How the Yankees Made the 2025 MLB Postseason

What a whirlwind of a season it has been (thus far) for the Yankees. Between the injuries, the torpedo bat craze, and notable defensive miscues in the summer, the Yankees will end the regular season with a playoff berth and look to end a 16-year World Series drought. While the Yankees’ captain has led the charge, #99 was far from the only driver of the 2025 Bronx Bombers.

A mammoth offense

When the Yankees lost Juan Soto in free agency, his departure left a hole at the top of the team’s lineup. Soto was an ideal bat in that lineup, thanks to his power and ability to draw walks. Which also benefitted Aaron Judge, who blasted 58 home runs in yet another MVP campaign last season.

This year, the Yankees’ offense has been just fine without him.

New York (AL) entered the day on September 25 first in runs scored (827), first in slugging percentage (.454), and first in home runs (266) by a healthy margin. The Yankees had 30 more home runs than the Mariners, led by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh.

At the center of the Yankees’ offense — yet again — is Judge, who recorded his fourth 50+ home run campaign of the season in 2025. No player has come close to his 1.136 OPS this season. There’s not much to say regarding those numbers.

Then, there’s the effect Judge has on the rest of the lineup. Judge walked an AL-high 121 times this year, meaning plenty of opportunity for the hitters around him to get pitches to hit. And that’s largely been the case this year. Ten Yankees are in double-digits in home runs this year, and seven have at least 20 home runs.

Jazz Chisholm Jr., a pull-heavy left-hander, hit 31 home runs as of September 25. Cody Bellinger, acquired from the Cubs last winter, has 29 playing in the county where his father played years ago. Catchers Ben Rice and Austin Wells blasted a combined 45 home runs. And, Giancarlo Stanton, who didn’t play his first game until June, has 21.

But perhaps the best story of 2025 has been Trent Grisham, the other outfielder acquired in the Soto trade back in December 2023.

Grisham was at one point a high-upside outfielder with power and plus defense. However, big swing-and-miss trouble limited him severely over the years. But this season, he’s received regular playing time, making more contact on fastballs than ever before in his career, and turned in a 34-home run season.

Navigating injury woes

The Yankees’ injury problems started very early in the year.

DJ LeMahieu, who played 45 games this year before being released, was out with a calf strain early in the year. Stanton, as noted earlier, had trouble with both elbows and missed the first two months. Luis Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, missed most of the year recovering from a lat strain.

The biggest loss came with Gerrit Cole, who underwent Tommy John surgery this spring after experiencing renewed elbow pain. Also, take into account Clarke Schmidt, who also required UCL surgery, and that was a lot of innings that the Yankees had to make up this year.

However, the Yankees were able to do that.

It was largely due to the lefties atop the Yankees’ rotation: Max Fried and Carlos Rodon. Fried, signed to the largest contract ever given to a left-handed starter in December, is a true pitcher’s pitcher who avoids getting predictable and can spin the ball with effectiveness. That helped Fried earn 19 wins, MLB’s best win total in 2025, along with strong batted-ball metrics.

Rodon, meanwhile, led the AL in H/9 (6.1) and averaged over a strikeout per inning in his third season with the Yankees. The 17-game winner earned an All-Star nod in July, alongside Fried.

Aside from those two, it was the young arms who helped get the Yankees through the year.

Will Warren, despite mishaps along the way, threw 157 innings for the Yankees this season. And Cam Schlittler, who broke out as a Minor Leaguer in 2024 before adding more velocity this season, struck out 75 over his first 66 innings as a Major League pitcher.

Piecing together the bullpen

Amidst what was an active December for the Yankees, the Bronx Bombers were also highly active in adding to their bullpen.

The Yankees pulled off a pre-Christmas trade for Reds reliever Fernando Cruz, the potent righty with one of the best splitters in baseball. Cruz, when healthy, was very good this year. The right-hander struck out 72 over 46 frames this year.

The more notable move, though, was the addition of Devin Williams. Williams was a dominant reliever with the Brewers who was on the cusp of heading to free agency. Rather than let him walk, Milwaukee flipped Williams for prospect Caleb Durbin and Nestor Cortes (now with the Padres).

Williams, on paper, gave the Yankees a true closer with dominant stuff. And, it allowed the Yankees to move Luke Weaver, their closer late last season, back into a setup/multi-inning relief role.

That, however, did not play out as planned. Williams struggled badly to get outs, leaning more on his signature changeup. The right-hander’s used it roughly 7% more this year compared to 2024. He was removed from the closer’s role, then put back in, and ultimately removed later in the summer.

To help out their bullpen, the Yankees went on a buying spree, adding Jake Bird, Camilo Doval, and David Bednar. Bednar was the big get, as he notched eight saves since joining the Yankees, along with a sub-1.00 WHIP.

As for Williams, he’s increased the usage of his fastball more over the last few weeks. The veteran reliever has pitched better; in fact, his 16.4 K/9 from August 1 through September 25 was second-best in the Majors (min. 15 IP) among relievers. Williams was behind Mason Miller.

What to expect in October

The Yankees came into play on September 25 tied for first in the AL East with the Blue Jays. Should the Yankees win the division, it could mean that the road through the American League runs through The Bronx yet again.

It’s been a turbulent season despite getting to 90 wins, thanks to the injuries and problems both at the plate and in the field for Anthony Volpe, the Yankees’ third-year shortstop. However, the Yankees have a deep lineup, perhaps one deeper than in 2024, one that featured Alex Verdugo and Anthony Rizzo in the World Series.

And, it looks like the rotation and bullpen have come together just at the right time.