The Yankees only just failed to win the American League East. And if they had done, they would have achieved a bye through the wild card playoffs and progressed straight through to the American League Division Series.

As it worked out, they did get to that Division series, but when they arrived they found themselves hopelessly over-matched by the Toronto Blue Jays – the very team that they had tied for the top position in the American League Eastern division. Let’s look at which players left them in that position, first considering the guys with the bats.

Name/Pos	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Jasson Dominguez ph/of	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.000	1.000	2.000	3.000
Aaron Judge rf	7	26	5	13	2	0	1	7	4	5	0	.500	.581	.692	1.273
Paul Goldschmidt 1b	6	9	1	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	.444	.545	.444	.989
Amed Rosario 3b/if	4	10	2	3	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	.300	,300	.400	.700
Ryan McMahon 3b	6	14	2	4	0	0	1	1	1	2	0	.286	.333	.500	.833
Jose Caballero if/of	3	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	.250	.400	.250	.650
Austin Wells c	7	22	1	5	0	0	0	3	1	6	0	.227	.261	.227	.488
Ben Rice 1b	6	18	2	4	1	0	1	4	2	8	0	.227	.286	.444	.730
Cody Bellinger of	7	28	4	6	2	0	1	4	2	5	0	.214	.258	.393	.651
Giancarlo Stanton dh	7	26	1	5	2	0	0	4	3	6	0	.192	.267	.269	.536
Anthony Volpe ss	7	26	2	5	1	0	1	2	0	16	0	.192	.192	.346	.538
Jazz Chisholm Jr 2b	7	22	3	4	0	0	1	1	3	5	0	.182	.280	.318	.598
Trent Grisham cf	7	29	4	4	2	0	0	0	3	10	1	.138	.219	.207	.426
Name/Pos	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS

Catchers

Well, in all truth, that should read “Catcher” – no plural. Austin Wells was really the only player they called upon. And he suffered with the same difficulties he had in the regular season. His defensive work, on the whole, was excellent or thereabouts, but his .227 batting average with no power to speak of, will not do.

Ben Rice, who had been the second catcher during the regular season, took up the “tools of ignorance” in one just late innings appearance in the Toronto Blue Jays series.

Infielders

Rice was the first choice at first base and he had more power than Wells, but his average was just the same and therefore disappointing. Much improved was Paul Goldschmidt. He was a substitute for Rice on occasion. Again, he has no power or speed but he is a good option defensively, and it should be noted that he batted .444 across these two series. The question is whether the Yankees will bring this senior member of the roster (who is now a free agent) back in 2026. There are sizeable question marks over Rice (defensively) and Wells (offensively). The Yankees could make worse selections than bringing back Goldschmidt.

The middle infield positions are also something of a quandary with Jose Caballero (.250), Anthony Volpe (.192), and Jazz Chisholm Jr (.182) taking the bulk of the weight. Those batting figures are not good. Not good at all. Volpe ended the playoffs injured. Chisholm needs to learn some moderation in terms of his personality, which leaves Caballero as their best option. This is not a happy image as we head into the winter.

Ryan McMahon showed some improvement (.286, 1 HR) and more patience at the plate and looks set for 2026. If they should decide to bring back Amed Rosario then this former Met has proved he has potential to do well. In his 10 batting appearances in these two playoff series, he hit .300 which will do nicely as a bench option.

Outfielders

Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger struggled their way to the end of the year. Maybe it is their upcoming free agency which is unsettling them. Maybe it is some other unspoken issue or niggling problem. Who knows? But the Yankees need more than this from 2/3 of their outfield and as the season-end drew in, they are not seeing it. Not at all. Grisham hit .138 with a couple of doubles. Bellinger hit .214 with 3 extra base hits. The Yankees need to pause for a moment before deciding what to do next.

Thankfully, they have Aaron Judge largely back to full health and his 13 hits in 26 at bats, appearing in all 7 games, and adding 2 doubles and 1 homer into the team totals. This meant he essentially led the team in every category.

Making up the numbers was Jasson Dominguez who could have perhaps by now assumed and expected that he would have been part of the everday outfield. Instead, he was given 1 at bat across the two series. He did achieve a safe hit, indeed a double – but it is his defensive work that is letting him down. What is coming up for him in 2026? Once more, who knows?

Designated Hitter

Giancarlo Stanton was once again a letdown. He hit .192 with two doubles. But when you conside that he can’t run, can’t play the outfield and the Yankees are tied into him for the long term and much money, it is hard to know what the Yankees are going to do with him. Let’s see what happens in the Spring…