So, the Yankees June slump has come and gone. And the July trading deadline has come and gone too.

Sadly, things don’t break down into nice monthly intervals in the real world or in the sports world.

So, between the beginning of the month and the 9th of this seventh month, the Yankees won 1 and lost 6. Between then and the 26th, the Bronx Bombers went 5-7. Finally, it did appear that they had turned the corner in the last 5 days of July with a 5-0 sprint to end the month.

The Yankees came out of this state of flux 20 games over .500 and only 1/2 a game behind the Baltimore Orioles. Fortunately most of the other leading teams had slowed as well.

Let’s look at the Yankees batting stats for the month:

Name/Pos	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Jazz Chisholm jr. 3b/of	4	19	6	7	0	0	4	8	1	2	1	.368	.400	1.000	1.400
Juan Soto rf	24	97	20	32	10	1	7	16	18	15	1	.330	.435	.670	1.105
Aaron Judge of/dh	24	85	19	27	2	0	8	17	25	26	0	.318	.482	.624	1.106
Oswaldo Cabrera 3b/lf	18	43	10	12	1	0	1	6	4	10	1	.279	.333	.372	.705
Austin Wells c	22	65	12	18	1	1	5	14	12	13	0	.277	.388	.554	.942
Carlos Narvaez c	4	8	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	.250	.250	.250	.500
Gleyber Torres 2b	21	80	8	20	4	0	2	10	10	17	0	.250	.330	.375	.705
Anthony Volpe ss	24	98	12	23	6	0	3	11	4	18	4	.235	.265	.388	.653
Jose Trevino c	6	13	2	3	3	0	0	1	2	4	0	.231	.333	.462	.795
Trent Grisham cf	21	62	7	14	6	0	1	7	8	11	1	.226	.319	.371	.690
Alex Verdugo lf	24	94	13	21	7	0	1	6	9	19	0	.223	.286	.330	.616
Giancarlo Stanton dh	3	9	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	.222	.300	.222	.522
Ben Rice 1b/c	23	81	11	15	4	0	7	20	9	30	0	.185	.266	.494	.760
Jahmai Jones if/of	7	11	2	2	1	0	0	2	0	6	0	.182	.182	.273	.455
DJ LeMahieu 3b/1b	22	58	5	10	2	0	2	10	5	9	0	.172	.246	.310	.556
J.D. Davis 1b/3b	4	10	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	4	0	.100	.182	.100	.282
Name/Pos	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS

Catchers

The Yankees needed three catchers to see them through the month. On the 13th of the month, Jose Trevino, who had been struggling defensively, finally needed to go on the injured list. The Yankees had begun to think that Austin Wells might be the better option anyway, but now they had to close Trevino down altogether. At the point he became unavailable, he was hitting .231 on the month with no homers and with all the hits he did produce going for doubles (no singles at all).

His replacement on the roster was Carlos Narvaez who did quite respectably and added in a couple of singles in his eight at bats, featuring in 4 games.

This meant that the aforementioned Wells was really given the lion’s share of the action, appearing in 22 games in the month. Also, his batting and power were on an upswing. He took 18 hits in 65 at bats with 7 extra base hits – five of which were home runs.

Infielders

Ben Rice had been fast out of the traps when promoted from Scranton. But my every insight suggested that he was going to be a short-lived phenomenon. Too much, too soon perhaps. In his 23 appearances this month he only contributed 15 hits in 81 at bats. Thankfully, 11 of these (7 home runs) went for extra base hits. Since DJ LeMahieu who was contributing too little as well was the best alternative at the corner infield postions and Anthony Rizzo was still unavailable, acquiring corner infielders before the trade deadline became a priority.

At second base, Gleyber Torres was still carrying the burden of responsibility. In some respects, he was holding his own – for example a .250 batting average on the month – but he had too little power and too many fielding errors. His stock in New York was falling further in July when he was asked to play third base some games and he suggested privately and publitcly hat this was something he wouldn’t be happy with. Torres is out of contract at the end of the season. He won’t be in the Bronx in 2025, unless something dramatic changes.

Anthony Volpe played as many games as any other Yankee in July. Offensively, he is slowing down, but he is still producing more than he did in 2023 and he has some power, he is fast on the bases, and is fielding is strong.

The problems at first base extend to third base. The addition of J.D. Davis added nothing and he was worse in July than he had been in June. After a short spell on the injured list, he was designated for assignment on the 28th and there were no takers. His game on the 24th against the New York Mets may well prove to be his last in the major leagues.

Meanwhile, Jahmai Jones who had been a useful bit-player was designated for assignment in the changing scene that surrounded the deadline and the need to add Giancarlo Stanton to the roster. His .182 in July was less than the Yankees needed to justify keeping him around. He has landed at Scranton (triple-A) and will be useful piece in their strong season.

The apparent refusal of Gleyber Torres to entertain the idea of playing at third base meant that the Yankees needed to find someone from somewhere who was willing. Jazz Chisholm jr was delighted to be playing in the Bronx since his trade from the struggling Miami Marlins. He’d got off to a fast start whilst occupying a slot in the outfield, and when he was asked about third base (a position he’d never played in the majors), he leapt at the chance. In 4 games / 19 at bats, he has hit 4 home runs amongst his 7 hits. The sample is small, but in those four games (which have seen in both the outfield and third base) no-one can match him on the New York team in batting average, slugging and OPS. A great start. Obviously, he can’t maintain this but he already looks a strong signing.

Oswaldo Cabrera is the Yankees best utility option and he looked consistent and strong wherever the Yankees placed him in July. He is a strong and bubbly presence in the clubhouse, a live wire on the bases and in the field and his .279 in July makes him a great Yankee to have around. He doesn’t add much power, but he doesn’t come up short in much else.

Outfielders

Juan Soto and Aaron Judge are a great partnership. If Soto sticks around, in future we might just be comparing them to Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris. It’s too early to think of the future, but for the present this is oustanding. This month, Soto led in batting average, slugging and doubles. Judge led in on-base percentage, OPS and home runs. The fact that they follow each other to plate means that the RBIs are stacking up even if the Yankees are losing.

Sadly, the third piece in the Yankees’ outfield is slumping. Whether the Yankees choose Alex Verdugo (more frequently) or Trent Grisham (less), there is not much to choose. With Giancarlo Stanton out, the Yankees were often required to call on both whilst Judge covered the DH role. When these two are producing .226 and .223 in recent weeks this is not a good situation. They combined for only 2 home runs and 30 strikeouts. Fortunately, there were 13 doubles, but little else.

Designated Hitters

Truthfully, when Giancarlo Stanton was injured the Yankees really don’t have anybody they want to use in this role.

As with last month, all kinds of players can be used here but they are better used elsewhere.

Stanton returned for the last three days of the month and there was little to write home about. In 9 at-bats, he provided 2 hits and a walk, However, he produced no powers hits and as a player who can no longer effectively run the bases, this can lead only to too many dead ends.