With a month of baseball in the books, the Yankees own an 18-13 record and are leading an American League East division that Aaron Boone described as “imperfect” on Wednesday.
“It still feels like anyone’s division a month in,” the manager said. “I know the Orioles (12-18) are off to a really tough start, but we also know what they’re capable of as they get more and more healthy. They’re going to be there. We got a peek at Tampa (14-16). I think they can really pitch. We haven’t seen Boston (17-15) yet, but I think they’re a really well-rounded club now. Toronto (14-16) can pitch and they have some star power there. It still feels wide-open, still feels a little imperfect.”
Boone delivered that summary before the Yankees suffered a series loss to a last-place Baltimore club at Camden Yards. The three-game set highlighted a few lacking areas for the Yankees, even as they take a first-place record into another AL East series against the Rays on Friday.
Below, we’ll look at some things the Yankees could use more of moving forward as they try to stay atop a division that has been pedestrian at best so far.
BELLINGER PULLING THE BALL
While Bellinger struck out in a pinch-hit appearance in Wednesday’s 5-4 loss to the Orioles, the first-year Yankee crushed his third home run of the season in Tuesday’s 15-3 win. Bellinger entered that game under the Mendoza Line with a sub-.300 OBP, but he went 2-for-4 with three RBI, a run scored and two walks. Both of his hits — the longball and a fifth-inning double — were pulled by the left-handed swinger.
That’s an encouraging sign, as Bellinger’s 39% pull rate would be his lowest in a single season. He has pulled the ball at a 44.8% clip for his career.
However, Boone said Bellinger shouldn’t try to pull the ball — even with a swing tailor-made for Yankee Stadium’s short right field porch — as such an approach can “trap” hitters and lead to more bad results. Yankees hitting coach James Rowson recently said something similar with regards to Bellinger.
“[Pulling the ball is] a result of getting into good position and being on time,” Boone said. “That’ll happen once he gets going. You never go up there saying, ‘I gotta pull the ball.’ That gets you in a bad spot. His natural hitting will put him in that position. When he’s consistently getting into strong positions, making good swing decisions, because of his swing, I think that will be the result, and that’s what I expect from him moving forward.”
Asked if Bellinger has been getting into bad positions, Boone said, “A little bit,” but he noted that the outfielder missed a few games with a back issue and food poisoning and that it’s still “so early” in the season.
Boone added that the back issue is behind Bellinger, though he mentioned it when discussing his decision to give the veteran a “smart” off day against a left-handed starter on Wednesday.
HELP BEHIND THEIR ACE
Max Fried has been nothing short of sensational — especially with Gerrit Cole out for the year — recording a 1.19 ERA over his first six starts. As a result, the Yankees are a perfect 6-0 when he pitches.
However, the team has a losing record when other starters pitch. Boone was asked if that 12-13 mark concerns him after a poor performance from Carlos Carrasco on Wednesday, but he didn’t answer the question directly.
“We’re gonna be really good,” Boone said. “So it’s not surprising we’re that good when our ace starts and is pitching as well as he is. We got a really good club, and we gotta keep getting better, and I’m confident we will.”
Fortunately for the Yankees, the fluctuating Carlos Rodón has looked like the best version of himself over his last three starts, allowing just three earned runs while avoiding serious damage and cutting back on the walks that previously killed him. On Tuesday, he remained perfect through five innings.
Clarke Schmidt, meanwhile, is only three starts into his 2025 campaign — he’s coming off his best one yet — after some nagging spring training injuries delayed his season debut.
Carrasco has been terribly inconsistent, and he hasn’t been allowed to go deep even on his good days, as he typically falters as he nears 75 pitches. The 38-year-old has a 5.90 ERA, as well as the third-worst Stuff+ in baseball.
Rookie right-hander Will Warren, the owner of a 5.63 ERA, has had a similar season. The difference is his stuff grades rather well, but that doesn’t mean much if he’s constantly nibbling and regularly failing to provide length.
For now, there’s not much the Yankees can do other than to hope Carrasco and Warren improve. They have incredibly limited rotation depth in the minors, and Luis Gil isn’t expected back from a lat strain until the summer. There’s also Marcus Stroman, but he wouldn’t be much of an upgrade and doesn’t appear close to returning from a knee injury.
RIGHT-HANDED PRODUCTION FROM DOMíNGUEZ
Boone believes that the switch-hitting Domínguez can still be a viable option from the right side of the plate, but The Martian has struggled as a righty in the majors and minors.
Domínguez is hitting just .086 as a right-handed hitter this season, and that number remains under .100 when you look at his entire big league career.
“I think it’s inexperience,” Boone said. “He just hasn’t played a ton of baseball for a 22-year-old. So that really shows up on the right side where you’re obviously getting less at-bats. I think he has the makings to be good over there while acknowledging it’s been a struggle there, too, and you’re trying to kind of find it a little bit at the big league level.”
Boone mentioned that Domínguez, who missed significant time due to injuries last season, has controlled the zone well as a righty, as he has 10 walks over 72 plate appearances. But there’s also been a lot of swing and miss, and his metrics have taken a hit across the board from that side.
“It’s one of those things you gotta keep working at and be a little patient with a young player,” Boone said.
DEVIN WILLIAMS SCORELESS INNINGS
Williams could not have made a worst first impression, starting his Yankees career with an 11.25 ERA, two losses and one blown save over his first 10 games and eight innings. His air-bending changeup was not racking up whiffs like it once had, his command was all over the place, and his comfort level in New York came into question as fans grew increasingly irritated with the two-time National League Reliever of the Year.
All of that forced Boone to remove Williams from the closer’s role “for right now” this past Sunday. It’s unclear when Williams could return to the role — primarily being handled by Luke Weaver in the meantime — but the ex-Brewer has looked better in two outings since being stripped of his job.
Both of those appearances came in Baltimore with the Yankees trailing by a run late in Monday and Wednesday’s games. While far from save situations, Williams was trusted to keep the games close. He did, tallying two scoreless innings, one walk and two strikeouts.
On Wednesday, Boone said he liked what he saw from the righty despite a free pass.
“A lot of conviction,” Boone said. “Aggressive. Another positive outing for him. Keep building those and stacking those.”