The Yankees Offense Must Pick It Up

It doesn’t matter how well a team starts its season; after one bad stretch, it’s right back to where it started in March. The New York Yankees are learning that the hard way after suffering a sweep at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays this past weekend. After racing ahead to a 7-1 record to start the year, New York has now lost 6 of their last 7 games, giving it an overall record of 8-7. Though pitching has been the story of the season so far for the Yankees, it hasn’t been enough to make up for their offense (or lack thereof).

The Yankees Offense Must Pick It Up

The Yankees brought back pretty much the same lineup that produced the highest team OPS and hit the most home runs in the entire league last season. Unfortunately, through the first few weeks of 2026, that lineup hasn’t quite shown up yet. Through Sunday’s action, the Yankees as a team have the sixth-worst OPS (.653), the seventh-most strikeouts (147), and are tying the Chicago White Sox for the fewest hits in all of MLB with just 98. It’s not just because Aaron Judge is off to a slow start, though: the Yankees are quickly seeing just how top-heavy their lineup has become.

Where Is The Bottom Half?

Of course, tons of players go through early-season woes before they get back on their feet. However, for the Yankees, the fact that Amed Rosario (who was signed to be a utility bench player) has a higher OPS than everyone on the team not named Ben Rice is nothing short of concerning. It’s bad enough that New York’s star players, like Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Cody Bellinger, are all struggling to get on their feet. But the fact that the bottom half of the lineup isn’t picking up any of the slack is downright alarming.

New York’s 6-9 hitters are combining for a .446 OPS with a mere 31 hits through the first 15 games of the season. That is unacceptable for any team hoping to make the postseason. When four of your nine starters have yet to hit a home run and have just 4 combined extra-base hits through mid-April, there is a serious problem. It’s not just early-season struggles for everyone, though; Ryan McMahon has a .593 OPS with just 4 homers and 20 RBI’s in 68 games since coming to New York last season, Trent Grisham seems to have already cooled off after having the best year of his career in 2025, and Jazz Chisholm hasn’t been able to snap a cold streak that started at the end of last season. Where can the Yankees even go from here when half of their lineup isn’t showing any signs of life?

Waiting In The Wings

It is always frustrating when young players are sent down to the minors in favor of veterans who are not necessarily “better” but more established and experienced. Now, though, after seeing Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones dominate in Triple-A after both had torrid Spring Trainings, it is only that much more bewildering. Both outfielders are continuing what they started in Spring Training, where both had an OPS over 1.000 (Jones even recorded a 1.071 slugging percentage alone).

Of course, the issue here is less about their skills but more about positional configuration. There is no room in the outfield for anyone else, not even on the bench, and it makes sense that the Yankees would want those two to get everyday playing time rather than watch from the sidelines. But still, if the Yankees’ lineup continues to struggle this badly, they may have no choice but to call one (or both) of them up to save their season.