The Yankees have the best record in the American League and are on cruise control until October.
Yankees pitchers also just had the worst week in American League history.
Both statements can be true, and both are. New York, which has allowed the Red Sox 38 runs in the first three games of a series that will finish on Sunday Night Baseball, desperately needs some pitching help by Wednesday’s trade deadline.
Yankees MLB starting pitching ranks since the All-Star break:
ERA 8.10 (last)
HR allowed 28 (last)
Opp. OPS 1.025 (last)
To put that combined OPS into perspective: JD Martinez had an OPS of 1.031 in 2018.— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 28, 2019
A slugfest every night
The Yankees can hit the ball, of course, and so they’ve managed to actually win a couple of games this week. But one victory in Minnesota took perhaps the most dramatic finish of the year, and another was also a 10-7 slugfest.
Then came the trip to Boston. Masahiro Tanaka gave up 12 runs in a 19-3 beatdown on Thursday night that happened in part because New York’s bullpen was spent from the Minnesota series. But it didn’t get much better in a 10-5 loss Friday or a 9-5 loss Saturday.
Dating back to last Sunday’s 8-4 loss to Colorado, Yankees pitching has given up 73 runs and 23 home runs in seven games. That’s an average of 10 runs and three home runs per game, for those keeping track.
The Yankees are the first team in AL history to allow 70+ runs and 20+ home runs in a 7-game span.
— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) July 28, 2019
The way forward
It’s not time to panic in the Bronx, of course. The Twins and Red Sox are two of the best-hitting teams in baseball, and seven games against those teams would cause problems for any pitching staff.
But the Yankees are well aware they have a pitching problem, particularly in their starting rotation. And it would be a shock if GM Brian Cashman didn’t trade some of the Yankees’ organizational talent for another pitcher or three before Wednesday’s trade deadline.
In #BlueJays–#Yankees trade talks on Marcus Stroman, Toronto is believed to be asking for New York’s No. 1 prospect, Deivi Garcia. Will the past week force the Yankees to budge? Story: https://t.co/TrrbjTc828 @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 28, 2019
