The New York Yankees in August were indifferent – neither good, nor bad, just lukewarm. They started the month at 62-48 and two games behind the Tampa Bay Rays, in 2nd place in the American League East. They finished August at 78-60 and still two games behind. Their monthly record 16-12. Lukewarm.

Aaron Judge still out injured. Clay Bellinger also on the injjured list for the majority of the month.

The Yankees had made it their priority at the tradeline to acquire a catcher. Needless to say whilst other teams in the American League East added a catcher, the Yankees did not. Instead they brought in Luis Garcia Jr, a first baseman – a position where the Yankees already seemed well-stocked. Also on the batting side of matters, they added Heliot Ramos, a right-sided outfielder to join a line-up which is very left-handed heavy, so Ramos is just what the doctor ordered. But as we shall see see, he has started slowly. Also added to the roster was George Lombard Jr who started well and then hit problems with his defensive form.

Let’s survey all the runners and riders:

Name/Pos	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Luis Garcia Jr 1b/dh	24	89	13	26	4	0	5	12	7	18	1	.292	.340	.506	.846
Ryan McMahon 3b	16	41	4	11	2	0	1	6	6	14	0	.268	.354	.390	.744
Ali Sanchez c	12	15	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	.267	.267	.267	.534
Amed Rosario if/of	14	31	2	8	0	0	0	2	3	5	1	.258	.324	.258	.582
Cody Bellinger lf	9	35	5	9	1	0	1	6	1	4	0	.257	.270	.371	.641
George Lombard Jr ss	23	79	12	20	1	1	2	6	7	24	1	.253	.310	.367	.677
Jasson Dominguez of	3	12	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	4	0	.250	.250	.333	.583
Austin Wells c	27	69	7	17	4	0	3	12	5	23	1	.246	.312	.435	.747
Jazz Chisholm Jr	27	82	12	20	2	1	2	9	12	25	10	.244	.337	.366	.703
Spencer Jones of	28	92	17	22	5	1	4	13	6	32	5	.239	.290	.446	.736
Jose Caballero if/of	23	59	7	14	0	0	3	10	5	18	6	.237	.313	.390	.703
Paul Goldschmidt 1b / dh	12	30	3	7	1	0	2	4	3	7	0	.233	.303	.467	.770
Trent Grisham cf	28	102	15	20	5	0	7	15	13	29	2	.196	.284	.451	.735
Ben Rice 1b/dh	27	98	15	18	3	0	4	13	15	30	1	.184	.304	.337	.641
Heliot Ramos of	21	61	2	9	5	0	1	4	9	21	1	.148	.297	.279	.576
Max Schuemann if/of	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Anthony Volpe ss	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000
Name/Pos	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS

The batting as you can see, is not a pretty picture. There were two games in the month, where the Yankees failed to score. There were 7 games when they scored 1 run, Three games where the they scored only two. Of these 12 games, they won 3 and lost 9. If it wasn’t for some examplary pitching as we’ll see in our next article, they would have probably lost all 12.

Catchers

And so the Yankees priority was to bring in a catcher, according to Brian Cashman, and any fool could see there was a need, and though players like Adley Rutschman moved across the board and therefore were clearly available, the Yankees never blinked or seemingly showed any interest. So, they have stayed with Austin Wells and Ali Sanchez with J.C. Escarra being first choice at Triple-A, but not getting any time in the majors this month. They had brought in veteran Christian Bethancourt at the end of July for a minor league tryout. It didn’t work out and he has now gone over to Pittsburgh in exchange for our old friend “cash considerations”. Another veteran Mitch Garver was signed, but seemed well down the pecking order in his minor league placing and was today placed on the restricted list with no reason announced.

Of the two catchers who were used, Ali Sanchez was the strongest at simply getting on base, but he struck out too often, had no power to speak of and was the weaker defensively. Consequently, he was given few at bats. Wells was better at the plate this month than he has been recently and had more power (7 extra base hits). He strikes out too often. He was used behind the plate in 27 of the 28 games which is simply impractical and increases the likelihood of future injuries.

