The New York Yankees entered the 2023 MLB season as one of the favorites to win the World Series. They won 99 games a season ago and made it all the way to the American League Championship Series, and were looking to advance even further this year. Before Opening Day, they were listed at +800 to win it all, behind only the Astros and on par with the Braves, Mets, and Dodgers.
New York Yankees Are Dead Last In AL East
The Yankees currently sit 9.0 games back of the first place Rays in the AL East standings
(h/t @johnewing) pic.twitter.com/7ZWQd9PPXS
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) July 18, 2023
Things started out well enough. Back on May 26th, the Yankees were 10 games above .500, sitting at 30-20 and in third place in the competitive AL East. But on June 4th, New York lost reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge to an unfortunate toe injury. The slugger hasn’t played in a single game since, and the team has suffered in his absence.
Since that time, the Yankees have gone 14-20, with many of those losses coming at the hands of division foes. One of the worst stretches came just after the injury, when they went 1-5 against the Boston Red Sox over a 9-day span.
Their situation hasn’t been helped by the surge that the other teams in the East have been experiencing. The Rays have been hot all season long, and still have the best record in the American League, despite losing 7 of their last 10. But the Orioles, Blue Jays, and Red Sox have all gone 8-2 over the same span, which has pushed the Yankees all the way back into last place.
Judge Has No Official Target Date For Return
The Yankees are in sole possession of last place in the AL East through 95 games for the first time since 1990. pic.twitter.com/Cl5b5Gt663
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 18, 2023
It wouldn’t be as rough if they were grouped with any other set of teams. New York is sitting at a respectable 50-45, and are the only last place team in the majors with a winning record. In fact, there aren’t even any 4th place teams that are plus-.500.
They’ve got a big hole to dig out of. They are now 9 games back of Tampa Bay in the standings, and we are well underway into the second half of the season. The Yankees opened the season with +100 odds to win the AL East, making them the heavy favorite. But that number has ballooned all the way up to +1000, giving them long shot status instead.
There has been no official target date for a return to action for Aaron Judge, but there has been some progress lately in the way of on-field batting practice.