2025 MLB Season Recap: New York Yankees

Stat	Number	Rank
Runs Scored	849	1st
Home Runs	274	1st
OPS	.787	1st
Whiff%	26.4%	25th
Hard Hit%	46.2%	1st

The Pitching

Stat	Number	Rank
Starters’ ERA	3.61	4th
Relievers’ ERA	4.37	23rd
Strikeouts	1,440	4th
Whiff%	27.3%	2nd
Chase%	28.5%	13th

The Good

Aaron Judge had yet another incredible campaign. Judge beat out Cal Raleigh for the AL MVP Award, as the Yankees outfielder hit 53 home runs and led all Major League players in batting average (.331), on-base percentage (.457), and slugging percentage (.688).

The three-time AL MVP was also the Yankees’ most productive hitter in the playoffs. Judge had a team-high 13 hits through the Yankees’ two postseason rounds.

Judge was the expected centerpiece for the Yankees, one who led the Majors in several categories. Given that the Yankees had 10 players who had double-digit home run totals, that shouldn’t be a shock.

The Yankees took MLB by storm by way of the “torpedo bat,” the modified, legal bat that changes the weight shift of the bat, adding more mass to where players make contact. And, by and large, many of the players who’ve used torpedo bats saw jumps in home run totals.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a career-high 31 home runs in his first full season with the Yankees. Giancarlo Stanton, who began to use one in 2024, hit 24 home runs in only 77 games this season. Stanton missed significant time early on with elbow injuries. Austin Wells, another adopter of the bat, had 21 home runs.

But arguably the two biggest breakout stars in 2025 were Trent Grisham and Ben Rice.

Grisham, who was a bench piece for the Yankees in 2024, accrued regular time in their re-shuffled outfield and thrived. The now-free agent hit 34 home runs, second-most on the team. Grisham’s shown plus power dating back to his days as a Brewer but everything came together this past year.

As for Rice, the former Dartmouth star hit 26 home runs, forcing the Yankees to get creative to get his bat in the lineup. The Yankees often had to play him behind the plate, even though Austin Wells was around.

Lastly, Brian Cashman’s two major offseason offensive pickups, OF Cody Bellinger and 1B Paul Goldschmidt, were productive. Bellinger, a former NL MVP, hit 29 home runs and fit in well with the Yankees. Goldschmidt, another former MVP, had 42 extra-base hits as the team’s primary first baseman.

The Yankees’ pitching staff, meanwhile, was very good without Gerrit Cole. Cole missed all of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Luckily for the Yankees, Max Fried — the team’s marquee pickup last winter — was around.

Fried posted a 2.92 ERA, won an MLB-high 19 games, and finished fourth in the AL Cy Young vote. Much like he had in Atlanta, Fried proved to be a valuable asset thanks to his ability to mix and match on hitters, changing speeds and looks to get outs.

Carlos Rodon had arguably his best season as a Yankee. The left-hander struck out 203 over 195 innings and posted an AL-best 6.1 H/9. However, both Fried and Rodon are established arms. Perhaps the best story from the Yankees’ 2025 pitching staff was Cam Schlittler.

Schlittler, a 2022 MLB Draft pick, was a dominant force as a Minor Leaguer in 2024. However, the righty took a huge step forward in 2025, adding velocity and becoming a blowaway pitcher at the MLB level.

The 24-year-old struck out 84 over 73 frames in the regular season, followed up with 14 strikeouts and no walks over 14.1 IP. Switching back to the regular season for a minute, his .243 wOBA was in the top-15 for all MLB pitchers (min. 30 IP) over the last two months.

For those who picked up on it in our Diamondbacks‘ recap, Schlittler — who was consistently hitting the upper-90s with his cutting four-seam — had the second-most fastball chases over the last two months.

The Bad

Even though the Yankees made it to the ALDS, it wasn’t a clean route there.

It would probably be a good idea to start with Anthony Volpe, the third-year shortstop who was maligned by the fanbase for a healthy chunk of 2025. Volpe hit 19 home runs overall but struggled mightily at the plate in stretches. He struggled (.209 AVG) to square up fastballs. During the playoffs, he struck out a team-worst 16 times. And, most notably, had gaffes in the field.

In September, the Yankees revealed that Volpe was bothered by a shoulder injury for much of the year. He had surgery after the season and may not be back for Opening Day 2026.

Defense has been a sore spot for the Yankees at times over the years. That was partially addressed in the summer when the Yankees traded for third baseman Ryan McMahon. However, despite McMahon being a good power hitter, there’s a trade-off. McMahon struck out 62 times over 54 games.

Then, there’s the bullpen.

The Yankees acquired reliever Devin Williams with the idea that he would take over as the team’s closer. He did — but it didn’t go well. Williams went through it in April, as the ex-Brewer walked seven and gave up 10 hits over nine April innings. He wound up losing the closer job to Luke Weaver.

Williams found himself back in the role after a strong June. However, he wound up losing it to David Bednar later in the summer.

Finding reliable relief was a problem at times. Jonathan Loaisiga, now a free agent, gave up seven home runs over 29.2 IP in an injury-shortened season. Jake Bird, acquired at the deadline, was hit around in three games before he was sent to Triple-A.

Early Projected Lineup for 2026

• C: Austin Wells
• 1B: Ben Rice
• 2B: Jazz Chisholm Jr.
• 3B: Ryan McMahon
• SS: Jose Caballero
• OF: Jasson Dominguez (LF), [FA Addition/Promotion (CF)], Aaron Judge (RF)
• DH: Giancarlo Stanton
• SP: Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil, Will Warren, [FA Addition/Promotion]
• RP: David Bednar, Camilo Doval, Tim Hill, Mark Leiter Jr., Fernando Cruz, Yerry De Los Santos, Jake Bird, Ian Hamilton

The Yankees’ lineup, at least the early projected one, is skewed. It’s skewed heavily towards left-handed hitting, while their likely outfielders — if you want to count Giancarlo Stanton — are all corner outfielders.

Without Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham on the roster, an outfield addition would make sense. Preferably, a player who can solidify the middle as a center fielder. Spencer Jones is another option, as the clock begins to tick on him.

As for the pitching staff, the Yankees likely won’t have Gerrit Cole or Carlos Rodon available come Opening Day. That much has been confirmed by the team already. Depth starting pitching would make a lot of sense here.