Infielders

In June, Paul Goldschmidt was hot. In July, he hit a slump. In August, he appeared in only 12 games and didn’t do much better. Meantime, it was Ben Rice‘s turn to hit a slump as had his worst month of the season. He hit only .184 with 4 home runs (7 extra base hits total).

The wrinkle in the form book was Luis Garcia Jr. who came in on the third of August, right on the trade deadline, He came in from the Washington Nationals and heading the other direction were relief pitcher, Yovanny Cruz, recently demoted relief pitcher Jake Bird and minor leaguers Jake Cebert and Ben Grable. This seemingly unnecessary acquistion led the team this month in batting average, slugging, and OPS. I’m still scratching my head over the trade and signing but he has begun well.

At second base, we still have Jazz Chisholm Jr, who continues to think that he is way better than his form suggests. He is his own biggest fan, so what else does he need. He is the Alex Verdugo of the 2026 team, lots of flash but little substance. Actually, this month was better than most for him, so credit where it is due. In August, he led the team in stolen bases (12), and that speed meant that he was one of only three Yankees to gain a triple in recent weeks and the 5 extra base hits, stands alongside a month batting average of .244.

When the dust settled after the trade deadline, one of the first move the Yankees made was to send Anthony Volpe to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders (Triple-A). This happened on August 4th and doesn’t seem to be a short term arrangement. At the end of the month, he was still there and primarily playing at second base. The big league shortstop position is now in the hands of George Lombard Jr, and is his to lose. Indeed, he started at that postiion in the Majors with some formidable performances – both defensively and offensively. By the middle of the month, comparisons were already being drawn with Derek Jeter. Those comparisons were both unfair and unfounded. In his first 23 games, he made 7 errors, including 6 in 6 games from the 21st to the 27th of the month. Apparently, this is the first time anyone has achieved a streak like this since 1921 – not that they wanted to pile on any more pressure by digging up a stat like that.

Just as he was entering a good hitting streak, Ryan McMahon found himself on the injured list. Up to August 19th, he had raised his season batting average by 9 points (to .216) by hitting .268 on the month. He also added in 3 extra base hits and 6 walks. On the 21st (retroactive to the 20th), he was added to the IL where he would remain until the end of the month.

The Yankees didn’t call up anybody to replace him at third base and used a mix of the bench players, favouring Jose Caballero. Caballero hit .237 with 4 homers, showing himself again to be a useful fill-in but with little potential to be an everyday player, except in case of an injury like this.

Outfielders

Alongside Anthony Volpe dropping back in the order of things in the Bronx, another great prospect has seen himself demoted to Scranton because of his defensive form (or lack of it). Jasson Dominguez has returned to Scranton, and has been superceded by Spencer Jones, who played in leftfield until the return to fitness of Cody Bellinger. Dominguez batted .250 in the three games, he featured in before the roster reshuffle.

Also, Heliot Ramos played in all or part of 21 games, after he arrived from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for minor leaguers LHP Henry Lalane and ss Kaeden Kent. Ramos batted a mere .148, but hit 5 doubles and 1 home run, despite accruing too many strikeouts.

Bellinger returned from injury on the 23rd of the month, having gone on the injured list in late July. In the 37 at-bats since his return he has hit .257 but his slugging is lower than you might expect with only 2 extra base hits.

Jones has hit .239 with 10 extra base hits this month. Trent Grisham who was expected to be the everyday centrefielder, continues to struggle, hitting only .196 this month. In contrast, he led the team in extra base hits in August (12), and home runs (7) – strange figures given his batting average over the period. It must also be noted that his fielding work has not been at its best.

Bench players / Designated Hitters

With Giancarlo Stanton acquiring another injury as he was attempting to rehab from his previous one, he leaves a gaping hole in the line-up. We will not see him again in 2026. Consequently, the Designated Hitter (DH) position has become a blend of the various outfielders, the struggling Ben Rice, and the remaining bench players. Amed Rosario is doing reasonably well, hitting .258 with a pair of homers in August. Max Schuemann saw a little playing time before the roster reshuffle and is now also a name you’re more likely to see in the Scranton line-up.