Junior Circuit at +280 odds, just ahead of the Rays and Red Sox, in a trio of AL East clubs leading the pack
As the Yankees aim for their second AL pennant in the past three years, we asked, “What concerns you the most in this challenging effort?”
Virtually all the voters, 98 percent to be exact, acknowledged something that raised doubts heading into the playoffs, with the disappointment of last year lingering quite heavily. As much as we can talk about the grass always being greener and several opponents also sharing concerns, it’s important to understand your weaknesses heading into such a crucial period of the season.
In a way, this poll has many connecting points and is primarily attempting to assess one’s focal point of frustration. Part of the faltering offense is due to the key injuries (although the pitching staff still has notable absences); one can also connect it to the struggles of deadline acquisitions. Key injuries put a bigger strain on those very same key deadline acquisitions, and so on and so forth.
The injury to Max Fried is a heavy blow, but through adversity, this pitching staff has thrived all year long. It makes sense that the majority of voters would focus on the general failing of an offense that has scored three or fewer runs in 12 out of the Yankees’ last 21 games.
As contagious as a rolling offense is, a struggling one can carry the same effect. Your hitters who are performing well start to press because they feel they must carry the load all by themselves—we discussed the negative effects of this with a hitter like Ben Rice here , whose second-half struggles might undermine the narrative of his 2026 campaign. And the hitters who have been struggling all season, of whom there are far too many, seem to dig too deep a hole to climb out of.
We’d be remiss to write this article and not touch on the elephant in the room that is Aaron Judge and all that he represents to each of those options on the poll. Although this is a speculative theory, perhaps what led to such a discrepancy between votes for a faltering offense and key injuries was the optimism from a recent Judge update.
After an unsettling period of silence, Aaron Boone updated the media ahead of the series finale against the Orioles with news that Judge has hit off a tee two days in a row and appears to be slowly progressing toward a return. It makes sense that the Yankees will be conservative, eyeing October above all else with their prized superstar, but the optimism in his availability has increased.
Thoughts from Aaron Boone, starting with the latest on Ryan McMahon. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/MsklwfRYzw
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 20, 2026
The Yankees’ offensive struggles run deep enough that even with Judge potentially available in the playoffs, one could still share some concern about this lineup’s ability to deliver when it matters most. That being said, it’s as much of a game changer as one could ever wish for.
Speaking of optimism, if we want a bit of that in the near future, a repeat look against a Blue Jays staff in the span of a week—a couple of series against the Astros and Angels, whose pitching is questionable, all present opportunities for this offense to come alive. Or at least, more realistically, produce somewhat consistently, which would already be a plus.
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